In the past some people have claimed that they’ve been able to drink their ticket price in champagne if they got a really good premium cabin fare. Well, on Qatar Airways you may soon be able to wash away your ticket price with soap… 😉
In this post:
Qatar Airways & Diptyque collaboration
Qatar Airways has teamed up with luxury French brand Diptyque to offer a new range of toiletries for first & business class passengers, both in the air and on the ground. Qatar Airways is the first airline to launch a partnership with Diptyque, and has worldwide exclusivity.
Qatar Airways passengers can expect the following products from Diptyque (I have to include the descriptions, because they’re adorable):
- Hand wash with notes of lavender, rosemary, and a hint of ylang ylang
- Velvet hand lotion with luxurious scents of sweet almond and petitgrain
- Infused facial water with floral notes of rose, virginia cedar, and lemon petitgrain
- Essential face cream with a heart of roses, voluptuous notes of prickly pear, and the freshness of lemon petitgrain
- At Qatar Airways Lounges, passengers can expect Diptyque shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion
Qatar Airways’ new range of Diptyque products
In case you’re wondering about the retail prices of some of these products, the hand wash retails for $62, while the facial water retails for $55. That’s about double the cost of the otherwise most premium toiletries we see in the airline industry, like Aesop and Molton Brown.
It’s worth mentioning that Qatar Airways is presumably paying nowhere close to retail for these products. This has the potential to be a win-win collaboration — it adds a nice element to Qatar Airways’ premium experience, and it gives Diptyque exposure to a premium customer base.
Diptyque is well known for its candles as well, and it’s a shame that those aren’t a part of this collaboration. Of course that makes perfect sense, since candles and airplanes don’t go well together.
Then again, historically Qatar Airways has had fake candles as part of meal setups in business class, so perhaps they could at least put a Diptyque logo on the fake candles and scent them a bit? 😉
The Qatar Airways table setup (pre-coronavirus)
Why this is totally awesome
Qatar Airways is simply the world’s most elegant airline, particularly in business class. It amazes me the ways in which the airline consistently ups the bar, even when no other airline is trying to compete.
So while United Airlines is trying to cut toothpicks to save $80,000 per year, Qatar Airways is introducing fully vegan menus, along with some really premium toiletries. I love seeing the collaborations that Qatar Airways launches, because they’re often with actually premium brands, which isn’t always the case in the travel industry.
Qatar Airways recently introduced consistent vegan dishes in business class
Scents and fragrances can also play a pretty big role in terms of how we experience and remember travel. This can come in the form of a signature scent in a hotel, lounge, or on a plane, or it can come in the form of toiletries on offer, just to give a couple of examples
Some brands go about this tastefully, taking a “less is more” approach, while Sheraton others, well, go a bit overboard.
Bottom line
Qatar Airways has introduced a new collaboration with Diptyque, as the French luxury brand is now supplying toiletries for business & first class bathrooms on planes and in premium lounges. It doesn’t get much higher end than that.
Obviously this is minor in the grand scheme of things, but the extent to which Qatar Airways continually improves its premium experience delights me.
What do you make of the Qatar Airways & Diptyque partnership?
Can one buy an extra box if you travel business
It's a pity that the amenity kit comes in a cardboard box instead of a collectable pouch!
I guess that's the end of their partnership with Rituals?
i love Dyptique, this is amazing news!! :)
Woaw a 62$ soap !!, after terminating employees and when most of the employees are still under 40% salary deduction and did not get their overtime paid last year for hours already worked. But no worries!! because big amount of money is being injected in other airlines trough shares for long term investement.
Gee, in North America the situation is a bit less luxurious.
Half the Air Canada planes don't have sinks for handwashing in the lavs, so $62 soaps would present a problem
The 737max sprays out such a small/fine mist in its tiny mini sink that one could wash a doll's hands with the soap but not much else.
If you fly American to Hawaii, all the lavs may all be out of order again....
Gee, in North America the situation is a bit less luxurious.
Half the Air Canada planes don't have sinks for handwashing in the lavs, so $62 soaps would present a problem
The 737max sprays out such a small/fine mist in its tiny mini sink that one could wash a doll's hands with the soap but not much else.
If you fly American to Hawaii, all the lavs may all be out of order again. . How quickly can one empty a $62 bottle of soap, and how wide is the base (to use as a...receptacle to refill?)
If you fly Spirit or Frontier, where many seem afraid of soap, the only thing priced anywhere near $62
is the passengers buzz ball alcohol bill (or bail bond installment once kicked off a flight).
You do know that there is a separate line for hotel toiletries right.
Except for Aesop, most other brands for hotels are just mass produced by third parties which arguably differ in quality from their retail line. e.g. Le labo.
@Morgan, It is very Important to have High end stuff in Business Class. If you do not care for them, you are more than welcome to bring your OWN Lux soap & Kirkland Lotion.
People don't fly an airline because of the brands they partner with.
@crosscourt
It’s clearly a bread knife on the left, and the fork on the right is for an amuse bouchée, which is often served with one utensil.
@Saint82
You have to be trolling right? This is a blog about traveling in business and first class cabins + staying in upscale and luxury hotels. What did you expect the discussions to be about?
Is the picture of the first cass table setting transposed as a knife blade should be facing in to the middle, or is someone lefthanded ? Forks are always on the left when laid like that.
