Amenity Kits

Being of a certain age I was brought up to never ask for anything that I did not intend to either eat or use (I think that makes sense). In one of our cupboards we have a selection of a couple of dozen kits of varying contents which remain unused. We have even pulled out all the tooth brushes incase we have unexpected overnight guests, no takers todate though.
My point being do we need these kits. I for one take onboard everything I think I may need during the flight in my carry-on. Are they just a gimmick/waste of money/waste of resources.[:?]

[mcmbenjamin]

I agree. After the first one or two they serve little reason most of the time. I do support the idea of a 'FreedomKit' where UC peeps AND PE peeps can request items that they need ranging from mints, blinders, toothblushes, notepads, etc. That way there would be less waste. Also they could ask if you want a gift and have a choice between two male and two female aimed 'gifts.' No more stupid-a** luggage tags.

[Bazz]

Originally posted by Tony T
...Are they just a gimmick/waste of money/waste of resources.[:?]

Where to start... Gimmick, well possibly but if your competitors do them and you customers expect them... Waste of money, well yes - ours! Waste of resources... undoubtedly, but VS have to be there unless and until there is a major shift in pax expectations (don't hold your breath!).

Benjamin.
Your suggestion is spot on, I could live with that idea. A token gift in upper class which is gender specific would be spot on, or even a Virgin wine voucher for loyalty would be more use to the average traveller.

Bazz.
If you were booking a flight I am certain the last thing which made you decide which airline to book would be the availability/quality of an amenity kit. I would rather have better food. Looking forward to the riverboat trip, can't wait to see a lot of the new faces;)

If they take anything else out of the kit there will be nothing left to give out but an empty bag soon. Remember the smints the lip balm the little duckie

Also Im sure I remember using the bag for my swimming kit- be hard pushed to fit a Towel in the outbound kit now!

[mcmbenjamin]

Originally posted by Tony T
Benjamin.
A token gift in upper class which is gender specific would be spot on, or even a Virgin wine voucher for loyalty would be more use to the average traveller.

Prefect idea Tony with the Virgin Wine voucher. Cheap to store in the aircraft (weight-wise and to print) but have good bit of value to most people. Maybe VS should give out 12.50 quid off and 750 bonus miles on your next Virgin Wine purchase. Only problem is only UK based people could use it......But I like the idea.

[Bazz]

Originally posted by Tony T
...Looking forward to the riverboat trip, can't wait to see a lot of the new faces;)

Everything is taken care of now Tony! Well, everything except the Amenity Kits...

[preiffer]

I like the wine voucher idea. They did once tie-in the wines onboard with those available to buy on virginwines.com/upperclass, from memory. Unfortunately, that idea died.

Bazz.
I dont want to go of topic but does the boat have a chair lift to help Michael get down below or will we have to catch him again this year[:p].
Benjamin. Forget £12.50, if you are paying £2,000+ for a flight I'm certain a voucher for a bottle of champers wouldn't break the bank. Also think of the majority of VA customers who are not using their wine outlet, what a great way of boosting both companies.

[Bazz]

I think you can still buy VS UC wines on the Virgin Wine website ocasionally, they just don't promote it. Sometimes when you click for further details it tells you the wine was listed in UC on VAA.

I love the luggage tags--it's the cufflinks and key fobs that boggle me. Now a nice pair of VS earrings....

[:I] rr

[Decker]

They're basically an airborne lucky bag, no? Same sense of excitement as you tear them open, same sense of disappointment as you see the contents. In fairness I have used most of the contents a couple of times recently. I think some good ideas in this thread though - certainly food for thought.

I love my Oswald Boateng cufflinks!

[Decker]

Yes but how many pairs can you wear? . I'm not really a big fan of swivel back cuff-links. Up there with pre-made bow ties for me.

Originally posted by Decker
Yes but how many pairs can you wear? . I'm not really a big fan of swivel back cuff-links. Up there with pre-made bow ties for me.

Oh, I love it! Cuff-link snobbery!!!

Sorry Decker mate, only kidding!

[McCoy quietly avoids mentioning his custom silver cuff-links by Ola Gorie of Orkney. [:I]]

[Decker]

'Sok after posting it I blushed and considered retracting 'cos it is a bit snobby. But I do feel that they're a bit down market really. Infra dig and all that. So no offence intended to OP but I believe it's another VS Marketing mis-shot. Like I mentioned elsewhere the use of "Pardon" on the UC Earplugs is also a bit infra.

