When I am flying, I tend to pay attention to what is going on around me. Since I started travelling in premium cabins, I have come across brand after brand that I would not necessarily have discovered myself.
Having been impressed with certain products, I’ve found that I’ve gone on to buy and use them at home. That is probably why the brands work in conjunction with airlines and other travel providers, as the exposure can be quite extensive.
A Brand I Discovered
The first brand to get my attention was the Australian luxury brand Aesop. I was visiting the quite frankly stunning Cathay Pacific “The Pier” first class lounge in Hong Kong when I needed to wash my hands.
How About Some Cutlery?
I was planning to fly Finnair recently and I was noodling around on their website, looking at the Finnair Shop. There I noticed some Iittala cutlery that looked pretty fly.
Champagne Glasses
Cathay Pacific noted their first class Champagne glasses had been switched out to tulip-shaped ones by Riedel. Apparently this shape is ideal and the people at Krug agree.
When it comes to our signature moments, no detail is overlooked. Take our champagne for starters. pic.twitter.com/YbrJvLviJo
— Cathay Pacific (@cathaypacific) July 5, 2023
After checking online, I found several opinions on a forum from people who had switched to this shape of glass. They agreed it was a noticeable improvement, so I bought myself a set of the Reidel Veloce glasses.
Overall Thoughts
I guess I should thank the people at Cathay Pacific and Finnair for their use of these products. One of my friends comes from a wealthy background and he knows about these kinds of things. I was gratified both with the Aesop and the Iittala purchases that he knew of and used the products himself.
It would be interesting to quantify just how much brands get out of these partnerships. From amenity kits to the branding on pyjamas and bedding, I am always seeing branded items when flying. Looks like the placement has worked in my case. Oh, I almost forgot – I also bought Grado Headphones after seeing someone mention how good they were in a jetBlue flight review. So there’s that too!
Have you ever purchased something you’ve come across when travelling, maybe from an airline or even a hotel chain? Let me know what it was and where you found it, as I’d love to know. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin after being served with it on a recent Aer Lingus flight. It’s lush. I gave a miniature to my US friend and she loves it too
Oh, and I bought a load of the BA William Edwards crockery when they sold off excess stock a couple of years ago. I’ve used it once
Oh, I have to agree with you completely! I had it on an Aer Lingus flight and found it to be really delicious, so I’m right with you on that one. Nice one on the crockery too, I almost bought some of that myself, but ended up not going through with it. Thanks for the comment 🙂
Years ago – maybe 25 or more – my husband saw an advert in an airline magazine about an Active Adult Resort (read that Senior) community in AZ. We were living in a rural mountain area that gets lots of snow in the winter. He filled out the card and sent it in. They sent out a VCR about the resort and we put it on the shelf. Maybe 5 years later, he was heading to a meeting near the resort and I had a free frequent flyer ticket, so we watched the video, and scheduled a visit. Before I left 3 days later, we had put a deposit on a house for retirement – with our credit card – that earned miles I might add. And we’ve been happily spending winters down there for 21 years now – retirement is wonderful.
Sounds like absolute bliss to me! Amazing that something found in an airline magazine turned into all of this. That’s excellent, thanks for the comment!
Most certainly! Previously American Airlines used to use C.O. Bigelow in their lounges for hand soap and hand lotion. I always loved it and ended up buying some. I’d have not discovered had I had not seen in the Admirals Club. In Hiltons, they used to feature Peter Thomas Roth products. I loved the scent and ended up buying their hand lotion. In Westin Hotels, they feature the incredible aroma of White Tea. I loved it so much that I bought a diffuser with the scent for my home.
So yes, indeed, it’s a great way to discover new brands for sure. I’m sure there will be more.
Awesome, I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who has discovered new things this way. Sounds like some great pick ups there!
On a CDG-FCO flight, Alitalia passed out these chocolates in Premium (strong mocha flavor, but not bitter, not too sweet, with a slight crunch) by La Provenzala that were absolutely delicious. I spent weeks trying to hunt them down but could never track them down in the US – never found them while I was in Rome, either. This was 2019.
Perhaps they were made especially for Alitalia. What a shame you couldn’t find them… though it seems they have stuck in your mind, so they must have been great!
I bought Clarins products due to enjoying them on Air France a number of years ago. Many times the products and food I get on airlines are underwhelming. I feel they could do better overall.
Nice to see you went with the Clarins! Thanks for that 🙂
It’s a shame, though, when you can’t find exactly what was provided to you during a flight experience by a brand because presumably a specific product may only be made for the airline. A recent example I can think of is the Casper blanket provided by American Airlines for Flagship customers. I love the blanket, but Casper does not sell anything like it.
They’re missing a trick there, I suppose, but I guess the point is to get you to buy something else in their range which should be as good as the blanket on AA. It was the same with the Champagne glasses I bought – the ones for the airline are a little shorter and have a thicker stem to improve durability on the aircraft. I didn’t mind though, as they’re essentially the same. Thanks for the comment!