New AA Amenity Kits Prompts a Perusal Through Gift Bag’s History

As American Airlines prepares to refresh its onboard offerings, amenity kits from by-gone eras reveal the evolution of the pampered passenger. 

Late last week, American Airlines announced that it is revamping its amenity kits to include offerings from 3LAB Skincare, C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries and Clark’s Botanicals. While these new kits will be crammed with high-end goodies, swanky lotions and potions haven’t always been the norm for airline amenity packs.

Road Warriors Voices explores the early days of flight, when amenities weren’t so much intended to pamper but meant to provide protection against tough cabin conditions. The 1930s and 1940s saw amenity kits at their most basic, with Trans World Airlines (TWA) handing out chewing gum and cotton balls to passengers to alleviate the unpleasant effects of flying in an unpressurized environment.

However, by the 1950s, things had become a bit more civilized, with some airlines even providing pajamas to travelers, a nice little touch that’s still carried on by Delta today.

But this decade marked the beginning of the amenity kit as recognized by today’s travelers. Before the era of liquid allowances and security alerts, these packs, referred to as Remain Over Night or R.O.N. kits, contained items such as brass razors and shaving cream.

Refinements continued into the ’60s and ’70s as carriers thought up new ways to make passengers more comfortable on long flights. Sewing kits, combs, nail files and the obligatory tiny tube of toothpaste were all common additions to kits during this era.

Heading into the 1980s, Northwest Airlines issued passengers with small bottles of cologne and, worryingly, packs of matches.

In the 1990s, Delta filled its kits with lip balm, toothpaste, mouthwash, aromatherapy towelettes and another very era-appropriate item: a CD case. But cue the new millennium and the carrier had moved on, swapping the novelty CD case for those good old-fashioned travel standbys: socks, tissues and hand cream.

While American is getting ready to reveal its refreshed kit, it’s not the only airline to up its game in the amenity stakes. After all, JetBlue passengers have been pampered with shaving oil and mascara for years now and with ever more elaborate kits on offer, these packs are just part and parcel of keeping pretty in the sky.