Of course it could be that this is the intended demographic.

Sorry if this goes on a bit, didnt look so long in preview [B)]
Waste of money ? Yes / No ..
If airline is paying out for all these products, then it maybe is a waste of money, however - do Virgin (or any airline for that matter) actually pay anything for many of these items?
Perhaps some of the items like toothbrush they might - but what of the other "branded" items... do they pay, or are they provided "free" by the companies on an advertising type basis...
Indeed with the branded items airlines "give away" - how many of these are they actually paid to give away.

If I had a more specilist business /brand , paying an airline to effectively put some free samples into their UC/1st/business/etc sections could surely save me a bit of money on media advertising - with the added benefit that the potential customer is going to have a sample product in their hands. Ideal perhaps for a business who is concerned that TV/Radio/Press advertising wont draw in new customers.
If my business is, say, bespoke clothing and I can charge £500 upwards for handmade suits/jackets/etc, its more likely a UC/1st/etc customer will buy vs a Y pax ... I know that this is not always the case, many in UC etc are honeymooners who have splashed out, whilst some will travel in Y because they refuse to pay the etc for UC even if they wouldnt miss the money... You get the idea though...

Ive had the same notions re: certain hotels for a while ... stayed in one 1-2 years ago where the exec.rooms had L'Occitane products ... Whilst I was away of the brand, was something Id never seen fit to splash out on before. A short while later I saw an outlet & decided to treat the wife (ok, myself [:I]) to a couple of things. Had I not sampled the products for free, its most likely wouldnt have bought.
Which reminds me about the Manuka Honey based handwash I bought last year after flying ANZ...[xx(]

How many UC pax have bought /considered buying something from OB as a result of the free cufflinks/keyring etc ?
How many people were aware of OB before the cufflinks/keyring , how many have become aware since?

In flight advertising was an area of advertising suggested to me 6 or so years ago when I was starting my own business... captive audience with 2/3/4/5/6 etc hours to pass. Obviously pre-MP3, pre-inflight power for laptops as well as inferior IFE in most planes - but nevertheless, how many people get through a flight without at least 1 flick through the inflight magazine? How many pax will get through a flight without checking through the amenity kits & perhaps using some of the products (either on plane / once they get home)

Unwanted unused items can be left behind on your seat and will be recycled.
VS even had an advert advertising the Y/W kits:
http://www.creativejunction.com/site/in ... =2&Page=53

Ouch! I would never wear them with my DJ and hand tied bow tie - just with my Simpson socks and novelty tie.

[Decker]

Phew [y]

williestott.
you have made an excellent point about the advertising value of the amenity kits, but (there's always a but)if I am totally honest most of the contents are cheap tat, i.e. pens, pads, shoe horns etc. So VA and other carriers are missing out on that side of the deal. The best part about the bag handed out in Y on VA is that it is usable for other items as previously stated. That does work.

Originally posted by Decker
Phew [y]

[:p]

How many UC pax have bought /considered buying something from OB as a result of the free cufflinks/keyring etc ?

Now Oswald makes some natty suits and being a fan of what's inside that counts I love the linings ... that said, the OB stuff in the kit is c**p so if anything it turned me off the good stuff! It's all brand and marketing, nothing wrong with that though.

On the OP, I am a great believe in the basket of stuff and help yourself to what you need - to my mind that could reduce waste, but also offer a better and broader selection of useful things. Better quality eye shades in cashmere ... La Prairie skin moisturizer! I dream

[:p]

We were not impressed with the UC kit this year.
Both the good lady and myself got cufflinks on the way out[n].
At a pinch I can understand cufflinks for a fellow, although I don't use them myself, but cufflinks for a lady, that I don't understand.

To make things worse, we both got exactly the same kits on the way home[:?][n].
Now we have 4 sets of cufflinks that we do not use.
At the very least it would be nice if VS gave out a different kit on outward and inward flights.

For UC I'd rather VS spend their money on a couple of bottles of wine for the fellows and a big bunch of flowers for the ladies.
Gifts delivered the day after you get home with a nice message thanking you for flying VS.