In this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews, I take a critical look at the business class offering of Star Alliance member Air China. A very special thanks goes out to Very Good Points for sending it my way. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introductory post.

Air China Amenity Kit

Bag/Container: The off-white, rectangular nylon zipper bag has a touch of pleather to it, particularly along the height of the case. It sports the L’Occitane logo on top, with the only identifiable Air China logo on the zippers themselves. Opening the case reveals a single compartment with four differently sized plastic pouches on the flap. Reusability is medium-to-high in my opinion, and while not overly luxurious, it is slightly higher quality than some other business class kits. Score: 5 out of 7

Interior of Air China's Amenity Kit

Skin Care: Air China partnered with L’Occitane to supply skin care items for this kit, which consist of Citrus Verbena Body Lotion and a Shea Butter Lip Balm Stick. The lip balm is your standard fare and sufficient, but the lotion in this kit is a step up from the L’Occitane ones found in the Asiana and Virgin Australia kits, for example. A nearly scentless disinfectant wet tissue rounds out the skin care items. Score: 5 out of 7

Oral Care: A tube of standard flavored Colgate toothpaste and a soft bristled toothbrush are the sole oral care items in the kit. I always appreciate it when airlines decide on a toothbrush that snaps back onto its casing to form a nearly full size apparatus. Plus, the casing helps keep the brush head clean for reuse. Score: 4 out of 7

Comfort Items: Here’s where Air China scores big. Inside the case are found your typical comfort items, including a folding brush, earplugs in their own plastic container (nice!) and one-size-fits-all eyeshades. But Air China also provides pajamas (plus slippers) to its business class passengers, a rarity for the middle cabin on most all other airlines. They’re cotton and come in a red fabric bag. Well done! Score: 7 out of 7

Air China PJs - Image Courtesy 'Very Good Points'

Intangibles: I believe Air China missed the mark in not incorporating more of its own branding to the kit, but it still comes off as an exclusive amenity filled with useful items.  Score: 5 out of 7

Total score & comments:

This kit was on track to be an average business class offering with a slightly above adequate final score. But the addition of PJs really sets Air China apart from many of its competitors, and the score of 5.25 is well deserved.

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Reviews

Amenity Kit Review Introduction

My Top-Ranked Amenity Kits

World’s Top Amenity Kits of 2012 – TravelPlus Awards

US Airways held its annual Media Day event in Phoenix today and several people I follow on Twitter were present providing updates throughout the day. Among them was Jake Redman, a BoardingArea blogger, who sent out the following that piqued my interest given my obsession with amenity kits:

And he followed that tweet up posting a small portion of US Airways’ video shown during the event, highlighting some of the new products and features the airline plans to introduce. Say hello to the soon-to-be-short-lived new US Airways amenity kit:

Gratuitously Screen-Grabbed Image of US Airways' New Amenity Kit

Another View of New US Airways Amenity Kit

The kit will debut in July and includes skin care products from Red Flower, such as lotion, lip balm, and a facial towlette. Also included will be toothpaste, a toothbrush, mouthwash (yes!), facial tissues and the usual eyeshades and socks. It looks pretty average for a business class kit, but I’ll be keen to acquire one as it’ll be the last US Airways branded kit.

There were other interesting updates from the event, including the fact that US Airways (but not American) will match United’s recent $50 increase in change fees. I have to imagine American will hike their change fee rates in time.

As far as the amenity kit, I’m sorry that Red Flower will likely get a shorter-than-planned market penetration of its products. I think this will be the first time they’ve had their items promoted on such a large scale. When United and Continental merged, United ended up ditching their fairly recent partnership (at the time) with Murad and went with a new skin care manufacturer (Philosophy) for the new kits.

Which manufacturer will the merged American go with? Whoever it is, I hope American keeps the new tablet case for its first class offering.

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Reviews

American Airlines First Class Amenity Kit – Eames Tablet Case

United Airlines Global First Amenity Kit Review

United Quietly Raises Change Fee by $50, Will Other Airlines Follow?

I posted the third annual TravelPlus Airline Amenity Bag Award winners over on my Road Warrior blog last week. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention them here, as many of you know I’m an amenity kit aficionado.

