Airline inflight magazines have entered a new age. No longer just dog-eared glossies hiding in the back of your seat pocket, these once decidedly mediocre periodicals have made their way onto your iPad!
The widespread usage of Apple's tablet computer has encouraged many airlines to re-think not only the way these magazines are presented, but in many cases to revamp their contents. Instead of boring hotel reviews and articles about business management theory, there's now loads of destination guides, videos, 'lifestyle' stories and high-fashion guides. And they're presented to take full advantage of the iPad's multimedia capabilities.
Here's a run-down of the airlines that offer their in-flight magazine on the iPad.
Click on the bullet-point titles to download the magazine from iTunes.
AirTran is an American airline that operates out of Orlando, Florida. It flies mainly to the eastern and mid-western United States. The airline's inflight GO Magazine is focused on making the most of AirTran's flight destinations, with detailed guides and information for the cities they flight to.
The app is mostly an online version of the physical magazine pages, with some advertising videos interspersed throughout. There's also some social networking functionality built-in, so you can let you friends know about your finds.
All Nippon Airway's Virtual Airport application is innovative in that it contains not only the airline's in-flight magazine Wingspan, you can also book flights, check your frequent flyer point balance and connect with the airline on Facebook. As you might have guessed, the interface looks like a virtual airport, and is definitely one of the coolest magazine apps around.
Lufthansa's iPad version of its Magazin takes the simple online to physical magazine conversion and adds a great user interface over the top. You can start with the magazine articles, then view photos, videos and 360 degree panoramas to enrich the stories. The interface is fun to play with, as you swipe back, forth and around to see what will be revealed.
This is one of those apps that you'll love to read, even if you never actually intend to fly on the airline!
Another straight conversion from physical magazine to online pages for Malaysia Airlines' Going Places app. The current issue of the in-flight magazine is feature, where you can swipe through each page in a simple, responsive interface. This one even includes a listing of the in-flight entertainment options.
TAP's UP Magazine focuses mostly on destination guides, with little of the 'lifestyle' content found in many in-flight magazines. If you happen to be travelling on TAP, or going to one of their destinations, then this app might be of interest to you. It sticks to the simple 'swiping through pages' format, with a swish young feel to the articles.
The merged airline's Hemispheres magazine is full of rich audio and video content, interspersed with a healthy dose of advertising - which isn't so bad considering the app is free. You can preview movies and CDs mentioned in the articles, which is a great example of how moving to the iPad can enrich the magazine experience. The app has a good balance of destination guides and general lifestyle content, and so makes a great app to keep on your iPad, even if you don't intend to fly with United or Continental!
Click on the bullet-point titles to download the magazine from iTunes.
AirTran is an American airline that operates out of Orlando, Florida. It flies mainly to the eastern and mid-western United States. The airline's inflight GO Magazine is focused on making the most of AirTran's flight destinations, with detailed guides and information for the cities they flight to.
The app is mostly an online version of the physical magazine pages, with some advertising videos interspersed throughout. There's also some social networking functionality built-in, so you can let you friends know about your finds.
All Nippon Airway's Virtual Airport application is innovative in that it contains not only the airline's in-flight magazine Wingspan, you can also book flights, check your frequent flyer point balance and connect with the airline on Facebook. As you might have guessed, the interface looks like a virtual airport, and is definitely one of the coolest magazine apps around.
Brussels Airlines' b.there! magazine has become quite a simple iPad app. It's an online version of the physical magazine pages, with not much else. There's some bookmarking functionality and the usual social network connects.
As you would expect from those Scandinavians, Finnair's Blue Wings magazine is an elegant and sleek iPad app. It opens to a simple library interface where you can download the latest issue (published 4 times a year), along with their PlusShop shopping catalogue. The issues themselves include excellent examples of photojournalism, some of which would make awesome wallpapers for your iPad! There's also videos and interactive features, which make this a delight to read. An the layouts used in the articles are some of the best around. This one's definitely worth a download.
Lufthansa's iPad version of its Magazin takes the simple online to physical magazine conversion and adds a great user interface over the top. You can start with the magazine articles, then view photos, videos and 360 degree panoramas to enrich the stories. The interface is fun to play with, as you swipe back, forth and around to see what will be revealed.
This is one of those apps that you'll love to read, even if you never actually intend to fly on the airline!
Another straight conversion from physical magazine to online pages for Malaysia Airlines' Going Places app. The current issue of the in-flight magazine is feature, where you can swipe through each page in a simple, responsive interface. This one even includes a listing of the in-flight entertainment options.
TAP's UP Magazine focuses mostly on destination guides, with little of the 'lifestyle' content found in many in-flight magazines. If you happen to be travelling on TAP, or going to one of their destinations, then this app might be of interest to you. It sticks to the simple 'swiping through pages' format, with a swish young feel to the articles.
The merged airline's Hemispheres magazine is full of rich audio and video content, interspersed with a healthy dose of advertising - which isn't so bad considering the app is free. You can preview movies and CDs mentioned in the articles, which is a great example of how moving to the iPad can enrich the magazine experience. The app has a good balance of destination guides and general lifestyle content, and so makes a great app to keep on your iPad, even if you don't intend to fly with United or Continental!
