More Options Spell the End for Skymall
Say “farewell” to SkyMall, said Roberto A. Ferdman. The “wacky airline catalog that has long filled the seat pockets of so many commercial airplanes” may be folding after its parent company filed for bankruptcy last week. While a last-minute buyer could still step in to save the ubiquitous publication, which has entertained bored passengers with “whimsical, often expensive products, including a $1,000 serenity cat pod, a $2,250 garden yeti statue, and a $16,000 personal sauna system,” travelers shouldn’t hold their breath.
“The company has suffered at the hands of recent changes to airline policy, which have given passengers alternative means of entertainment and flooded them with different avenues for online purchasing.” Still, it’s a sad end for the “iconic staple of American travel.” At its peak, the magazine reached 600 million travelers each year, drawing $130,000 for full-page ads from clients desperate to reach its captive, in-flight readership. But time and technology have “proved unkind to SkyMall’s business.” While it raked in $90 million in sales in 2010, that number has nosedived—to $33.7 million in 2013 and just $15.8 million last year. When you can use smartphones to “pass the time” and in-flight Wi-Fi to do your shopping, who needs SkyMall?
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