Saint82 : you do realize that worrying about airline soap AND worrying about the bigger problems of the world are not incompatible, right? Discussing this doesn't mean that we don't care about the more serious things. Plus as far as I can tell, you're spending a significant amount of energy/time on this thread instead of, you know, the world's 1000 major problems.
@ Saint82:
It is probably just as well that you did not see my rant, a few years ago, about airlines which have 1-ply toilet paper (that or I missed your comment).
But contrary to soap which smells good (Ben even calls it AWESOME...), 1-ply toilet paper can cause lots of problems. I shall not elaborate beyond the fact that my nails are not very short.
I am also using this DEEPLY INTELLECTUAL thread to...
@ Saint82:
It is probably just as well that you did not see my rant, a few years ago, about airlines which have 1-ply toilet paper (that or I missed your comment).
But contrary to soap which smells good (Ben even calls it AWESOME...), 1-ply toilet paper can cause lots of problems. I shall not elaborate beyond the fact that my nails are not very short.
I am also using this DEEPLY INTELLECTUAL thread to agree with Raj: More likely than not, we are seeing the manufacturer offer the soap (for free or with a substantial discount) to QR with the caveat that the $ 62 retail price be publicized. Clever marketing operation...
@Surb
Great suggestions!
I will let them know about your genuine concern and care, when you pull your nose out of the air. You learn something new everyday, and you have taken me to new depths of superficiality I never knew existed, and during a pandemic. There must be a paid for honorary degree out there somewhere for your category. And here I thought that that total preoccupation with only yourself existed only...
@Surb
Great suggestions!
I will let them know about your genuine concern and care, when you pull your nose out of the air. You learn something new everyday, and you have taken me to new depths of superficiality I never knew existed, and during a pandemic. There must be a paid for honorary degree out there somewhere for your category. And here I thought that that total preoccupation with only yourself existed only on TV. Let’s see - hungry children vs soap on a international business class during a pandemic. May I see a show of hands?
I mean, it's good smelling product, but the formulations themselves aren't great. A lot of mineral oils and cheap filler. They focus on scent, not a healthy base.
For the price, I'd rather buy Aesop.
@saint82, welcome to OMAAT, where
readers appreciate discussions about luxury travel, points and the occasional post about airline amenities. Perhaps you visited the wrong site and were instead looking for the Red Cross, MSF, save the children? If so, wonderful, please apply your moral outrage to productive energy on behalf of the world's hungry children.
Wow. You people really need something to worry about. Get real.
The world has 1000 major problems, and you discuss this? Do you realize what rarified and superficial lives you lead? You need to get involved in reality.
Also, it's very likely the very same soap and moisturizer bases that are in vastly cheaper brands. The only thing that's different is a customized scent and the branding on the packaging.
@Ben
Fair. But for me personally SQ is miles ahead of QR.
LX has La Prairie in F; always makes me happy.
Alternate:
Company attempts to price airplane soap at $62 in retail market.
Yes!! We sat in row 1 (near the lav) LAX-DOH a few weeks ago and at one point I turned to my husband and remarked how good something smelled. A flight attendant heard me and said it was the new soap and scent in the restroom. I later looked and it was this! Also saw it at the lounge and showers in DOH. It was divine. Truly.
Oh Please Ben... No soap is AWESOME. You know better than that.
I normally avoid going to the lav on airplanes but I might just visit every single one on my next QR flight to fill up on wonderful overpriced hand soap.
That's pretty cool, I love Diptyque's stuff. Is this just going to be in lounge and plane's bathrooms, or will that be added to the amenity kits too? Would be pretty cool if they did like Singapore Airlines and actually added a candle to in the amenity kits ;).
In terms of expensive skin care offered by airlines, it's hard to beat ANA with the The Ginza Essence set in the F amenity kit (the "full size" one retails for ~ USD 1700).
@ Clem -- This won't be in the amenity kits. And great point about the SQ candles, and the retail price of NH's products!
I have no idea about this brand (I don’t know Jack about skincare products for the most part) but I really did like the smell of their old business class soaps and sprays. I think the brand was ritual. I def doused myself in that facial misting spray every flight I’ve been on with QR. And the shower wash and shampoo was def a super nice smell too. Hopefully these will be as good!
‘Qatar Airways is simply the world’s most elegant airline.’ Just wondering where TK, EK, AF and SQ stand here.
@Ben
I know you are in love with Qatar Airways, but seriously are they sponsoring this post or something?!?!? They partnered with a high end company for soap - such a minor thing, not many people care about and very few people could even notice the difference between say Aesop and Diptyque.
You lambast United for cutting toothpicks, and saving $80K but don't forget Qatar Airways just introduced basic business class which is essentially...
@Ben
I know you are in love with Qatar Airways, but seriously are they sponsoring this post or something?!?!? They partnered with a high end company for soap - such a minor thing, not many people care about and very few people could even notice the difference between say Aesop and Diptyque.
You lambast United for cutting toothpicks, and saving $80K but don't forget Qatar Airways just introduced basic business class which is essentially normal so they just rose all their ticket prices by a couple of hundred dollars each all for nothing, just greed.
@ Morgan -- a) No, obviously it's not sponsored, that would be disclosed if so b) yes it's minor, but personally it's the little stuff that excites me when it comes to passenger experience, and this is the perfect example of that (especially nowadays, when there's not much to get excited about in that regard) c) I totally agree with basic business class, and I think my posts reflect that, as I strongly expressed my opposition to it