You might also like:
Delta’s been handing out Tumi-branded amenity kits to its business-class customers since 2013, and, just as the airline prepares to launch service on its brand-new Airbus A350, it’s rolled out the slickest sets yet — and one feature in particular had me especially excited to try out the new hard-case kit.
There are three kits on offer: a hard-shell kit for Delta One passengers on flights departing the US, a soft-cover kit for flights to the US and a smaller Tumi-branded case for customers traveling in Premium Select, the airline’s brand-new premium-economy product.
Delta One Hard-Shell Kit
The highlight, in my opinion, is the hard-shell kit for Delta One customers. It reminds me a bit of the Rimowa version available in first class on several carriers, including Lufthansa and Thai, plus business class on EVA Air.
This kit includes a variety of high-quality essentials, which you can see more clearly in the soft-cover a bit further down. Inside, you’ll find a Tumi-branded eye mask, earplugs, disposable socks, a pen, tissues, a dental kit, mouthwash, hand sanitizer and Kiehl’s lip balm and body lotion.
What’s unique to this hard-shell kit, however, is the Tumi monogram patch. You can bring the patch into any Tumi retail store — other than airport locations or outlets — and an associate will add your initials with a special stamp.
I brought my kit into the new World Trade Center store, where I encountered a friendly sales rep. He waited patiently while I chose a color — I settled on red — then pressed my initials into the patch.
As you can see above, things didn’t go quite as well as expected — according to the Tumi rep, the leather included with the Delta kits is too soft, leading the ink to bleed. The store once had a few replacement patches on hand, but due to the high demand for Delta amenity kit monograms (who knew!), they were out of stock. To ensure I didn’t leave empty-handed, they pulled a patch from a retail bag — a move I found especially generous.
Delta One Soft Case
The contents of the soft case — pictured below — are nearly identical to those of the hard-shell version. There’s no option to add a monogram, so you don’t get a patch, but all of the other items are there.
Ideally, you’ll walk away with both kits, assuming you’re booking an international round-trip. I prefer the hard-shell version over its soft-case counterpart, but with identical components, both get the job done.
Premium Select Kit
Delta’s premium-economy kit is a bit lighter, with a generic eye mask, earplugs, socks, lotion and a dental kit. You also get a 15%-off coupon good for full-price Tumi items online or at retail stores.
Overall Impression
I’m a big Tumi fan, so I’m thrilled to see Delta continue the tradition of offering co-branded kits; the airline is also handing out the larger kits in Delta One on transcon flights. Meanwhile, the kits United offers on premium transcon routes are more in line with the ones you’ll get as an international Premium Select passenger on Delta.
I really like the monogram option, which takes a bit of extra effort, in theory. I would imagine it’s intended to get you into a Tumi store, where you can take advantage of the 15%-off coupon included in all of the above kits. That said, Delta and Tumi definitely need to find a fix for the patches.
Source: thepointsguy.com