Not surprisingly, the top honors in each category went to non-U.S. carriers. United Airlines, however, did receive a readers’ choice nod for “collaborative initiative” for its Global First amenity kit. Here were the results:

First Class Female – Emirates Airways supplied by Harmony-gategroup
First Class Male – Etihad Airways supplied by Watermark
First Class Unisex – Singapore Airlines supplied by Harmony-gategroup

Business Class Female – Virgin Australia supplied by buzz
Business Class Male – Qantas supplied by buzz
Business Class Unisex - Turkish Airlines supplied by FORMIA

Premium Economy – Condor supplied by Skysupply
Economy – Virgin Atlantic supplied by Harmony- gategroup
In-flight Amenity Gift – Singapore Airlines supplied by Harmony- gategroup

Children’s under 6 – Qantas supplied by buzz
Children’s over 6 – Qatar Airways supplied by buzz

Ethically Sustainable – Finnair supplied by Skysupply with a Highly Commended Award going to Cathay Pacific supplied by Watermark

I’ve got a lot of work to do to build up my collection, as I only have one of the above – the Virgin Australia female business class kit. TravelPlus photographer David Jenner has a great photo collection of the winners here.

It’s an event I’ll be marking on my calendar to attend next year in Hamburg and it also coincides with the Aircraft Interiors Expo the same week.

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Reviews

The Cost and Allure of Airline Amenity Kits

Ranking the Top Amenity Kits Reviewed (as of June 2012)

Amenity Kit Review: United Airlines Global First Class

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I’m an avid collector of amenity kits and have an ongoing series reviewing them. They’re a fun item to collect and I love seeing each new generation an airline debuts, wondering if they’ve spruced it up or cheapened it down.

Earlier this month, The Business Journals ran an interesting piece discussing their allure, evolution and marketing power for not only the airlines, but also the brand name items within.

And I’ve always wondered what the true cost to airlines is for the final product and this article gives a little hint. The author spoke with a top U.S. executive of an international airline to reveal the following:

“The stuff is all over the map,” he said. “An amenity kit can cost an airline anywhere from $4 to $30 a unit. No one agrees whether it’s great for brand identity or it’s something that we’re afraid to get rid of because we’ve always done it. And the logistics are a nightmare. First you have to source them, usually in China, and then palletize them for shipment to the head office. Then you have ship them in containers to the international stations. The kits have to fit on the metal carts in-flight and you have to figure out how many to carry and how to store them.”

Thirty dollars sounds steep to me, but then again, some airlines offer exceptional kits packed with high-end cosmetics that would retail for top dollar in their full-size counterparts. The kits from Asiana, Emirates and Thai come to mind in this case. I’d have to guess the spend by U.S. airlines is nearer the $4/unit mark.

And about those high-end cosmetics, another article quotes a L’Occitane sales executive as barely marking up their products when pitching them to airlines. It’s pretty obvious why: simply for the large-scale exposure.

L’Occitane marks up products as much as 600 percent for retail sale, whereas the markup is closer to a razor-thin 12 percent for an airline deal. This level of discounting is typical of airline amenity contracts, especially at a time when major carriers are strapped for cash.

That article was 2007, admittedly, but I’d have to imagine there’s still very little up-front profit today in a skin care manufacturer’s airline deal, if at all. And back in 2006, Travel + Leisure calculated the value of some amenity kits based on what the per-ounce retail price would run for the cosmetics. Air France came in on the low end at the time at $49 with its Clarins products, and Japan Airlines at the top at $137 for its Shiseido and Clé de Peau lotions.

I will undoubtedly continue to grow my collection and while I’ll miss it this year, I definitely plan to attend the annual Airline Amenity Bag Awards next year in Hamburg. I’ll be in heaven!

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Reviews

My Top-Ranked Amenity Kit: Thai Airways

Poll: Should I Change My Amenity Kit Review Scale?

American Airlines last December rolled out new amenity kits and they finally offer separate kits for first and business class passengers. Previously, American provided the same “premium” kit in both cabins. A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the current first class offering, and here now is the business class kit for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please see my introductory post. And a special thanks goes out to blog reader Albert for sending me this kit to review!

