Wow! Who knew these two airlines offer slippers in business class!

There are many different areas that an airline can differentiate itself with the soft product. From amenity kits to food, I thought I’d seen it all. Colour me surprised when I flew recently and not one but two different airlines decided to offer slippers on board.

Slippers are fast becoming the final frontier in on board comfort. Pillows, blankets, mattress pads, duvets and pyjamas – been there, seen that, bought the t-shirt. But slippers, well, you don’t come across those on flights very much, do you?

Two airlines that offer slippers…

You may think I am talking about the Japanese airlines here. While both ANA and Japan Airlines offer slippers to their passengers in (in three classes, no less – First, Business AND Premium Economy!) these are not who I am talking about. One of the pair I’m talking about is from Asia though!

Yes, the good people at Malaysia Airlines offer slippers to business class passengers. Perhaps not too surprising, as they operate in an area festooned with high quality airlines, such as the aforementioned Japanese carriers, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Starlux to name but a few. More surprising (to me!) was the next one. Cloud Nine? No, that’s not an airline, that’s what Ethiopian Airlines calls its business class. Yes, Africa’s best airline, a Star Alliance carrier, offers these. They also come in different colours (I also have a bright green pair, which are chic as hell!). Talk about exceeding expectations!

Why does anyone need slippers?

The air on an aircraft is usually quite dry. Spill something and watch how quickly it evaporates in that atmosphere. Now imagine the toilet and the near misses that can occur in there. You can see where this is going!

While that toilet floor might look dry and clean (note: they’re usually a dark colour for a reason), they are probably the dirtiest part of the plane. Seriously, wipe the floor of one with a paper towel sometime. Shocking! Some people visit in socks – that’s just adding goodness knows what to your shoes when you put them back on. Slippers help to avoid this whole biome.

Overall Thoughts

I like it when airlines offer slippers. It’s even better when they have some branding on them. My Cloud Nine slippers came home in their plastic wrap so now I can swan about my apartment thinking of Ethiopian Airlines every time I put them on. Now that’s brand magic!

The comfort cannot be overstated. On long flights, it’s very nice to take your shoes off, but also there’s that toilet floor to contend with. Slippers are the perfect solution.

Have you had any airline offer slippers that is not one of the four mentioned here? Let me know in the comments below and also what you think of the whole concept. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image via Air Cargo Week.