Airline magazines used to be prestige publications, frequently winning creative non-fiction writing awards, with novelists and well-known columnists gracing the pages. Those days appear to be fading away. The airlines, now seeing the magazines as extra weight to carry instead of a marketing tool and valued service, are slashing both the page counts and the depth of the articles within.
Some airlines are doing most writing in-house. They have posted letters saying they are no longer accepting articles from outside writers. In cases where experienced, expert writers have not been shut out, their pay has been slashed. Many airline magazines are a lot thinner than they used to be.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

In the future, the airlines may opt to just make the magazine an e-magazine, as a part of some built-in entertainment system. Some see this as the inevitable transition, though we are left to wonder how that works during take-off and landing, the times when in-flight magazines currently get the most action.

Despite these setbacks, which are multiplied during recession times, there are plenty of reasons to write articles for airline magazines:

• They pay fairly well compared to some of the consumer magazines out there
• The payment scale of in flight magazines are usually higher than the average consumer magazine.
• They are flexible with their fields of interest. A consumer magazine on Motorcycles will only cover that field. Airline magazines are different. They cover a broad spectrum of topics ranging from easter egg hunts to haute couture.
• It is a good way to break into the field of travel journalism
• Many leading travel magazines like Islands don’t hire freelancers right away, especially if they have not been tested in other waters. Writing to airline magazines is a great way to build a travel portfolio. 
• They are less competitive
• Airlines magazines have a broad audience. Think of a carrier like Singapore Airlines. They have hundreds of flights daily and on each flight there are hundreds of travelers. The number of potential readers are astronomical. This is almost like a captive audience. If you are on a  five-hour flight there is not much to read, unless you brought a book or have a Kindle with you. The inflight magazine is great entertainment. It appeals to people of all ages, religious beliefs, social class, education levels, and cultures. It draws no boundaries.
  
  This page was last updated on 11/3/09