[Note: I recently asked my readers if I should change my scale to a 5- or 10-pointer and while the 10-point scale is “winning,” many were unable to vote due to the poll not working for them. I will likely change it to a 10-point scale in the future, but I’m leaving this review under my current system.]

American Airlines Business Class Amenity Kit

Bag/Container: American again partnered with Eames for the case, which in this edition is a rectangular, reinforced canvas zipper bag sporting a silver tag bearing the American “brand” near the lower-left corner, sans the popular eagle. As with the exterior, the single compartment, nylon-lined interior features the Eames Dot Pattern. Reusability is medium in my mind, though I wish the case were a bit longer. Score: 5 out of 7

Interior of American's Eames Business Class Amenity Kit

Skin Care: In a switch from the first class kit, American went with Akhassa skin care products, including body lotion, facial moisturizer and lip balm. If you’re a lime fan, you’ll love these products as each are lightly infused with the refreshing citrus oil. Both the hand lotion and facial moisturizer absorb rapidly, and in my opinion are slightly less greasy than the Dermalogica products in the first class kit. And the lip balm is delicious! The enclosed product information (“romance”) card includes a URL and code for the Akhaasa website offering a 15% discount. Finally, a scentless and brand-less moist towelette rounds out the skin care items inside the kit. Score: 5.5 out of 7

Eames Amenity Kit

Oral Care: A half-size, medium-bristled toothbrush with a plastic cover and tube of standard flavored Colgate toothpaste are included with the kit. American thankfully increased the size of the toothpaste from the previous version, which was tiny. Mints would have been a nice addition, but this category is acceptable for a business class kit. Score: 4 out of 7

Comfort Items: Eyeshades and socks are banded together with a paper ribbon. The eyeshades have an adjustable Velcro strap, which affords a comfortable fit. For single use, the socks are fine, but aren’t the most durably made. Additional comfort items include soft earplugs and a package of tissues. Score: 4 out of 7

Intangibles: I do quite like it when airlines partner with a bag manufacturer, thereby adding a bit more exclusivity to the kits over a generic case. An added bonus in the kit is a pen, handy for filling out customs and immigration forms. For a business class offering, I think this kit is better than what most European carriers provide. Score: 5 out of 7

Total score & comments:

The bag and skin care items are the highlights of this kit and American earns a well-deserved score of 4.63.

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Review Introduction

Poll: Should I Change My Amenity Kit Review Scale?

American Airlines First Class Amenity Kit Review – Eames Tablet Case

I just published my latest amenity kit review and I got to thinking… is my scale totally ridiculous? Who the hell ranks things on a 7-point scale?

Here was my original reasoning for a 7-point scale:

The 7-point scale should be self-explanatory and provides a bit more wiggle room than a 5-pointer. I hate the surveys out there with ranges from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree,” or just a straight 1 to 10 scale, which in my opinion tends to cause people to focus on the extremes. Instead, my scale leaves room for a complete neutral middle ground of ‘adequate’ with extremes of ‘awful’ and ‘exceptional.

I still hold firm that a 5-point scale leaves too little wiggle room. It seems to work for hotel reviews and rankings, but I’m pretty critical in my amenity kit reviews and I want to reward (or punish) airlines that provide exceptional (or awful) amenities with a broader scale.

I originally wanted to be unique, but I’ve gotten over myself and realize people might look at my reviews saying, “What the ****?”

And so I leave it to you. What would you like the scale to be?

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Please also feel free to comment your hearts out… I won’t be offended. And if the results reveal you’d prefer a new scale, I will definitely go back and adjust all of my old reviews.

American Airlines last December rolled out new amenity kits and the kind folks at American’s social media team sent me the first class offering earlier this month. I’m thrilled to have it in my collection and offer a review below for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please see my introductory post.

