Originally Posted by
andrewk829
I am always amazed by how excited people get about business class amenity kits . . . evidenced here by a 129-post thread on the matter. I suspect most people flying international business class are in a financial situation that would enable them to purchase trial sized tubes of toothpaste, as well as lip balm, ear plugs, and eye shades. The contents of an amenity kit can likely be purchased for perhaps $10 at your local Target, maybe as high as $15 if you want the best of the best brands of lip balm or skin cream. Most dentists give you a free toothbrush and little toothpaste tube when you go in for a checkup. Various items can also be pilfered from your next hotel stay.
While yes I could afford to buy lotion and ill-fitting socks, I have to admit I assign disproportionate value to the little tubes of toothpaste, given the need for small toothpaste containers to be able to get through security with carry-on bags only. And the Delta amenity kit ones are particularly nice, since they're big enough to get a week or so of brushing out of them, whereas some airline amenity kits have the smaller containers that only contain maybe 2-3 servings. I hoard those toothpaste tubes (as well as the ones I get at the dentist every 6 months!) obsessively. Indeed my travel lately has been mostly domestic and sadly amenity-kit-free, and I am burning through mini toothpastes at an alarming rate. And so since my life experience has taught me that the only way to replenish them is on $6000 international business class tickets or through needing dental work, as far as I can tell they really are quite expensive to procure.
