New amenity kits coming to United premium cabins on August 1 (Photo: Kim Grimes)
United is upgrading amenity kits for Global First and Business First class passengers starting August 1. (Scroll down to see the current version)
The carrier is joining together with Cowshed Spa (part of the posh London-based Soho House) with a new line of organic skin care products you’ll see in the new kits, in first and biz class lavs, and at United Club locations and other lounges around the world.
The new kits are nice, but contain the standard items you’d expect such as socks and an eye mask (both with a blue on blue design), tissue, ear plugs, a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss. Nothing out of the ordinary….
What did we like most? The built in hook which makes it easier to see and access items in the kit in the bathroom… and makes it re-usuable as a toilet kit for traveling.
Scroll down to see where nearly all the ingredients come from…
United sent a pair of the new kits to TravelSkills and we took some pictures of what you get.
Here’s the first class kit, which is slightly larger, but contains more or less the same items found in the business class kit.
United’s first class amenity kit (Photo: Kim Grimes)
And below is the business class kit. Can you tell much difference?
United business class amenity kit (Photo: Kim Grimes)
Both kits feature a cool blue interior with mesh pockets.
A close up of the nifty hook and branded pull tabs:
Global first class kits come with a useful hanger on top and large zipper tabs on pocket for ease of use (Photo: Kim Grimes)
Extra exterior pocket on the first class kit (Photo: Kim Grimes)
The extra pocket on the back of the Global First class kit is handy for storing extra items during flight.
Soft and stylish no-slip socks come in both amenity kits for your comfort. (Photo: Kim Grimes)
Even tho Cowshed sounds veddy British, nearly everything in the bag is from China
Here’s a look at the current business class amenity kit United is offering… it has a PGA theme (sponsored by Bridgestone) and includes golf balls, tees and colorful tartan socks.
United’s current PGA kit bag doubles as a shoe bag (Photo: United)
What’s the coolest kit you’ve ever received from an airline? How important are amenity kits in your purchase decision? Please leave your comments below.
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While an amenity kit is never going to influence my choice of flight – I do enjoy receiving them and checking out the little goodies that are included. I always use the socks and toothbrush and the bags are actually pretty useful for cables, chargers and trinkets after the flight. As for United – their kits have always seemed competitive with their competitors – I don’t really care if there is a designer name on the bag – most actually come from the same supplier anyway.
This just proves one thing, that Americans will put up with any thing these dopey US airlines dish out to them. This is an improvement? What the? And shame on UA for even thinking this is an improvement, it’s still miles behind the rest of the world’s carriers. Hey UA people, try the middle eastern carriers and see how they do it. LOL
Amenity kits. I typically dump everything out and use them for cable and storage bags. The socks always make me wonder. Why not do what the Asian carriers do and supply a pair of slippers. I still wouldn’t walk on a sticky lavatory floor with socks.
all-aisle access seats are not a factor when I make decisions about which airline to fly. I couldn’t care less as long as the seat is flat. My favorite is United’s 2-4-2 configuration because the seats are long, and very soft. I don’t mind being in the middle. It’s not hard to step over somebody if you’re in decent shape.
Putting in all-aisle-access would also greatly reduce the number of award and upgrade seats, as it has on American.
All the items in the amenity kits could be purchased for about $8 at your local Walgreens. I’ve never been clear on why people get so excited about amenity kits.
I just flew United Business First home from Frankfurt and was mystified by the PGA-themed amenity kit. Do we really need golf tees and divot-repair tools? And those hideous plaid socks were too small, which was a major disappointment to me. I like taking my shoes off for 12-hour flights, and it’s nice to wear disposable socks on sticky lavatory floors. Otherwise it was a lovely flight, though.
I get these amenity kits all the time, and except for the socks I have never used anything in them.
My recommendation to United is to save your money on these inconsequential “upgrades” and invest in reconfiguring your business class seats for long haul flights. The concept of stepping over fellow business class passengers on 14-18 hr flights is ludicrous, and is the reason I refuse to fly United outside of the US. No amount of Chinese-made lip balm will change my mind on that.
Anyone who says amenity kits are important factors in their purchasing decisions… They are off their rockers and need to get their priorities in check. Just saying.