The out of body experience of reading airline inflight magazines
Raju Narisetti -
Sunday, September 21, 2008 2:06 PM
I love India's large private airlines, especially Jet Airways, which I have been a loyal fan of since it started.
In Jet, and also Kingfisher (though, unlike many, I have steadfastly stuck to my first love--the why being a matter one day soon of another blog posting,) I see a truly great example of an Indian company/industry that gives most global airlines a run for their money when it comes to onboard service, treatment of passengers and overall efficiency. Given a good connection, I would fly Jet any day over American, Continental, Delta, and often hold the Naresh Goyal-owned airline as a shining example of what is possible out of the modern India.
So, why is it then that India's inflight magazines, including and especially Jet Airways' JetWings, are so terrible?
Even the most bored, 'caught with nothing else to read' flyer among you has to admit how terrible these thick airline magazines are. You know the formula--a bunch of travel destination stories that are all hype, bordering on paid ads from tourism boards; scores of boring calendar quality pictures; a couple of rehashed trends (Indian art is an investment; liqueurs are back); one business story (six qualities of a true leader); lots of ads. A sure-fire mix that screams 'you must be truly, utterly desperate to want to pick me up.'
My favorite stories are those that try to turn the airline's newest flight path into a hot, must visit tourist city. I mean you really don't mean it, do you, when you tell me that the glowing tourist destination featured in JetWings September issue- Rajahmundry, is really a place I should visit for some R&R? Before any Telugu people reading this get all hot and bothered, I grew up in Andhra Pradesh, the state where this small city is located and know all about its Godavari river attractions.
My point is why not say that Jet has recently started a flight to Rajahmundry and if, dear captive audience, you end up having to go there for some reason, we recommend these sights. Why not write a CEO letter, as Mr. Goyal does in each issue, that actually talks about all the valiant attempts Jet is making to keep costs down while not hurting service levels, rather than give me really boring PR stuff about Jet Airways.
I know it is not Naresh Goyal or even Jet Airways fault in some ways, since these magazines are outsourced to companies that specialize in producing mostly unreadable stuff (Spenta Multimedia it turns out in the case of JetWings). But I know Jet outsources its food catering as well and, if they can spend so much time and energy getting it right--they do--then, why not put some energy into the inflight magazine, especially since it also generates revenue each month from other advertisers? What use is a magazine--for Jet as well as for other advertisers--if most flyers don't even bother opening it (as seems to increasingly be the case anecdotally in most Jet Airways flights I have taken in the past two years in India)?
Inflight magazines is one area where I am afraid India's terrific airlines, especially Jet, need to still learn from foreign carriers. My personal favorite is the one from the relatively low cost Brussels Airlines (incidentally, a code share partner out of Brussels for Jet Airways) whose bethere! magazine is an entertaining and informative read that is trendy while still sticking to the 'news you can use' model of such inflight magazines (check it out here). It avoids too much hype and is written like leisure magazines ought to be. My other favorite is Delta Air Lines' Sky magazine, which has enough outside contributors who turn it into a good read, and it has improved significantly over the past five years. I am sure you can point to a few good ones as well.
There is still hope though. On 18 September, SpiceJet hired Ink Publishing, which says it produces more inflight magazines for more airlines than any other company in the world, to redo Spiceroute magazine, starting October 2008. No, I don't think any foreign publisher is better than any Indian one. But, it turns out that Ink Publishing just happens to be the same publisher used by Brussels Airlines.
A better inflight magazine isn't a good reason to switch from Jet Airways to SpiceJet, and I have no intention to do so. But here is what is really worrying me about my favorite airline. For some reason, those smart people at Jet Airways seem to think they actually provide good reading material and I want more of it, even when I am not flying. What else will explain this email from Rahul Kucheria, Jet Airways' General Manager--Relationship Marketing, which landed in my in-box:
Dear Mr. Narisetti,
As an Elite Tier Member of JetPrivilege, we value your relationship with Jet Airways. And, to thank you for choosing Jet Airways as your preferred airline, we are pleased to offer you a subscription, at no extra cost, to Jetwork, a new, non-in-flight bi-monthly magazine, exclusively delivered to our Platinum and Gold members.
Why a magazine? Because we think there is much more to the JetPrivilege Platinum and Gold community than the amount of time you spend in the air. There is dynamism, innovation and a desire for good ideas. You will discover over time, through the pages of Jetwork, the unique community of innovators that the Platinum and Gold members represent. And, we are convinced that Jetwork will be a great way to tap the wisdom of this exceptional crowd. So, simply watch your surface mail in the coming week when the first issue of Jetwork is due to reach your home or office. We wish you a great read. Yours sincerely...
First off, as a Platinum member (I did tell you upfront I fly Jet and only Jet), I don't want to read the same stuff the Gold guys get! But, more importantly, why on earth would Jet Airways, which, like all other Indian airlines, is struggling to cut costs while maintaining quality, venture into the magazine business now? Smells like some Smart alec's idea to find news ways of revenue, doesn't it? I don't claim to know the answer to that question, but I would really prefer Jet Airways sticks to what it knows best: running an airline that offers great service to passengers like me.
And, just in case the folks at Jet Airways think they are really on to a great new money-making and customer-retaining idea, here is a little history lesson for Mr Goyal and his team.
In 1999, equally smart brains at Starbucks decided what they really needed was Joe, a print and web magazine for well-off coffee drinkers who can settle into those comfortable sofas at a Starbucks cafe and read their own literary magazine that offered columns, fiction, poems, art and music reviews, all centered around lifestyle and culture. It had 86 pages, including 27 pages of paid ads (at $15,000 a pop) and the first issue had a print run of 200,000 copies. The magazine's tagline: "Life is interesting. Discuss."
Published for Starbucks by Time Custom Publishing, the $3 an issue quarterly magazine was to be Starbucks' first giant step into the publishing world, leveraging its brand, customer loyalty and what was to be a major new Starbucks Internet portal strategy. Want to guess how long Joe lasted?
3 issues.
These days, Howard Schultz, founder and CEO of Starbucks, keeps a copy of Joe in his office, his way of openly acknowledging a failed innovation. I don't know about you, but the Romantic Realist thinks Mr. Goyal ought to hang on to a copy of Jetwork's debut issue as well.