I’ve fallen in love with some first class amenity kits over time, from Singapore Airlines to Asiana to Thai Airways. Business class amenity kits are usually far more pedestrian, from the bags themselves to their contents. Still, there are sometimes kits which are quite fun. Before the pandemic, when Delta was more of a premium airline inflight, their last amenity kit was Tumi with a couple of Le Labo items inside.

Air Canada has introduced a new Acqua di Parma amenity kit, a thoughtful premium brand choice.

Acqua di Parma strikes me as a premium brand for a business class amenity kit. But two things struck me as I opened it up.

1. There’s actually not very much in the kit, considering the size of the bag. There’s room for more ‘stuff’.

2. There’s not very much Acqua di Parma inside. They’re a top Italian fragrance brand, so the collaboration might have been an opportunity to include one.

Here’s what Air Canada has been distributing in business class before now.

Honestly, the new kit – branding aside – seems quite similar to the old one. And it’s missing some key items in my opinion.

Key elements of an amenity kit are:

• Useful inflight items. A good kit ought to include toothpaste and toothbrush; comb; tissues; hand sanitizer; perhaps cologne; a pen (too many countries still require paper forms); mouth wash; moisturizer; chap stick; body lotion.

• Premium brand partnership. Singapore Airlines always stood out to me for large-sized amenities, not just small sample sizes. For years they offered Ferragamo, hard to pick a more premium name. I really liked Ferragamo Tuscan Soul. Full-sized premium items are great for my home guestroom bath. I think Acqua di Parma qualifies, certainly as a top choice for business class.

• A useful premium bag as a takeaway. Not only is it a reminder of the flight, but it’s a cool giveaway that leads to telling stories about the flight and airline to loved ones at all, both spreading the word about the product and reinforcing positive emotions about the airline. For many years I used an ANA first class amenity kit as my shaving bag. For the past two years I’ve used an old Cathay Pacific one.

In my view, though, the place where Air Canada can stand the greatest improvement in their business class soft product is their bedding. Fortunately I believe they know this and I hope we’ll see progress there soon.