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’s inaugural of its Boeing 777-300ER occurs tomorrow flying from Dallas to Sao Paulo. We’ve all seen the exterior and interior images from American, but here are some new ones from the Dallas Morning News blog.
• Sheraton Hotels (part of Starwood) will open 30 new hotels over the next 12 months. Half of the new properties will open in China with additional new locations sprouting up in Latin America, the Middle East and Turkey.
• Spirit Airlines will be adding several new routes, including Houston to LAX, Baltimore and Philadelphia to Las Vegas, and Minneapolis to Denver. Fingers crossed for a fare war, though legacy airlines tend to distance themselves from Spirit’s “sales.” One of these days I’ll fly Spirit just for the sake of trying them out.
• Brussels Airlines announced that Washington Dulles will be their next U.S. destination. Service is slated to begin June 18th with five weekly flights IAD-BRU using Airbus A330 aircraft. One Mile at a Time (Ben) just flew them from JFK in business class. At the minimum, it’ll bring another Star Alliance mileage redemption option to Europe from the East coast.
• Emirates Skywards members can now redeem miles for JetBlue flights. The partnership between the two airlines previously only allowed Skywards members to earn miles on JetBlue.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 29, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 28, 2013

Will Qantas also axe oneworld alliance membership? That question hasn’t been answered, but very significant news tonight/today was announced from Australia courtesy of my friends at Australian Business Traveller:

Stay tuned for further updates.

• A judge ruled American Airlines’ antitrust suit against Orbitz, Travelport and Sabre may proceed after finding reasonable grounds that the companies orchestrated a boycott of American. All parties, however, agreed for a stay as they seek renewed negotiations.
• Avis is dropping their “We Try Harder” slogan, used for 50 years, for “It’s Your Space.” They say it’s targeted to busy business travelers, but I just don’t get it. Bad move, in my opinion.
• Air New Zealand posted a NZ$71 million (US$57 million) net income for its full fiscal year, down 12%. The airline expects to more than double its earning for 2013, however, through “improvement initiatives” and alliance synergies with Virgin Australia and ANA.
• The Miami Dolphins experienced a delay as their chartered American Airlines jet clipped another AA aircraft at DFW early today. Their 767′s wing clipped the tail of an MD-80.
• Several airlines are offering last minute Labor Day airfare sales. So far I’ve read about sales at US Airways, United and Virgin America, mostly via email or Twitter.
• Earlier this month, a woman gave birth on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Manila. While I’ve heard about babies being born inflight before, I’ve never heard about the newborn being named after the airline. The parents named the boy “EK,” Emirates’ airline code. I thought it was cute at first, but now… not so much. Maybe as middle name instead?

Previous news:

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012

It’s late on Friday and my attention span is dwindling, so I searched “airline” on YouTube for the latest uploads and came across this gem of a video trip report.

It documents a journey in First Class on an Emirates Airbus A380 from Bangkok to Hong Kong. I didn’t really need to see the guy in the shower, but other than that, it’s great and he takes you on a tour through First, Business and Economy. He even gets tucked in for a nap.

Probably the best part, though, is the enthusiasm of the crew. None of the “you can’t film that!” business you’d find here in the U.S. Enjoy!

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Review: Emirates First Class

My ‘Run-in’ With Two Federal Air Marshals Last Week

Video Trip Report: Cathay Pacific First Class to Hong Kong

I’ve always wanted to add an Emirates amenity kit to my collection and I can’t thank Teja, who authors the Grab a Mile blog, enough for making it a reality. Here’s a review of what I believe is their current offering for this installment of Amenity Kit Reviews. For a better description of each category and the 7-point scale for scoring, please review my introductory post.

Bag/Container: The padded, ultra soft brown suede bag is manufactured by Harmony Onboard and opens to reveal a cream colored, expandable interior with the Emirates logo appearing throughout in gold. There are a total of seven miniature pockets on the interior designed to hold the skin care products and other items described below. Also in gold is the Emirates logo appearing on the leather patch sewn into front exterior of the bag. Smartly, they added a rubber bottom to protect the case’s fabric. It’s a gorgeous case and would be ideal for reuse. Score: 7

Skin Care: A heavenly amount of skin care items are included. From Bulgari, the kit includes unscented hand cream and face emulsion, both of which absorb rapidly and feel incredibly oil-free. The box each came in is a bit unnecessary, but a nice touch of further branding. From Temple Spa, a tube each of “Take a Grip” (dry shower in a tube), “Peace Be Still” (calming face & body balm) and “AAAHHH!” (soothing balm for aching feet & limbs) are included. I can’t identify the scent of the “shower in a tube,” but it’s fresh and fragrant. The face & body balm is mostly lemon and citrus, while the feet & limb balm is primarily sandalwood, of which I’m a huge fan.  Score: 7

Oral Care: Here’s where the review steps down from the heights of perfection. I was surprised to only find a toothbrush (admittedly a nice, full-size one) and Colgate toothpaste in the kit. Perhaps the lavatories stocked mouthwash, something I would absolutely expect in a high-end first class kit. And maybe a flosser would be appropriate here. Maybe I’m being too picky. Score: 4

Comfort Items: Comfort items abound in this kit. The oversized eyeshades are the softest I’ve ever come across and feature a Velcro strap and Emirates tag. A combo brush/comb is always handy and this kit includes a mini-mirror (the rectangular suede leather thing you see in the main picture with a gold Emirates logo).

The socks are another story. They are the very cheap ones that barely hold together and defects are visible. A packet of seven tissues is present along with the coolest items yet – two sniff boxes: one labeled “Focus” containing bergamat, lemon & cinnamon and the other “Sleep” with lavender, camomile & neroli. Pajamas are also provided, though I don’t have a set to review. Even though the socks are cheap, I have to give this category a top score. The other items more than make up for them. Score: 7

Intangibles: Emirates’ First Class kit is better than I imagined and lives up to what I’d expect from a top-rated airline. It’s luxurious and I give huge props to airlines that offer gender-specific kits. Branding is prevalent, but not in your face. As Emirates equals “first class” in my mind, and this kit exemplifies sophistication and indulgence. Score: 7

Total score & comments:

Besides the rather pedestrian oral care category, this kit delivered in first class amenities. Now I’ll just have to fly them myself to get those PJs and take a shower onboard their A380. The score of 6.25 easily earns this kit the 2nd best kit I’ve ranked to date.

Related Posts:

Ranking the 19 Amenity Kits I’ve Reviewed To Date

Amenity Kit Review Introduction

Amenity Kit Review: Thai Airways Royal First Class

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news this week…

• United Airlines has signed with Next IT to create a virtual assistant on United.com, similar to Continental’s “Ask Alex.” “Next IT will provide a natural, or every-day, language solution to create an exceptional customer experience for travelers using the website.” If you’re unfamiliar with “Ask Alex,” it’s basically an interactive help tool where you ask a question and receive an audible and text answer back.
• Today, the first Continental Airlines aircraft equipped with Economy Plus is flying. The Boeing 767-400 also features the new flatbed BusinessFirst seats, on-demand touchscreen seat-back monitors in coach and United’s popular Channel 9 featuring live air traffic control communications.
• American Eagle Airlines was fined $900,000 by the Department of Transportation this week for exceeding the three-hour tarmac rule. 15 flights were impacted at Chicago O’Hare on May 29^th with a total of 608 passengers. The carrier has 30 days to pay $650,000 and the remaining $250,000 will be credited to those customers affected in the form of refunds, vouchers and frequent flyer bonus miles. If there’s money leftover, it will be used for future tarmac delays exceeding three hours.
• A Congressional report blasted the TSA this week calling the agency “bloated” and “plagued by significant problems.” Today marks the 10^th anniversary of its creation and I like to call it the Thousands Standing Around agency. Among the report’s findings: too many employees, 25,000 security breaches and expensive & inadequate technology.
• Hawaiian Airlines is pushing further East here in the contiguous 48-States and will begin daily service between Honolulu and New York’s Kennedy airport on June 4, 2012. CEO Mark Dunkerley said, “New York is an important part of our growth strategy. Adding service to the largest market in the Eastern U.S., Hawaii’s second largest tourism market, was a logical step.”
• Boeing received the largest-ever commercial airplane order from Indonesian carrier Lion Air for 230 aircraft. This tops the manufacturer’s previous record from just a week ago at the Dubai Airshow when Emirates placed an order for 50 Boeing 777 jets.
• Google is reported to soon bring international destinations to its underwhelming Flight Search tool. I haven’t been back to play around with the tool since my review of it, nor do I really have any desire to return until I hear reports of “something amazing.”
• Online Travel Agency Travelocity has changed the game of hotel reviews with a new Q&A-type function. Specific, heavily moderated questions appear, such as, “Is there a parking charge?” A previous guest replied, “No.” From the article, “Travelocity hopes the new question and answer formal will help hotel bookers in their trip-planning activities and improve the user experience.”
• A recent J.D. Power and Associates car rental study heralds ACE Rent-A-Car as taking the top spot for customer service. I’ve never heard of them, but they beat out the common ones down the list in order of Enterprise, National, Hertz, Alamo, Budget, Dollar and Avis. ACE has about 200 rental facilities worldwide, all independently owned and operated.

