Some airlines use premium bath amenities in their lavatory as part of signaling their quality product. For instance when I flew Etihad earlier this year they were using Le Labo in first class and Acca Kappa in the Residence. I’ve had Ferragamo Tuscan Soul in Singapore Airlines first class.
Usually the best stuff is confined to amenity kits, though, and not the lavatories. And certainly not the lavatories in coach.
American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Premium Economy Lavatory
However starting today American Airlines is rolling out C.O. Bigelow lemon foaming hand soap across all of their aircraft (and not just mainline, but Eagle also) and in all classes of service. American expects the new soap rollout to be complete mid- to late-month. (American started offering C.O. Bigelow in their international business class amenity kits at the beginning of the year.)
Credit: American Airlines
I tried C.O. Bigelow bath amenities for the first time on my very first stay at the Andaz 5th Avenue in New York six years ago.
Toiletry brands often offer their products at a deep discount to hotels (Marriott spends about $25 million a year across all of their properites) in order to introduce them to guests who will associate them with their stay, and bring them home to use. Hyatt actually encourages you to steal theirs.
American’s new lavatory soap isn’t packaged to steal. But since the better soaps are available in every cabin, coach passengers won’t even need to use the first class lavs. Now if only they’d install Boeing’s self-cleaning lavs…
I’ve seen C.O. Bigelow products in some Admirals Clubs and it’s nice to see the relationship being expanded. Some Kimpton properties also use C.O. Bigelow amenities.
Ultimately, I think it’s just good marketing on the part of both companies, but with limited actual benefits to customers. I can’t imagine that these “name brand” soaps really cost hotels and airlines that much, nor do I think they are that much a step up from the no name hospitality products. Take a close look and most of the hotel toiletries are made in China and are not necessarily formulated the same as what you’d get in retail stores here in the US. (The hospitality formulations are generally all chemicals with almost no naturally derived ingredients.)
What makes this product “premium?”
I use the CO Bigelow shave cream (with brush) that I pick up at Bath & Body Works. Good stuff, though made by another company and just has a Bigelow name attached. About the only hotel “stuff” that matches what I find in retail stores is L’Occitane. The rest (and likely at AA) is just, IMO, contract product mass produced in China. Read the fine print on the packaging. Which is why I take my own shampoo when I travel.
Uh … it’s soap. That some people are impressed by having “premium bath amenities” at their disposal likely tells one much more about the person than the product.
Why is this news? Nothing else going on? You could have written about the LH sale instead. The brand of soap in a plane will not influence my decision to fly or not fly it.