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If you’ve flown in Air France Premium Economy or Business Class this month you may have noticed that the airline has refreshed two of its onboard amenity kits for the second half of the year (I haven’t heard about any changes to the First Class offering).
The new amenity kits debuted on flights back on 1 July and they will be offered onboard through 31 December 2018.
Air France says that the new kits have been designed so that they’re “real gifts to take home after [a] trip” and that “they have been carefully designed to offer customers a unique and refined object, signed with the accent, the symbol of the Air France brand”
Now that the first bit of PR speak is out of the way here’s what you can expect onboard (but standby for more PR nonsense):
Premium Economy
What Air France says:
With a casual and electric design, this new creation with a chic and sporty look breaks free from the more traditional codes. With its pouch format, modern fabric and draw ties, the kit has been designed for travellers in perpetual motion. Soft and adjustable, it comes in two colours: grey and blue.
I have no idea what a traveler “in perpetual motion” would look like but I’m getting tired just imagining what that may be – why do press releases always have to include at least a on line of absolute drivel thought up by someone with too much time on their hands?
Anyway….
The new kit contains the following:
- Headphone covers
- Earplugs
- A toothbrush and toothpaste
- A pair of socks
- A night mask
Nothing particularly exciting on the inside but at least the bag itself is a little different.
Business Class
What Air France says:
Sleek and sophisticated, the new Business kit stands out with its elegant wallet format. Available in four colours, red, navy blue, turquoise blue and aubergine, it is made from a very soft rubber fabric for a refined effect and closes with an elegant, smooth and shiny flap. The Air France accent is also elegantly embossed on the front and the inside of the kit. It is printed in the same colour as the outside of the kit, printed on a dark blue lining.
Last time I checked “aubergine” (a.k.a eggplant) was a vegetable and not a color but I won’t dwell on that too long….although I will note that no one ever calls the color red “tomato” or the color orange “carrot” so why is purple “aubergine” and not just “purple”?
Anyone care to venture an answer?
Moving on…
The new Business Class kits contain the following:
- A pen with the Accent
- A hand cleansing gel
- A microfiber wipe
- A pack of three tissues.
- Clarins moisturizing cream
- A Clarins lip balm
- A complete dental hygiene kit
- A night mask
- Earplugs
That’s a little better. A microfibre wipe is genuinely useful (I’m always getting my MacBook screen dirty and I never have a cloth to clean it) and I’m going to assume that a lot of people will enjoy the Clarins products too.
I’m mildly amused that Air France feels the need to state that it’s offering a “complete” dental hygiene kit (do other airlines offer incomplete hygiene kits?) but that may just be my slightly warped sense of humor.
Going back to the Clarins products for a moment, Air France is very keen to highlight its partnership with the cosmetics giant:
To guarantee passengers even more comfort, Air France and Clarins accompany them at every stage of their trip. As soon as they arrive at the airport, they have free access to Clarins® treatment areas in the Air France Business lounges. During their flight, in the Business cabin, in addition to the Clarins® moisturizing cream and lip balm in the comfort kit offered to each customer, the energizing water and the pure cleansing water from the French cosmetics brand are available on a self-service basis until they reach their destination. All this special attention ensures passengers a truly indulging experience in this exceptional cabin.
That’s actually pretty cool – I like that Air France has a partnership with a well-regarded French cosmetics company just as I like the Australian Aspar toiletries found in Qantas First class lounges.
Bottom Line
Some airlines do amenity kits better than others (especially when it comes to the bags which carry the amenities) and Air France definitely has some of the better offerings.
If anyone has flown Air France very recently and been given one of the new kits let us know what it was like in the comments blow – thanks!