American Airlines First Class Amenity Kit

Bag/Container: As with the previous offering, American partnered with Eames for the bag, which in this iteration doubles as a tablet case – nice move! The gray and black zipper bag sports a silver tag bearing the American “brand” near the lower-left corner, sans any eagle or other logo item. And the interior, featuring the Eames Dot Pattern, has two side pockets – one mesh, the other padded (in which you’d store your tablet). Reusability as a toiletries case is low, but very high as a tablet case or other carrying item. Score: 6

Interior of American's Amenity Kit

Skin Care: American again partnered with Dermalogica to provide some skin care products, including active moist lotion and multivitamin hand and nail treatment. The lotion contains no artificial fragrance or color, but I detect a very light and pleasant “clean” scent. The hand lotion is scentless and absorbs quickly, but does leave your fingertips a touch greasy. The brand-less lip balm is effective and has a very subtle mint taste. Finally, a scentless moist towelette rounds out the skin care items inside the kit. Score: 5

Oral Care: A half-size, medium-bristled toothbrush with a plastic cover and tube of standard flavored Colgate toothpaste are included with the kit. American thankfully increased the size of the toothpaste from the previous version, which was tiny. But I think they failed in this category yet again by neglecting to add mouthwash, or even mints. Why not spiff the first class offering up a bit? Score: 3

Comfort Items: Eyeshades and socks are banded together with a paper strap. The eyeshades have an adjustable Velcro strap, which affords a comfortable fit. For single-use, the socks are fine, but aren’t the most durably made. Additional comfort items include soft earplugs, a package of tissues and – provided separately and not pictured – pajamas (which bumps the score up from a 4… more U.S. airlines need to add PJs).  Score: 6

Intangibles: Providing an amenity kit doubling as a tablet case is a first for a U.S. airline and American scores bonus points (or rather… point) here for that reason alone. It doesn’t emit exclusivity per se, but it’s a definite step up from the previous version. Added bonuses in the kit are a pen and a cloth for cleaning eyeglasses or electronic screens. Score: 5

Total score & comments:

American used to provide the same kit for first and business class, so I’m happy they’ve adjusted their position by offering different products between cabins. Beyond the case itself, I don’t think they’ve done enough, however, to truly elevate this first class offering above its predecessor. Now I just need to get my hands on the business class kit…

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Review Introduction

Amenity Kit Review: American Airlines Premium First and Business Class (2011)

Amenity Kit Review: American Airlines Premium First and Business Class (2010)

I flew an eight-segment mileage run last month that included a roundtrip from Boston to Tokyo via San Francisco. And due to an unadvertised promotional first class fare (about $3,000) out of select U.S. origins to Tokyo (or Beijing), I was able to fly in comfort and nabbed my favorite seat onboard any United aircraft – 2K on a Boeing 747-400.

My Boeing 747-400, N174UA

My flight into San Francisco from Boston arrived just about on schedule, leaving me with enough time for a quick visit to the Global First lounge to catch up on emails. At the check-in desk when I was welcomed as “Mr. Booth,” the person next to me asked, “Darren Booth?” Turns out he reads my blog – what a small world. It was nice to meet you, Sean!

I headed to the gate ahead of boarding time to… well… be a “gate louse” and position myself near the front of the Premier Access lane. Why? Because those darn 747s have such limited overhead space in first class that I didn’t want to stow my bags in business class, which often happens. I was about the 10^th person on and I settled into my seat (and yes, got my coveted overhead bin space). Oh, and for those unfamiliar with United, there’s absolutely no priority given to Global First passengers over business class (or many elites).

Seat 2K

View Forward at Seat 2K

The menu, pillows and blanket were awaiting me at my seat, and the amenity kit and slippers were already stowed in the side console compartment. Pre-departure beverage service was slow as the lead flight attendant in Global First spent an inordinate amount of time gabbing with a couple of passengers. And I noted some friction between the lead and purser, which I wrote about in my “The Reality Check That Is United Airlines Global First Class” post.

Newspapers were offered and positioned on the console across from my seat. We pushed nearly on-time and were airborne within about 15 minutes.

View

The lead noticed my camera and said, “You’d better get your pictures in quick before we take the left turn toward Japan!” I chuckled and said “Thanks,” but little did she know my main intent was to capture the meals. Hot towels, warmed nuts and beverages started the lunch service. Check out the turbulence in that water glass.

Warmed Nuts and Water

Here’s the menu:

And the separate wine & bar service list:

Meal service began shortly after the seat belt sign came off with linens, silverware and bread presented first.

