An amusing story popped up on Flyertalk about the case of a stolen amenity kit.
The original post:
I recently flew BF from EWR to HKG. As we took off my amenity kit fell on the floor and sild down the aisle by about one row.
As soon as the chime went off, a passenger in the row behind swiftly jumped up, scooped up my kit, clicked open the overhead bin and pushed the kit into her bag! Lol. Slick and well practiced it seemed.
When the FA came by I made a point to ask clearly if she had a spare kit since mine had gone “missing”. The FA said they had all been given out. The thief said nothing!
So beware of ammenity kit collectors.
Funny I guess.
I don’t know if funny is the word I would use.
True, the United amenity kit is pretty good–
But stealing it? That’s petty.
Has this ever happened to you?
I Do Take Unused Amenity Kit After Flights
I have more United amenity kits than I know what to do with, but if I am traveling on an airline like EVA (which has Rimowa amenity kits) or another carrier with cool amenity kits, I will wander through the premium cabin after landing and collect extra kits passengers have left behind. It’s the pack rat in me.
To me, that is a totally different situation than just picking up an amenity kit that suddenly appears at your feet and stuffing it in your carry-on bag. Even more egregious is when economy class passengers swipe an amenity kit on their way to the back. I’ve certainly witnessed that before.
I’m very interested to hear your thoughts on this matter. I think we can all agree that what the woman did was wrong. But is it poor behavior to do what I do as well?
I totally agree with you on both issues. It was egregious that the lady passenger didn’t have the courtesy to even inquire around (at least out of politeness) if the kit that just slided before her belonged to a fellow passenger.
Now I feel is completely ok that after the flight lands & the premium cabin passengers have disembarked, for one to look around for any discarded or left behind amenity kits. Mind you that I feel this is acceptable not because so do it, but because if I don’t pick them up, they will all be thrown away!
So these are my two cents on the subject!
I AM SHOCKED! How can you do this! OMGosh. You should be so ashamed. 😉
Totally kidding. After the flight I look around me too for extra kits to grab so I can give them away on the blog. It is fun and I doubt the airlines care after the flight is over.
I wouldn’t have let my fellow passenger get away with stealing it. After seeing her put it in the overhead bin, I would have taken it out.
But sure, if I see unclaimed ones at the end of a flight I’ll get them. My nephews love receiving gifts from my travels and like to see what treasures the different kits hold. They’re a fun treat to be able to give away.
I don’t see anything wrong with grabbing unused kits at the end of a flight. As aptraveler says, they’re just going to be thrown away, anyway.
Actually if unopened the airlines restock them. Do you think they throw away unused mini bottles of vodka? That type of entitlement is in the same vein of zone 8 hoodrats that steak business amenities and blankets. Like school in the summertime – no class!
No wonder it’s nicknamed Hoarding Area. What’s with all you guys/gals? Why must every situation be gamed?
I agree, nothing wrong with grabbing unused kits at the end of a flight. I would do it myself. The woman should never have stolen though, that was wrong and it was clear that she did it deliberately.
That’s because you are ratchet.
I was in Johannesburg recently and another passenger told me that the officer at immigration wanted his (the passenger’s) amenity kit as condition for passage into the country. I can’t imagine an official reason for this and even if it were a personal reason, it’s pretty bizarre.
Funny enough I was on Thai yesterday and
2nd flight had a nice kit. I had a serious think about taking another one, but refrained.
I agree at the end of flight ok, but not before and not from someone else that may want it
You mean there was a jerk on your flight? I find that shocking, and this was out of EWR no less? No way.
Why would unused kits be thrown away? Doesn’t the carrier collect them to redistribute on the next flight?
They are not thrown away – opened items are not reused / toothpaste, toothbrush etc but lotions, and sealed items are collected and given to charities or other places – it depends on the airline
If they’re used at all, they get tossed. Unopened kits are recycled.
The leftover kits after the flight do not get thrown away / on United they are collected and given to charities
I’m a flight attendant for United. The latest inflight prize is the Saks Fith avenue bedding in first and business. I opened a closet the other day and there stuffed into a beach bag was the entire set!!
Not surprising!
Just wondering if you were a guest at somebody’s house, if after the party you would collect all the unused liquor and food that was left out?
If it wasn’t offered to you, it’s not yours for the taking.
What are you teaching the youth?
At the very least you could ask the flight attendants, and if you don’t have the guts to ask, you shouldn’t have the bLL’s to take.
I’ve been a Flight Attendant for a major global airline for nearly 30 years. Unused kits will NOT be thrown away at the end of a flight. As long as they are sealed, they will be stowed and used on the return flight in the event we come up short, and this story shows why that could happen. By the way, to prevent Economy Class customers from helping themselves to kits, I ONLY hand them out to FC and BC customers personally. That is, they are not placed on the seats before boarding.
Thank you. More should do the same. I’ve had a lot of people steal mine. And I fly the top tier us airlines. I can only imagine how ghetto people are on spirit etc.
I’ve learned a lot from reading these posts. I did not expect to find out what I did. In this case, what I would do is find out from the crew what happens to the amenity kits at the end of the flight. If they are reused or given to charity, then I would leave mine. If they are thrown away then I would take it home.
tacky to steal yours she should have waited till deplaning and then take the left-overs.