Qantas RM Williams Business Amenity Kits

[mitti]

Again this is the same for retail products. For example Tefal cookware has multiple factories, the good stuff is made in France but it also produces lower cost items in China.

Even within China there are different levels of manufacturer - for example there are factories that make stuff for top tier labels and others that are making stuff for Anako (Kmart) for 1% of the price.

Just looking at past QF amenity kits you can see varying levels of quality as the brand changed. I personally found the most recent Koskela series to be low quality, but it looks like their focus was on sustainability (apparently it was them who convinced QF to remove plastic tubes inside the kit); whereas brands who do make similar products (Kate Spade, RM Williams) have been a much higher quality.

Disagree that amenity kits work the same as retail products from a brand. Ofc there are multiple manufacturers worldwide for most brands, but a retail product is an entirely different equation. That is a distraction from the point, these products are hardly an ‘RM’ product (which by the by I would add is very middle of the market and not premium or very interesting), in the same way the Kate Spade kits weren’t truly Kate Spade. There is a fundamental difference that is not the same as saying tefal make things in France and China. The amount of brand involvement in these kits is extremely limited and comes down to a marketing deal alone.

 

[Port Power]

I liked the Kate Spade ones best of all of those I've received from Qantas. Still use them too. But hoping for the RM Williams kit in March. The amenities look a useful size for once and worth having. I usually don't keep them. I do collect the Qatar and Emirates items as they are excellent.

I’m still using a QF Kate Spade bag (circa 2014) to hold my passport and other travel documents. It goes on every trip with me and lives in my front pocket of my backpack.

Zipper still functional, not even a fray in the fabric. I’ve got a couple of the centennial ones for various uses around the house.

I still use my Kate Spade bags too, one of them on every international trip. Lipsticks and nail polish mainly. Or make up of some sort. They certainly are very durable. They might be cheap and not truly authentic, but for such an item to last in perfect condition after years of use is remarkable.

 

[lazblue]

I still use my Kate Spade bags too, one of them on every international trip. Lipsticks and nail polish mainly. Or make up of some sort. They certainly are very durable. They might be cheap and not truly authentic, but for such an item to last in perfect condition after years of use is remarkable.

Glad I’m not the only one - still use my Jack Spade bag for storing travel items and it’s in good nick after all these years!

 

[justinbrett]

Disagree that amenity kits work the same as retail products from a brand. Ofc there are multiple manufacturers worldwide for most brands, but a retail product is an entirely different equation. That is a distraction from the point, these products are hardly an ‘RM’ product (which by the by I would add is very middle of the market and not premium or very interesting), in the same way the Kate Spade kits weren’t truly Kate Spade. There is a fundamental difference that is not the same as saying tefal make things in France and China. The amount of brand involvement in these kits is extremely limited and comes down to a marketing deal alone.

They design the kits. That's literally what you're paying for when you buy an item from a brand.

The Tefal example was to show that a brand can make genuine products at completely different price points and levels of quality. A Kate Spade designed bag made for Kate Spade in a Chinese factory is no more or less genuine than a Kate Spade designed bag made for Qantas in a Chinese factory. This is how manufacturing works in 2026.

Perhaps you are right for some airlines re just sticking a brand on but you only have to look at the previous QF kits which have all been released with comprehensive info about the designers - in particular the Koskela series which had interviews with the Aboriginal designers and info about the sustainable materials chosen, and how they talked QF into removing plastic from the contents.

 

[mitti]

A Kate Spade designed bag made for Kate Spade in a Chinese factory is no more or less genuine than a Kate Spade designed bag made for Qantas in a Chinese factory

Disagree entirely but we’re not going to get anywhere. I guess you can slap a LV label on anything and call it Louis Vuitton…

 

[pauly7]

Disagree entirely but we’re not going to get anywhere. I guess you can slap a LV label on anything and call it Louis Vuitton…

Well, they absolutely do that for some of their products… their lower value more mass market products like accessories. But this is very off topic

Back on topic, I wonder how quickly the roll out will be of the RM Williams kit…. How much stock they have to run down before it’s a good guarantee you will get one. Have a solid quarter or so of travel booked ahead…!

 

[justinbrett]

Disagree entirely but we’re not going to get anywhere. I guess you can slap a LV label on anything and call it Louis Vuitton…

If they’re slapping the LV label on something designed by LV, yes.

Unless you are arguing the QF amenity kits aren’t actually designed by the designers named - which is a pretty wild theory IMO.

Well, they absolutely do that for some of their products… their lower value more mass market products like accessories.

Exactly.

 

[mitti]

If they’re slapping the LV label on something designed by LV, yes.

Unless you are arguing the QF amenity kits aren’t actually designed by the designers named - which is a pretty wild theory IMO.



Exactly.

What we are talking about is merch. It isn’t product. Merch is absolutely NOT designed by the same people who design actual products sold by companies. This is getting very dull and OT now. Time to move on.

 

[justinbrett]

What we are talking about is merch. It isn’t product. Merch is absolutely NOT designed by the same people who design actual products sold by companies. This is getting very dull and OT now. Time to move on.

No, I’m not talking about Merch. Perhaps you are.

QF has released extensive information for its last couple of series of amenity kits as to who was involved in the design. (Yet to release the information about RM Williams).

The current RM Williams kit looks extremely similar to an existing retail product posted up thread. I’m not saying it’s the same but it’s definitely made to look like an RM Williams product.

You do you.

 

[Port Power]

The merchandise (yes, I absolutely agree that the bag is merchandise, not product) is genuine RM Williams, otherwise that company would have their lawyers on the job and headlines in the news. RM Williams have put their name on the bag, therefore it is genuine. Not high quality, but genuine.

I also agree it’s time to move on.

My next international flight in late Feb is in whY, so I won’t be receiving a kit. Unless a CR upgrade to LAX is given.