Table Setup

The warm appetizer and sushi were served nearly in tandem. I did quite like the beef empanada and pastry, but didn’t touch the sushi as I’m not a fan.

Sushi

Beef Empanada and Veggie & Mushroom Pastry

Besides a warm vs. cold appetizer, the only other noticeable difference from Global First to BusinessFirst meals is the addition of a soup course. It was only lukewarm and required a bit of salt to make it tastier.

Shrimp and Roasted Corn Chowder

A rather basic salad followed and I went with the Parmesan-pepper dressing.

Salad

For my main course, I chose the Tenderloin of Beef. It was very tender and delicious, the latter likely due to the Delmonico’s steak sauce. I have had decent green beans in-flight before, but these were rubbery and tasteless. And the potatoes cooled off very quickly and were equally bland. More salt.

Tenderloin of Beef

By this point, I was ready for a nap having been awake since very early Boston time to catch the 6:00 a.m. flight. And so I skipped the cheese and ice cream sundae. Here’s the remainder of the menu:

There was absolutely no mention of the “new” turn-down service for Global First passengers where flight attendants will lower your seat into bed mode and spread the sleeping cushion over the seat. And on the return flight with the same crew, the lead was very vocal how she felt about it saying, “What are we a hotel?!”

The crew spruced up the lavatory as best they could.

Lavatory Amenities

A cart was setup near the galley with the assorted sandwiches and nibbles from the “mid-flight snack” menu appearing above. They looked identical to what’s offered in BusinessFirst and not particularly appealing.

About 1.5 hours before arrival, breakfast was served although it was 2:00 p.m. local time in Tokyo. Other airlines flying this timeslot will serve a more time-appropriate meal. I went with the herbed scrambled eggs, ham, turkey sausage and potato gratin… err… tater tots.

Breakfast at 2 p.m.

While each flight attendant was friendly in their own way, there was certainly nothing exceptional about their service. It was just a typical United flight and I suppose worth what I paid. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to pay full-fare for United’s Global First.

Related posts:

The Reality That Is United Airlines Global First Class

United Global First Amenity Kit Review

Lounge Review: ANA Suite Lounge Tokyo Narita

I’m Off on a Weeklong Mileage Run

Congratulations to commenter #29, who was drawn by the trusty random number generator – you’ve just won a United Airlines Global First and BusinessFirst amenity kit.

Lucky Number 29

Winning Comment

Congrats Ralph! I’m emailing you now to get your address. Thanks everyone for your interest… I’ll sift through by bins to find more duplicates I can give away in the future.

Related posts:

United Airlines Global First and BusinessFirst Amenity Kit Giveaway

United Airlines Global First Amenity Kit Review

United Airlines BusinessFirst Amenity Kit Review

Two of my readers reached out to me recently and graciously donated amenity kits that I didn’t have in my collection (thanks Felicia and Jason!), and I’d like to give away a couple of my duplicates to one of my interested readers.

[Edited: Thanks to everyone who entered... I drew the winner as planned on Sunday.]

Specifically, I’m giving away both a United Global First and BusinessFirst kit to one person who might like them. Here’s my review of the first class kit, as well as the business class offering.

United Airlines Global First Amenity Kit

United Airlines BusinessFirst Amenity Kit

The current Global First amenity kit is the best United has offered in the past decade (at least) and the BusinessFirst kit is definitely a step up from the last pre-merger United version. Continental’s BusinessFirst, however, was quite nice.

If you’re interested, simply leave a comment below (one per person) and I’ll use a trusty random number generator to pick a winner on Sunday, February 10 at 12:00 p.m. PST. Don’t worry if your comment gets held for moderation… I’ll be sure to approve them all by the time of the drawing. And please use a valid email address in the comment form (it doesn’t get published), as that’s how I’ll get in touch with the winner.

Good luck! [Edited: COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED (sorry I can't turn them off). I've been getting a slew of new comments today, but the drawing was yesterday.]

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Reviews

United Airlines Global First Amenity Kit Review

United Airlines BusinessFirst Amenity Kit Review

Ranking the Top Amenity Kits I’ve Reviewed (as of 06/18/2012)