United Airlines’ seatback pockets could start to look a little tighter this fall. The airline announced Thursday that it is discontinuing the print version of its in-flight magazine, Hemispheres, which it began publishing in 1992.
The September issue of Hemispheres will be the magazine’s last in print, with a digital edition replacing the print publication free of charge on United flights, United said in a statement. The new format will continue to include much of the content from the print edition, such as popular articles like the Three Perfect Days series, which gives readers sample itineraries to follow in cities around the world.
“The September issue of Hemispheres will be the final print issue of our inflight magazine. A preview of our digital edition is now available at united.com/hemispheres and includes many new and fan-favorite features, including our Three Perfect Days series,” United said in a statement.
In the digital age, it’s hardly unusual for a print magazine to close its doors, given the costs associated with publishing hard copies and the popularity among readers of digital editions of everything from novels to magazines.
“The digital experience allows us to further enhance Hemispheres: we can reach a broader audience, deliver more personalized content and tell richer stories. Additionally, digital features include screen reading and enlarged text, with translations into eight languages coming soon. We’re excited about the possibilities ahead and look forward to sharing more details closer to launch,” United added.
Hemispheres publisher Ink had to consider something many don’t: the impact of the magazine’s weight on fuel costs. In 2018, United Changes Inflight Magazine Paper to shave an ounce off each plane, saving the airline $300,000 a year.
“Anytime we can shave a gram off the weight, it means we’re burning less fuel to get to that destination,” Aaron Stash, United’s chief environmental and sustainability officer, told CBS News. “Even a gram, because if you multiply that by the thousands of seats and the thousands of flights that we offer, that gram adds up and multiplies very quickly.”
Ink also publishes other in-flight magazines, such as Malaysia Airlines’ monthly GoingPlaces magazine, whose print versions continue to fill seatback pockets.
Hemispheres also singled out United from airlines like Delta, which dropped its Sky magazine in 2020, and Southwest Airlines, which stopped publishing its magazine that same year, at the start of the pandemic. American Airlines shut down American Way, which first launched in 1966, in 2021. The airline said at the time that with “complimentary in-flight entertainment, customers will have a wide range of entertainment options available to them during their travels.”
— With reporting by CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave
