Fiji Airways has quietly taken a bold step in business class by eliminating traditional amenity kits. The airline argues that many kits go unused or discarded, and that offering items individually makes more sense. Is this a reasonable change or just cost-cutting?
Fiji Airways Drops Business Class Amenity Kits To Reduce Waste, Save Money
Under its new service model, Fiji Airways will no longer place amenity kits at each seat or hand them out by default. Instead, flight attendants will pass through the cabin with a tray of individual items—such as moisturizer, socks, or eye masks—that passengers can select a la carte. This allows travelers to take only what they want, while cutting down on the number of unused kits that end up in storage or trash bins.
This move stands out because most airlines continue to view amenity kits as a core part of the premium experience. A handful of carriers, like Singapore Airlines in the past, have opted for an on-request system, but it is rare for a carrier to fully eliminate kits in business class. Fiji Airways, which is pursuing U.S. growth as a oneworld member, clearly wants to reframe the soft-product experience in a way that balances comfort with sustainability.
Outgoing CEO Andre Viljoen explained:
“We’ve been measuring for years now how many people take the amenity kit home and actually value it and the number that are left behind. We started waking up that we are wasting money.”
At least he admits cost was a concern and did not try to gaslight this change as simply being environmentally-friendly.
My View: Amenity Kits Are Like Passport Stamps—Fun, But Outmoded
I’ve flown enough business and first class to have boxes full of amenity kits (which has become somewhat of a burden…). I used to collect them like passport stamps—something fun to show off or reuse for storing other items. But over time, I noticed how many of them just piled up in closets, or worse, ended up unused and eventually discarded. The amount of packaging and fabric, even when the contents are decent, is a lot of waste. For the last year or so, I have rarely taken an amenity kit with me.
I think Fiji Airways is onto something with the a la carte tray. It gives passengers what they actually need, when they need it, without creating unnecessary waste by those who might just need, say, a toothbrush or eyeshade. Still, I would suggest one refinement: offer the full kit, but only on request. That would reduce waste while still giving passengers who value the bag, or simply want the whole set, the chance to receive it.
> Read More: Help! I’m An Airline Packrat…
CONCLUSION
Fiji Airways is one of the first carriers to remove amenity kits entirely from business class. It is a bold move that will no doubt polarize passengers. Some will appreciate the waste reduction, while others will feel something is missing from the premium experience. Personally, I see the value in trimming excess, but I would prefer a system where kits remain available on demand. That seems like a fair compromise between luxury and sustainability.
Does this by Fiji Airways move matter? Will other carriers follow?
image: Fiji Airways // Hat Tip: One Mile At A Time
In our case, useful not wasteful. We have reused our amenity pouches over and over, more than any other kits we’ve collected (with the possible exception of United Polaris).
The FJ amenity kits are especially nice because of the Masi / Teteva pattern and the contents are decent products – it’s a nice pre-arrival “gift” / souvenir that really sets the tone for your vacation. But, I echo your sentiment. The number of amenity kits I see discarded / wasted results in unnecessary cost.
Fiji is a country that understands the importance of it’s resources, and works hard to optimize and minimize wastage.
We are headed back there over Ski Week / Winter Break – I am sure we will miss receiving these kits, but other than that we look forward to our FJ flights and service.
As long as they reduce the ticket price by the same amount the amenity kit costs them I am fine with that. But no, they will cut the amenity kit and probably increase the ticket price.
Airlines will never reduce the ticket price , unless customers resist the price . Same with everything .
They need to at least keep the amenity kit case!
As I’d imagine Fiji leans heavy into the leisure market, this seems risky. I get how regular business travelers wouldn’t care much about not having a kit but a couple splurging for their honeymoon to Polynesia seems to be a demographic more concerned with having nice take away trinkets and comprise more of Fiji’s customer base.
Fiji isn’t in Polynesia. It’s in Melanesia.
But also another reason as you note that most people traveling on their honeymoon and splurging may not even know this exists or have no idea that they should’ve expected it. They’re just happy to have the amenities provided which still will be.
If someone wants to go to Fiji for their honeymoon after watching A LOT of Survivor, I think FJ has a decent case to be made that they’re only taking FJ (New Zealand honeymooners excepted…). Fiji provides a unique offering from Polynesian destinations like Bora Bora — it’s exotic but a lower cost overall than French Polynesia or Hawaii.
If this was one of the Atlantic carriers, it might make sense to keep an amenity kit, but we’re talking about an almost exclusively leisure airline with many one-off travelers. FJ probably isn’t too worried about whether someone is going to choose Fiji Airways again — if they loved their resort in Fiji, they’ll be taking Fiji Airways again.
Fiji isn’t in Melanesia … it is in the Pacific Ocean .
google is your friend, buddy. Try it out.
Yes, there are specific regions of the South Pacific based on culture and those that settled the islands. Fiji is in Melanesia. Hawaii is in Polynesia. Chuuk is in Micronesia.
Fine. But when the passenger picks a couple of items, they should be placed in a zip lock or other container. This would defeat the cost saving measure to some extent.
How much does this really save per ticket? I think this is a bad idea, as the kit was the one tangible thing you get to take home as a souvenir from your transcontinental flight.
You pay as much as you do for your flight, carrying something home or on the rest of your trip made it feel special. I think this just lessens the perceived value of the business class experience. And if you don’t want it, you can leave it behind and let another passenger use it.
After the first few business class flights, I started to wish there was an easy way to opt out of the amenity kits. Obviously you can attempt to turn it in unopened to a FA or leave it there unopened and hope it gets re-used. It’s interesting to me that carriers will stoop to horrific lows when it comes to cutbacks regarding in flight dining in J, but somehow the amenity kit is sacred among business class perks in that it simply cannot be cut out or even cut back on to the point that most people no longer really want it.
Honestly unless Fiji Airways is using the cost of amenity kit to introduce some new service (maybe bringing back good catering pre-Covid, instead of these single tray meal followed by dessert, and more food on flights to Australia/NZ), it is just plain cost-cutting.
About making amenity kits a la carte, it is good on paper but when F/As passed them around, most passenger will just take one, especially a premium ticket even on FJ is not necessarily cheap. I will rather them going the Hawaiian Airlines track – given everyone a nice pouch and ask everyone to take only what they want. I am sure that FJ can really save some money there. I always consider amenity kits as a form of advertising and when people see those nice kits, they will ask which airline offer those nice pouches. EVA Air gets many positive reviews because people spot their Rimowa, Ferragamo and soon Maison Kitsune amenity kits, not to mention their PJ from Jason Wu.
I predict that FJ will bring back the amenity kits in a few months. I will be plenty of upset if I don’t get an amenity kit after paying 300K for an oneway J award ticket from US to Australia.
Give your unopened, piled up kits to homeless people.
If operating a premium cabin keeping up with the optics is a necessary cost of doing business.