After more than half a century in airplane seatbacks, American Airlines’ in-flight magazine, American Way, is taking flight. American says the oldest continuously published magazine in the airline industry—dating back to 1966—will be retired, along with its online version, at the end of June-2021. American said it will provide other in-flight programming to give customers “more of what they want”.
American Way went from yearly to quarterly and then monthly, filled with stories about the airline, destinations, an assortment of features, airport terminal maps and other information. It spawned imitators at many other airlines.
The COVID pandemic hastened the demise of in-flight magazines, as airlines pulled them last year to prevent people from thumbing through pages that had been touched by other passengers. Delta & Southwest dropped theirs, and British Airways stopped printed copies of “High Life” while keeping the online version. But, the days of in-flight magazines were numbered, as passengers began spending more time browsing on their phones, tablets and laptops.
End of an era: American will drop its in-flight magazine
American Way went from yearly to quarterly and then monthly, filled with stories about the airline, destinations, an assortment of features, airport terminal maps and other information. It spawned imitators at many other airlines.
The COVID pandemic hastened the demise of in-flight magazines, as airlines pulled them last year to prevent people from thumbing through pages that had been touched by other passengers. Delta & Southwest dropped theirs, and British Airways stopped printed copies of “High Life” while keeping the online version. But, the days of in-flight magazines were numbered, as passengers began spending more time browsing on their phones, tablets and laptops.
End of an era: American will drop its in-flight magazine
