Some genius is resurrecting SkyMall, which makes us as happy as this lady
A few weeks ago, we mourned the death of everyone’s favorite in-flight magazine, SkyMall, with a list of some of its quirkiest products but it seems that we spoke too soon. According to Tech Times, a former SkyMall employee named Scott Jordan is resurrecting the catalog with the help of Jim Louderback, ex-Editor-in-Chief of PC Magazine. With Scott’s advertising experience and Louderback’s editorial and techie background, the team aims to keep the ill-fated publication tucked beneath your flight safety instructions for good.
Before you start jumping for joy and pulling out all of your smuggled SkyMall catalogs, there’s a few things you should know. First, the company’s new leaders hope to reinvent SkyMall’s public image, which includes toning down the list of ridiculous items that the magazine offers. “We’re going to include items in the magazine that people actually want to buy,” Jordan told Yahoo Travel. Does this mean we can no longer rely on SkyMall to provide ideas for holiday gag gifts? Are we going to have to live the rest of our lives without clip-on bangs and inflatable ties? Or whatever this is?
Should we start rioting now?
Hold your horses. SkyMall was a company built on absurdity, a fact that Jordan and Louderback know all too well, so they’re not planning on eliminating those catalog items anytime soon.
“We want the readers to continue to have the experience of the unexpected, of wonder, of delight,” Louderback added. Mixed in with all of the “normal” items will be a bunch of classic SkyMall gifts, like pet rocks and remarkably useless trinkets.
And that’s not all. The duo plan to capitalize on SkyMall’s travel theme, offering deals for cruises, classes, and travel items that may be cheaper than those offered by other companies like Amazon. In-flight tutorials may also be available, allowing people to brush up on certain skills through purchasable online courses before they even get off the plane. No word on whether such initiatives will include more physical activities like dance lessons, but I’m certainly enjoying the image of flight attendants giving salsa lessons in the plane aisles.
From what I’ve read, it seems that they hope to replicate the popularity of gas station apps that offer free items every time you visit. (Except instead of a free super-jumbo-rainbow slushie for every 5 gallons of gas you buy, you’d get 200 dollars off an exotic Carnival cruise.) The catalog will offer location-based or weekly deals that people can redeem in-flight. Jordan explained: “It’s something that will help people to actually look forward to getting on a plane — ‘I wonder what I can buy in the catalog this time.’”
If all goes well, the magazine should be back in airplane seats by June. If you can hold out until then, you might just be able to buy that Human Slingshot after all, along with lessons on how to use it and a cruise to relax on during your post-slingshot recovery.
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