Whether it was for a short- or long-haul flight, those who have traveled in business class know that the experience is all about the perks — a more comfortable seat (those lie-fat seats are what many people immediately associate with luxury travel), better food and alcohol selection and a box filled with amenities such as slippers, hand lotion and an eye mask.
The latter is often also a way to highlight products from the airline’s host country such as L’Occitane creams on Air France (AFRAF) – Get Free Report and Maison Kitsuné-designed bags on Japan Airlines (JPNRF) – Get Free Report.
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While airlines will regularly tweak the look of the boxes and the products that go inside, not every alteration is a hit. Last week, American Airlines (AAL) – Get Free Report started testing an updated amenity box on some flights from Europe to the U.S. — but instead of the reusable toiletries case made by Detroit-based leather goods producer Shinola, a cardboard box is used to hold the sleeping mask, socks, earplugs, dental kit and lip balm travelers can expect to get.
@AmericanAir come on! Really? pic.twitter.com/f1NClr1l8w
— NC Man (@NCMan2020) January 14, 2024
New American Airlines amenity kits have nonconventional appearance
The disposable nature of the revamped kit managed to anger both environmentally-minded travelers and those who look forward to using the toiletry bag after the trip (there is also a community of fans who collect amenity kits from various airlines).
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“Yup, just showed up on my LHR LAX today (AA135),” wrote one traveler on the airline forum FlyerTalk that was the first to draw attention to the new kits. “Meanwhile I have three other AA [American Airlines] amenity kits with me that have found reuse holding camera parts and cables.”
“*arches eyebrows* So a disposable cardboard box is supposed to be more reusable than the bags we’ve normally gotten?” wrote another commenter.
It wasn’t long before photos of the kits also started appearing on other social media platforms with similarly critical comments.
Airline reacts, says over 70% of travelers ‘get excited about inflight amenities’
“@AmericanAir come on! Really?” one North Carolina traveler wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, alongside an image of the opened kit with the dental kit and refreshing wipe visible at the top of the other items.
In an explanation to Travel and Leisure, American Airlines said that the kits are part of a test of how a different type of kit packaging would be received on select flights between Europe and the U.S. The airline claimed that large numbers of people “don’t reuse the kits” and so thought it would make them more sustainable.
“We have dedicated teams that focus on taking stock of customer feedback and habits, to help us design new or improved ways to enhance our customers’ experiences onboard,” the airline said in a statement. “Around 70% of our customers get excited about the inflight amenities we offer, while around half don’t reuse the kits, in which the amenities are contained in, after their flight is over.”
But at the same time, American Airlines said it is taking the negative feedback into account and will continue to “learn even more about our customer amenity preferences and inform future experiences.”
