It’s common to see airlines providing amenity kits in first and business class, when traveling on long haul flights. I’m not typically an amenity kit hoarder — if I don’t use the contents, I usually donate them to shelters, where they can at least get good use.
While clearing something out of my closet this morning, I was reminded of my favorite amenity kits we’ve ever seen. I’m sad these are no longer offered on any airlines, but want to talk about them briefly, as it’s a fun throwback.
Some airlines used to offer Rimowa amenity kits
Rimowa is of course one of the most popular, premium luggage brands out there. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Rimowa, since I don’t like spinner bags. However, I absolutely adored how back in the day, several airlines offered Rimowa amenity kits in premium cabins.
I’d say that this peaked in the early 2010s, and at the time, we saw these offered in first class on select flights of All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, and Thai Airways, as well in business class on select flights of EVA Air. It’s normal to see individual airlines have brand collaborations for amenity kits, but it was interesting to see multiple airlines essentially providing the same kits.
I was always curious as to how that came to be. Is it a coincidence that all four airlines are Star Alliance, or did they somehow collaborate on this? These are honestly the only amenity kits that I’ve kept over the years, and I have a couple of baskets of them.
Not only were these kits available with the logos of various airlines…
…but each airline also had kits in multiple colors, so you could really develop a collection of each.
This was from the “good old days” of award redemptions, so I can’t even say how many of these I picked up on roundtrip US to Asia via Europe Aeroplan first class awards, which cost 120,000 miles roundtrip at the time, with two stopovers allowed along the way. Ah, fun times!
I love when airlines create collectible items
Nowadays there aren’t any airlines that provide Rimowa amenity kits, though I sure do love when airlines create some sort of product that frequent travelers may like to collect. I’m not someone who likes to keep things just for the sake of hoarding, but it’s also fun to have a nice memory of an experience, especially if you can collect something in a cohesive way.
I’d say these Rimowa amenity kits are perhaps the third most collectible thing we’ve seen from airlines over the years, after Lufthansa’s first class ducks and KLM’s Delft Blue houses.
Bottom line
Going back around a decade, several Star Alliance airlines offered Rimowa amenity kits to premium passengers. Not only were these among the coolest amenity kits out there, but I loved the consistency between airlines, so that you could really create a collection.
Any OMAAT readers remember these Rimowa amenity kits?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.