An inflight magazine (or in-flight magazine) is a free magazine distributed via the seats of an airplane, by an airline company, or in an airport lounge.
Many airlines offer in-flight magazines to provide details about their fleet, as well as articles about destinations, travel, and tourism information. In-flight publishing and media are a niche in the magazine industry. Airline titles have controlled distribution costs and readership figures come from existing passenger traffic. Most airlines use external publishers to produce their magazines.[1] In a 2009 Harris Poll, 94% of "business passengers" read in-flight magazines when they traveled by air, with a 30-minute average reading time per flight.[1] Despite the challenges facing the traditional publishing industry, in-flight magazines saw a smaller readership decline than other physical publications during the 2010s.[1] The quality of in-flight magazines varies from carrier to carrier. Their upscale, valuable, and captive readership appeals to advertisers across all sectors: luxury goods makers, car manufacturers, beauty and fashion brands, as well as global destinations.[1]
The first in-flight magazine was started by Pan American World Airways in around 1952. Its title, "Clipper Travel", was a reference to their Boeing 314 Clipper aircraft.[2] A decade later, KLM's Holland Herald,[3] the longest running in-flight magazine, was first published in January, 1966.[4] In-flight magazines began booming in the 1980s, with new airlines forming them one after another. Some, including Japan Airlines, had over 300 pages in their magazines. This method of flight entertainment has proved to be a success for airlines around the world. To this day, over 150 in-flight magazines are being published.[5]
However, since the birth of digital technology, some key airlines are now offering the chance for magazines to be read digitally via tablet computer applications, or over the internet.[6]
Among specialized publishers are:
Quite similar to in-flight magazines, some railroad companies offer a comparable product aboard their long distance trains, e.g. Deutsche Bahn's mobil or Indian Railways' Rail Bandhu magazine.[43] This magazine is also distributed via the seats of the passenger cars.
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