What do you use amenity kit pouches for?
 

When I got my first business class amenity kit, I felt a bit special. Later, having collected quite a few, it doesn't quite feel as special anymore. Most of them tend to be of a decent quality pouch, the AY paper bag from a few years bag being the notable exception. I have used a few as carry on bag organizers and given a few away for my friends who don't travel quite as extensively. Any other creative ideas on how to re-purpose these for something useful?

My kids use them as penaalis :) and I use them for travel chargers cables etc plus foreign coins.

The mari mekko ones are quite popular amongst my friends unfortunately for them I dont fly Finnair as often as other airlines. I really liked the ones TP gives out in the sardine can variety 😂

penaalis, cables, cosmetics, travel accessories - you just name it. though once did a shoutout to my network - it took minutes to "get rid of them" - was amazed myself

I leave them in the airplane.

My standard travel electronics accessory kit (cables, chargers, different plug tips, small battery,) lives in a LX F kit. A QR F kit serves as my travel "cosmetics" kit - everything that doesn't go into the 1L plastics bag. Some QF C kits hold assorted gizmos and other small-stuff-that-otherwise-would-be-lost-in-no-time. Mrs W uses several different Marimekko ones for her different beauty products (I will someday crack the code what goes into which one)

I/we gave away quite a few Marimekko ones and they were popular.

Very similar use for me. One is for power plug adaptors, a Marimekko one. The Finnair ones are too small for many things, so I have a QR one with semi sturdy walls for pocket router, 4G dongle, selection of USB cables and a short TP-cable. A few of them make excellent use as Montessori materials for toddlers.

I also use a 2009 Finnair one as my general toilet bag.
Last usage is to keep them in a drawer and annoy the hell out of SO everytime I bring a new one home... Well, well, these days I tend to leave them in the plane unless there is a new formfactor/design I like or there is a contents I can use at destination.

I just stack them in our bathroom to annoy the missus.

I have been using the old Air Canada one for YEARS to hold my shooting glasses and cleaning cloth. It could have been DESIGNED for that purpose!!!

I just leave in the plane nowadays. There's nothing in them that I either need or don't already have in better quality.

I give them to my kids or put it in the charity collection bins. I had a nice Etihad shoulder bag one that lasted a few years for keeping passports/documents when travelling, eventually it wore out so I now use an emirates brown leather one. But as pointed out above, they are all pretty cheap quality.

What do you use amenity kit pouches for?
 

Airline amenity kits. If you've packed your carry-on thoughtfully, you may not need an extra eye mask or socks, but the amenity kit is still very much a part of the premium air travel experience

A protip for Finnair corporate shills reading this forum (haha as if they cared that much..); Let lesser than plats choose a free trough-the-flight internet over the amenity kit. Save money and the planet.

Or no kits as such but offer the items individually. If I only want earplugs and the sleeping mask, why do they give me a complete bag.

I leave the empty bags on the plane.

They've tried individual offerings and I don't think it works well. The barf-bag held only few items and rest on request, and it was not a hit. For a while, they kept individual items in toilets which is a good solution for some kind of items, less so for others.

Offering individually (like upon request or from a tray service) also takes time from CC and I'd rather see they use that time on PDB, collecting coats and making sure customers are comfortably seated. And after take-off, getting drink/meal service going is probably the highest prio.

Weird or not, I keep mine for years. On the road they hold cables and dongles, chargers, thumb drives, my voice recorder, razor and small grooming items, etc. At home they store foreign currency, office supplies, business cards, etc. I have 10 or 12 in active use and a whole liquor box more on standby. :)

If travelling to Japan, definitely take the kit and hand it out as small gift that is often a respected courtesy

I use the DL Tumi kits as well as the LH kits as cable organizers and what not, the AY ones I simply have laying around in my closet just in case. If a guest staying overnight happens to forget their toothbrush I hand them one of the kits as I don't need that many of them. I carry my toiletries in a ziplock bag for obvious reasons, which would be an innovative idea to provide the pouch in a durable transparent material to re use while going thru security.

I give them to our local women's shelter....they get many each year and are so very thankful---most women show up with nothing but the clothes on their backs with their kids!

“You put your weed in it.”

I use a LH F kit as a compact toiletry bag (after losing OZ F and VN J kits which formerly did the job) and UA Polaris pouches for cables. I have a few LX Victorinox tins that are on standby for miscellaneous use.

I have a (DL) amenity kit in my camera bag with memory cards, lens cleaner, batteries, and charger.
I have used a (JAL) amenity kit for my dopp kit on a quick weekend trip (big enough for a toothbrush, razor, shave soap and brush).

I've got a few soft pouch ones from AF, EK & AA - most of them are unused but I always use at least one to hold my cables/chargers. I don't always use packing cubes (depends on nature of the trip) but when I do, I often find odd little uses for a couple extra pouches in my checked bag.

DL at one point had a great little rigid case from Tumi that would've been perfect for cables. I didn't grab it on the outbound flight because I thought I'd just get it on the return, and it wasn't the same one.

