In a move that has seemed inevitable for some time, United Airlines is dropping the print edition of its inflight magazine, Hemispheres. It’s the last of the U.S. major carriers to do so.
Inflight magazines were a major feature of air travel from the 1950s onward, allowing the airlines to sell profitable advertising while running articles piquing interest in their destinations in an era when seatback television and WiFi-connected devices were not yet on hand. They appealed primarily to higher-end travelers.
As other forms of entertainment spread, the inflight magazines, along with their shopping companions such as SkyMall began to fade, and advertising rates fell. For all but United, the end came with the lower traffic of the pandemic. As well, some airlines noted a small gain in fuel economy by subtracting the weight of hundreds of copies of slick-paper magazines.
United follows its fellow in announcing that it will continue to publish an online version of Hemispheres, but it is likely that as with Delta’s Sky and American’s American Way, it will not find a large audience.
