Welcome to FT purplezoe! I wouldn't say it's a big deal...lots of frequent fliers collect airline goodies, and so perhaps the pax wanted to add the AA kit to her collection. And you never know, the pax may have forgotten her toothbrush and had to meet some folks immediately after collecting her bags. Better to swipe an amenity kit, endure some cold gazes, but then go to the restroom and brush, and meet her party with minty fresh breath instead of camel breath.

But besides that, the name of the game on FT is to avoid non-premium cabins (and gate checking your rollaboard). So no matter what other pax did, you won ORD-NRT