Entertainment
apex experience
Reading Rights
Are you for digital or print? > APEX.AERO/POLL
digital vs print Endless availability of content.
No power or Internet connection required.
Instant delivery of content once downloaded.
Sensory experience of paper and physical interaction.
Tablets weigh 1.5 lbs, eReaders: 200 grams. Cost-effective after hardware purchase. Potential for interactive capabilities through text.
Better recall of material when read in print. It’s yours forever to keep or give away. Durable and reliable, with independent functionality.
As connectivity becomes the norm and access to the outside world begins to erode the captive onboard audience, what will become of the humble in-flight magazine? by Jasmin Legatos | Illustration Marcelo Cáceres
According to a Deloitte report on the future of in-flight entertainment, the in-flight magazine will soon be digitized and viewed via seatback screens or personal electronic devices. From a cost-savings point of view, this makes sense: Consulting firm Infosys estimated that by doing away with the print edition of in-flight magazines and replacing them with tablets, airlines could save up to $3.3 million a year in fuel alone. Most in-flight magazines already provide content on digital platforms. Many have companion websites and iPad apps, as well as Twitter profiles, Facebook pages and Pinterest boards. Companies like Delta, which recently redesigned their magazine Sky, are emphasizing exclusive digital content to better extend the magazine’s 36
december 2014 - january 2015
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reach beyond the cabin. Inside the cabin, technology like DTI’s eReader allows in-flight publications to be part of the seatback screen experience – Air Canada’s enRoute recently began uploading its city guides and list of Canada’s Best New Restaurants to the AVOD of its new 787s. For connected planes, the airline can also stream content directly to passengers’ devices. When you bring the in-flight magazine to the screen, new advertising opportunities and ways to satisfy your customers open up. For frequent flyers, a monthly print magazine may lose its lustre, but with digital versions of the publication at their fingertips, they’ll never have to see the same article twice. Airlines can also build passenger profiles to deliver revenuegenerating content that’s tailored to passenger
According to APEX’s 2014 Passenger Insights survey, 4 out of 5 passengers read the in-flight magazine. interests and activity. For the leisure traveler, who is less likely to pay for in-flight Wi-Fi, airlines can offer their magazine’s website or digital versions of their magazine for free on their devices. That way, passengers will still feel “online” while remaining within an airline’s content ecosystem. What about the value – let alone revenue generation – that the printed page brings to the table? According to recent studies penned by Norway’s University of Stravanger, people are less likely to fathom information read on screen than in print. In one of these studies, principal researcher Anne Mangen divided a group of grade 10 students in two and asked half to read fiction and non-fiction pieces in print and the other half to read the same texts on a computer screen. The latter group understood less than those who had read the pieces on paper. In another study conducted with adults, Mangen tested how they would retain information read on a Kindle versus in a book. Again, her findings showed that the Kindle group had a harder time reconstructing the plot of the novel than those who had sat down with the paper version. Mangen hypothesizes that the disparity is likely due to the tactile nature of the page. According to APEX’s 2014 Passenger Insights survey, four out of five passengers read the in-flight magazine for an average of about 14 minutes. For airlines that use magazine content to support a brand narrative and to promote new routes, destinations and other revenue opportunities, print may be more effective at delivering that message meaningfully to clients. Airline Passenger Experience Association