FI at one point had these ridiculously big hard plastic cases meant to resemble basalt columns. Even though I was just traveling with 1 carry-on I made sure to cram one from each way into my bag as they were just so odd & unique. I use one to store international coins I pick up along my travels.

SK used to have some 10+ years ago a genius solution - two identical pouches with zippers, velcroed together, one of which was transparent. I still have one in the car (yet another usage) Then thy developped away the concept :(

I have one from Qantas that works perfectly for my Garmin GPS and accessories.

^ An easy way to do something very nice!




BTW, did we get featured on some list again? A lot of NA friends ended up in these remote parts of the woods to comment on the second life for amenity kits. What are the odds?

This. Works surprisingly well too.

The thread seems to be on the Trending Threads list on the front page of Flyertalk forums.

Regarding the question: keep travel stuff in them and give the extras away. Some people actually sell these on Facebook flea markets too, for like 10 euros a piece.

I guess this best describes my use of amenity kit bags: to store various small items both at home and while travelling.

I also keep items available for overnighting friends so they can brush their teeth or shave in the morning, etc.

The moisturizers and lip balms I use myself, as well as the mouthwash whenever there's some included (thumbs up, AA!).

The sas shoe bag makes an excellent dirty underwear bag

On occasion even airline PJs saved the day (or to be correct, the night) with unexpected overnight guest.

I work at an adult school, as a counselor to mostly low income single mothers. I add feminine hygiene products to the bags and keep a basket full of them along with the toiletries I get from hotels. My students love them. Really helps with the pink tax.

I finally got to use the pouches themselves a few when I traveled to East Africa and had to use something other than plastic bags I normally use for various small items! I donated a couple of shopping bags full after Katrina and have been accumulating a alrge batch for eventual donation to a shelter.

With so many needy people who can desperately use items from amenity kits-whether it be homeless shelters, women in domestic abuse shelters, orphanages, etc, surely there should be some way to get major airlines to NOT throw away partially emptied kits and recycle items for those in need. No problem with them taking back kits that have not been opened-that is wise.
I save all items that I don't use from amenity kits, plus the bags and unused hotel toiletries and bring them back home. People are SO grateful for these items and it costs me nothing to drop them off.
The next time you are tempted to leave an amenity kit on the plane-opened or not, please consider putting it to use for someone else if you can.
Thank you.

I work abroad, so when I land, I stow it away in my hand luggage for onward travel. Handy if I'm stuck somewhere and need to use it.

Though on my return leg home I pack that one in my hold luggage, and take the new one as well when flying back business, and add both in the slowly increasing gaggle of the other ones at home.

The KLM ones seem good. Though I was surprised at getting one when I flew Air France Premium Economy.

This topic has got me thinking, when I finish work today I shall have to check I picked up the last one from my KLM flight as I normally stow them in my hand luggage on auto-pilot.

They'll come in use at some point, though I think my wife has ear marked them for jewllery!

Ahh....might be perfect for stowing whisky minitures on a trip :-)

I am finally able to fit all my toiletries in one Lan Air pouch and one 1 qrt zip lock bag. Years ago Lan had the most wonderful kits. Different one for each segment. One was perfect for iPad. AF soft bag is perfect for travel medicines and cables.

These days the kits are collected and donated to homeless shelters except for a few favorites. They are always a big hit at the shelters. I have been tempted to pickup those left behind but never did. I wish the airlines would collect them and donate them instead of sending them to the landfill.

Good to know about this Ilove2fly. Which airlines do this if you happen to know?
I always hear a plea for those with spare currency to donate it but I am unaware if any airlines ask for unused amenity kit items. Probably a logistical issue as long haul flights need to be cleaned and turned around and I doubt cleaners have time to separate those items out. But at the least there could be a bin on the jetbridge for deplaning passengers to toss in unused items? Could be a "feel good" promotion for airlines with minimal effort on their part. Would be an easy thing to take those bins landslide for various charities?
Any thoughts on how this could be a really good worldwide effort?
Thank you

A small DL Tumi one for my travel cords, plugs, and cards (Priority Pass, etc.) Stuff I need on every trip.
I've given away a lot of them. I don't really like the DL ones all that much.
But I use a TK one for my non-liquid toiletries.
And I really love the colorful AF one. I store my hair clippers and attachments in it! I wish I could schedule another Biz AF trip . . . .

That brings back memories. I took the Finnair logo and put in my keychain. It has been there since, about 8 years

I put my switch in one, go pro in one. Wife use it for cosmetics, Mum uses it as second wallet for coins and other cards. Give it to friends & family.
and rest are at home collecting dust.

Especially TK but also RJ have always surprised me with their inconsistency of the kit. They have always been high quality, luxury branded kits, but on each and every leg different. One Jaguar branded (yes, the car maker!) from TK found new life as my Mom's tablet pouch (perfect for a 10'' tablet, weird size & shape for amenity kit)