by Krish Patel

United Airlines has announced news that will mark the end of an era. The Chicago O’Hare-based carrier will discontinue the Hemispheres magazine starting this Autumn. Hemispheres has greeted passengers in the seat back pocket since 1992, when it was first launched.

Passengers will surely miss grabbing a pen to fill out the crossword puzzle or tearing out the month’s “Three Perfect Days” feature and dreaming of setting off to a quick vacation to that specific destination. For other travelers, browsing through the magazine and reading about exotic destinations may have been fun in itself.

United is opting to leap into digital entertainment, which is clearly evident because they’re moving the magazine online. It’s the airline’s goal to offer more personalized content. The online magazine will include features such as enlarged text and translation to other languages besides English. Mark Muren, United’s managing director of product, believes that pushing the magazine online is making it more accessible.

The digital Hemispheres magazine will include dynamic travel content, such as fresh feature articles and fan favorites, including the Three Perfect Days feature.

Information, such as airport maps and listings of United's entertainment options are already found on the airline’s mobile app. Other information, such as inflight food options and how to connect to the Wi-Fi will be printed onto a small card in the seat pocket. Muren believes that passengers can know what food and drinks are available on their flight without the selection being wrapped around a bunch of papers in a magazine.

The online magazine copy is also more sustainable for the environment because removing the physical magazine will reduce carbon emissions and the overall cost. While doing as little harm to the environment as possible is important, Muren has said that United's passengers having a good experience is what’s most important, and keeping the magazine digital is what’s going to solve the problem.

Soon, passengers will have a more personalized magazine to enjoy in the Friendly Skies on United!