98 SNAPSHOT A look at the development of amenity kits over the years

Amenity kits Valerian Ho takes a peek inside the amenity kits of yesteryear

Amenity kits are handy items for travellers, especially during long-haul flights, where eyeshades and earplugs can help you get some rest, while moisturiser prevents your skin drying up like an old coconut in the low-humidity cabin.

Airlines have provided amenity kits for almost a century, since commercial flights first took off. You may think that these products might not be as good as what we see now, but the items in these old mystery bags were thoughtfully chosen.

In the late 1920s and 1930s, an amenity kit called an Air Traveller’s Packet was produced for a number of US carriers including American Airlines, consisting of a paper bag with Bauer & Black absorbent cotton balls to lessen the noise from the screaming old piston engines. To combat the rapid changes of air pressure during take-off and landing, a packet of Wrigley’s chewing gum was also included.

Back in the 1950s Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) offered The President Special amenity kit for first class travellers. It didn’t have chewing gum, but offered a toothbrush, toothpaste, old-style double-edged Gillette shaver and shaving cream. Housed in a cylindrical metal case, it was available on flights from New York to London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. In the 1960s, the airline began offering perfume to female first class passengers, and cologne and aftershave to the gentlemen.

The Pan Am Historical Foundation’s Doug Miller says he’s not sure when the airline’s first amenity kit was produced but suspects it goes back to the days of the airline’s flying boats, which were introduced in 1938. He recalls passenger accounts that the first Pan Am stewardesses, introduced in 1945, provided similar items that we now see in kits “a la carte”.

In 1978, Delta Air Lines introduced its first kits on transatlantic flights from Atlanta to London Gatwick. The package included a washcloth, comb, toothbrush and toothpaste, sewing kit, packet of hand lotion, pillows and an emery board encased in a small white vinyl pouch decorated with Delta’s London inaugural floral emblem. The emblem was created from the following symbols: (centre) dogwood blossom of Atlanta and the southeastern US; (clockwise from top) tudor rose of England; thistle of Scotland; shamrock of Ireland; and the leek for Wales.

Amenity kits are still evolving, and many airlines not only provide essential items such as dental kits, eye masks and socks but also partner with high-end brands to offer something a little more special. Singapore Airlines recently teamed up with Signorina by Salvatore Ferragamo to offer passengers hand cream, lip balm and fragrance, while ANA has collaborated with Samsonite on a luggage-design amenity case stocked with Ginza Cosmetics skincare products.