United is reportedly phasing out the print version of its 32-year-old inflight magazine. Called Hemispheres, the Chicago-based carrier’s magazine is set to suffer the same fate as print publications at both Delta and American, which were phased out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The move to retire the print magazine was first reported by Modern Retail. Hemispheres has a circulation of 139 million people per year and is published monthly by Ink.
In a statement, a spokesperson from United told the outlet, “A digital experience allows us to make Hemispheres even better — we can reach a wider audience, offer more personalized content and tell richer stories. We’ve even hired additional United staff to help us bring this new vision to life. We’re excited about the future possibilities and look forward to sharing more details soon.”
The magazine’s website — hemispheresmag.com — now redirects to the United website, a more recent change according to Modern Retail.
Hemispheres is the latest inflight magazine to be shuttered, joining a slew of other print casualties in the airline industry. As airlines aggressively cut costs during the pandemic, Delta halted the publishing of its Sky Magazine in 2020. American followed suit in 2021, retiring American Way, a staple of the carrier’s seat-back pockets since 1966.
In 2021, United announced plans to retrofit its entire mainline fleet with seatback entrainment screens. The carrier is in the process of rolling out personalized ads on its inflight entertainment system and mobile app.
Some airlines still offer hard-copy inflight magazines, including Japan Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Lufthansa on long-haul flights. When Finnair removed its print magazines three years ago, the carrier estimated it would save between 110 and 276 pounds per aircraft.
Editor’s Note: This story was corrected on Aug. 8, 2024 at 11:43 a.m. ET to remove “a handful” in reference to airlines with hard-copy magazines.