An article appeared in the San Jose Mercury News in May discussing the evolution of amenity kits since their introduction around the 1950s. As a collector of the kits myself, I’m keen to know what the future holds for them as some airlines are foregoing fully stocked bags/containers and simply handing out individual products upon request or featuring them in the lavatories. It was also mentioned that several airlines are looking to offer kits for sale, a likely new revenue stream for the now unbundled industry. Anita Gittelson, Executive Vice President of major amenity kit manufacturer Wessco said:

Although she’s working with several unnamed airlines for this to become a reality, none of them have yet to introduce kits for purchase as an option. Emirates was quoted in the article as saying they don’t view them as a revenue-generating product, but instead an exclusive premium customer amenity. That makes sense for the truly luxurious airlines with stellar premium cabins, but I absolutely could see our U.S. carriers offering some type of economy class amenity kit for sale on international flights.

While it would be easiest to sell the existing business & first class kits already in use, I don’t think airlines would go that route for coach passengers. What we probably would start to see is a new generation kit specifically designed for onboard purchase, leaving the designated premium cabin kits as an exclusive amenity. My guess is that they would likely contain your basic toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion, eyeshades, socks, and perhaps some mints. When I fly internationally in economy I already have my own amenity kit packed so wouldn’t be interested in the offering, but I could very well see the benefit for other passengers. As with everything for sale today on flights, finding the right price point would be an important consideration. What would you pay? I think it would have to be $10 or less.

Also not surprising from the article is mention of the kick-back airlines receive when co-branded products are purchased directly from the manufacturer when using the enclosed product information card (aka “romance card”) and related coupon code. Ms. Gittelson is credited with birthing the co-branding we see in amenity kits here in the U.S. when she persuaded Delta Air Lines to begin using Essentiel Elements products in their kits back in 2000.

Finally, for the Delta flyers out there, a “very special new kit” should be introduced next month in Business Elite, as Ms. Gittelson noted in a comment she left on my amenity kit review earlier this year. I’ll request a kit from her directly and will be sure to review it for a future installment of amenity kit reviews.

Here are a few more noteworthy news items from the airline industry in the past week:

• Airlines have wholly embraced Facebook and Twitter as important marketing and social media portals, and some are expanding it to include flight searches and bookings like Delta Air Lines has already done. Taking it a step further, though, is Malaysia Airlines who this week launched an expanded application within Facebook.  It includes seat selection, check-in, and the ability to see if any of your friends are on the same flight. In a sort-of related news item, you can now stay in touch with Frequently Flying on Facebook and Twitter.
• A former United Airlines flight attendant is suing the carrier alleging they fired her for being French and gay, instead of the officially recorded reason of “misusing company travel vouchers.” Apparently her supervisor told her that it is “not right to be gay,” which sounds preposterous to me that such a viewpoint would exist in the airline industry. I think we would have heard by now of similar suits from the (dare-I-generalize) ranks of other gay flight attendants at United if this were true. Interesting, to say the least.
• The Airbus A380’s image is taking more unjustified hits with news stories surfacing that several Rolls-Royce engines have had additional problems. Qantas had a couple of flights in February with power loss and oil leak issues on their Trent 900 version of the RR engine. Also being reported this week, Singapore Airlines has confirmed five cases of oil leaks on the same model Trent 900 engine. Qantas is in negotiations with Rolls Royce to determine appropriate financial compensation for the hit the carrier is taking on its overall image. No word if Airbus itself is also seeking any type of damages for similar reasons.
• Emirates is now the world’s third largest carrier in terms of available seat miles (ASMs) behind Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. ASMs are calculated by multiplying the amount of available seats by the distance flown. This actually doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, as Emirates is taking delivery of more A380s and the average stage length of its flights from the carrier’s Dubai hub are far greater than the other carriers’ figures. Larger airplanes on longer routes pushes them up the list here, but look for the combined Continental Airlines and United Airlines to overtake Emirates once officially merged. The carriers are currently 6^th and 4^th respectively.
• Once the largest operators of Boeing 747 aircraft, Japan Airlines retired its last Queen of the Skies on March 2^nd, marking the end of a four-decade relationship with the bird. The carrier has been struggling financially in recent years, and is now relying on the reduced capacity and more fuel efficient Boeing 767 and eventual 787.