The best first-class amenity kits from top airlines, rated and reviewed by the Travel desk
Premium passengers are given all things practical and luxurious on board
Konoly
The envy of passengers during boarding, disembarking and meal service – the premium people at the front of the plane have more to their tickets than fold-out beds and complimentary snacks.
With first-class status often comes additional perks, including pyjamas, slippers and over-the-top amenity kits.
Unzip your kit, and you’ll find collaborations with big-name beauty, fashion and skincare brands from Elemis to Bulgari.
Think everything from the practical – dental sets, earplugs, eye masks and high-end toiletries – to the more extravagant extras, all wrapped up in some sort of posh pouch.
But as social media promotes multi-step skincare routines in your seat, what are airlines actually providing for high flyers?
Our travel desk has analysed the contents of kits from British Airways to Qantas and Emirates to see who offers the ultimate accessories for cabin comfort.
Read more: Revealed: The global airline with the best economy seats
All Nippon Airways
Rating: 3/5
ANA amenity kits come in a pouch created by Ettinger London, a maker of luxury leather goods. The leather-trimmed pouches add a luxurious feel to the kits, which come in various colours and sizes depending on the time of year you fly. In some you will find Sensai skincare products, including a thick face cream and lip treatment, ideal for combating dry cabin skin, as well as body lotion that saturates the skin with moisture. The Sensai packaging is plastic, but is weighty and elegantly designed, furthering that luxury experience. Other kits include Aveda body lotion and a lip balm, but lack some basics such as a toothbrush. One final touch is a tote bag and a leather Ettinger card holder, not necessarily useful on the flight, but a nice touch nonetheless. – Amelia Neath, travel writer
British Airways
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Rating: 3/5
The dark navy suede amenity bag doesn’t shout first-class, but the items inside make up for it. Elemis skincare products such as an exfoliant, eye cream, moisturiser and deodorant, plus a toothbrush and toothpaste, should help anyone arrive feeling fresh. The soft eye mask hopefully ensures you get some rest en route too. – Marc Shoffman, cruise writer
Hers
Rating: 4.5/5
Inside BA’s floral (perfectly reusable) Temperley London bags, an eight-piece mini skincare collection from Elemis really sets the tone for premium air travel. Aside from the long-haul essentials – a toothbrush set, foam earplugs, navy compression socks and a soft velcro eye mask – passengers can cleanse, wipe, mist and moisturise face, hands and armpits for an in-air refresh. Bonus point for the lightweight, soothing pro-collagen eye cream. The branded pen and mirror compact are also nice additions for scribbles and touch-ups before landing.– Natalie Wilson, senior travel writer
Emirates
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Rating: 4/5
This is an amenity kit that stands head and shoulders above most others. Emirates has put together a swanky selection of genuinely useful products that will genuinely improve your in-flight experience. The men’s kit features a selection of mini products from luxury Italian brand Bulgari, alongside the basic necessities like toothbrush and toothpaste, all housed in an attractive faux-leather chestnut brown case. Little luxuries include a 30ml Le Gemme Kobraa fragrance and a Bulgari lip balm, sitting alongside more practical additions like a Gillette razor and Axe mini deodorant. – Annabel Grossman, global travel editor
Hers
Rating: 5/5
Where Emirates cabin crew have perfected the red lip, the airline nails an amenity kit. This champagne leather-feel case would likely become a staple on your vanity, whether you’re keen on its contents or not. But it would be hard to turn your nose up at four generously sized Bulgari toiletries featuring thick hydrating face and body emulsions and a leathery vanilla Le Gemme scent. All can be applied with assistance from the mini gold embossed mirror. Among the included long-haul necessities are tissues, a cleansing towel, foam earplugs, a Colgate toothbrush set and a fruity roll-on deodorant, as well as a durable fold-out comb and frequently forgotten hair tie – essentials for travellers trying to avoid landing in a tangle.– NW
Singapore Airlines
Rating: 3/5
Singapore Airlines is consistently voted among the world's best, in part because of its seriously sleek cabins. Its amenity kit is suitably classic – packaged in a black, leather-look toiletry bag, it’s happily gender neutral. Inside are four neroli-scented items from French luxury brand Lalique, including a body lotion, lip balm, perfumed soap and room spray. The latter is generous at 30ml, but slightly impractical for a flight – I imagine that a cabin enveloped in scented mist would become quite sickly. While the kit is perhaps on the lighter side, the products are high quality, and small touches – such as the clear plastic liquids bag – are appreciated.
– Sophie Dickinson, deputy travel editor
Cathay Pacific
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Rating: 4.5/5
Cathay's grey-and-burgundy first-class amenity kit by British lifestyle and wellness brand Bamford scores points for its high-quality feel and reusability. There’s a good quality zip that feels like it will withstand countless tugs, plus an open front pocket, and a single main compartment that will comfortably hold much more than the included freebies. There is a box of Bamford “grooming department” toiletries — face mist, lip balm and moisturiser — alcohol-free mouthwash by British oral care firm Waken, and a packet containing Waken toothpaste and a sustainable wooden toothbrush. The bag also contains earplugs and a reassuringly soft eye mask. A premium amenity kit for a premium cabin. – Ted Thornhill, US travel editor
Hers
Rating: 3/5
The amenity kit offered by Cathay Pacific in its first and business classes contains all the essentials you’d require for an overnight flight, plus a few added luxuries, packed into an attractive cream or brown travel bag. The sleep mask is made of soft material and fully covers your eyes for complete darkness with an adjustable Velcro band which sits comfortably on the back of your head. Then there’s a 20g toothpaste, a plastic toothbrush, a personal-size mouthwash, basic foam earplugs and cotton pads. It’s the Bamford products that make this amenity kit stand out; encased in glass bottles rather than plastic, travellers can enjoy premium organic skincare with a balancing tonic, moisturiser, eye cream and lip balm – adding a touch of luxe to the flight. – AG
Qantas
Rating: 4/5
Qantas amenities include lightweight unisex pyjamas in a charcoal colour, as well as matching slippers, an eye mask and bamboo socks. There are also earplugs, and a toothbrush and toothpaste, meaning first-class passengers do not need to worry about bringing sleeping essentials in their carry-ons. Australian-owned brand LaGaia is found in the amenity pouch, including a refreshing mist that claims to help battle jet-lag, along with a peppermint lip balm, and a face and hand body cream with amethyst in its ingredients, known for stimulating blood circulation – which is useful when you are sitting for a long time. The cream is a little on the thinner side, however, so it may not hold up a lot of moisture against the dry cabin air. Overall, Qantas has made an amenity kit that is useful during the flight, rather than a glorified gift bag, which some first-class cabins provide. – AN
