Have you ever wondered what it’s like on the other side of the business and first class curtain? The VIP treatment, the free-flowing drinks, gourmet meals/fine dining, the comfy seats or, better yet, beds. Ahhhh…the good life. And what about those secret perks in the complimentary “airline amenity kits” – your own personal in-flight “swag” bag?
Our team of travel experts looked through, tested, photographed and rated 48 economy, business and first-class kits from 27 of the world’s leading airlines to reveal the “secrets of the VIP experience”.
Part Hollywood A-list swag bag and part practical travel accessory, amenity kits are where airlines roll out the red carpet for their elite customers. So, it was no surprise to learn that the First-Class kits are stuffed with luxury brands (Loewe, Tumi, Chopard, Bulgari, Dior, Ferragamo, L’Occitane) – and contain everything from eye masks and shoe horns to “pulse point oil” and “pillow mist”.
In total, just five of the 27 airlines achieved a six-star review, with Middle Eastern and Far Eastern airlines dominating, as kits from Emirates, Etihad, Japan Airlines, Qatar and United came out on top.
Lufthansa and Royal Brunei took joint top honors for the “Best Male Accessory”; Lufthansa for its German football kit-themed bag and Royal Brunei for its super luxury slippers.
Polish airline LOT grabbed “Best Female Accessory” for its nail file; while Qatar was – literally – the comfortable winner for the “Best Kids’ Accessory” with a Spongebob Squarepants backpack (in a Qatar captain uniform) that also doubles as a pillow or booster seat.
Amenity kits, you could say, are the icing on the proverbial cake, and every airline has its own recipe.
See all the airline reviews
- American Airlines: 4 Stars
- Air Berlin: 4 Stars
- Air Canada: 3 Stars
- Air New Zealand: 5 Stars
- Austrian Airlines: 4 Stars
- British Airways: 5 Stars
- Condor Airlines: 3 Stars
- Delta: 5 Stars
- Emirates: 6 Stars
- Etihad: 6 Stars
- Garuda Indonesia: 5 Stars
- Iberia: 3 Stars
- Icelandair: 5 Stars
- Japan Airlines: 6 Stars
- JetBlue: 4 Stars
- LOT Polish Airlines: 4 Stars
- Lufthansa: 4 Stars
- Malaysia Airlines: 5 Stars
- Qantas: 5 Stars
- Qatar: 6 Stars
- Royal Brunei: 5 Stars
- SWISS: 5 Stars
- TAM: 4 Stars
- Turkish Airlines: 5 Stars
- United Airlines: 6 Stars
- Vietnam Airlines: 4 Stars
- Virgin Atlantic: 5 Stars
Our star rating system:
- One star = Taxiing
- Two stars = Approaching cruising altitude
- Three stars = 35,000 feet
- Four stars = High life
- Five stars = Edge of space
- Six stars = Fly me to the moon
The top 10 most popular amenity kit items (“=” denotes tie):
- 1 Brush/ comb
- 2= Eye mask
- 2= Toothbrush
- 3 Socks
- 4= Earplugs
- 4= Moisturizer
- 4= Toothpaste
- 5 Lip balm
- 6 Tissues
- 7 Shoe horn
And then we created our dream kit:
- Etihad’s kit bag
- Japan Airlines‘ toothbrush
- Garuda’s hair brush and shoe horn
- Turkish Airlines’ two-tone ear plugs
- SWISS’ La Prairie moisturizer
- Air New Zealand’s “Beware I Sleepwalk” eye mask
- Vietnam Airlines’ Chopard lip balm
- Turkish Airlines’ non-slip socks
