SkyMall Files for Bankruptcy: CEO Scott Wiley Hopes Someone Will Fund Bankrupt Magazine
SkyMall magazine, the magazine that travelers are so used to picking up when bored on an airplane, just filed bankruptcy, Business Insider reports.
The publication, found in the seatbacks of almost every flight, is filled with gadgets and fun things to entertain bored travelers. Now, with technology changing, most customers are buying items online or looking at them on their phones rather from magazines and catalogs. Plus, most of SkyMall magazine's wares are unneeded or bizarre items (some are practical household items, however).
According to BuzzFeed, SkyMall magazine cited publication costs and the relaxed regulations for cell phone usage during takeoff and landing as reasons for filing for bankruptcy.
"With the increased use of electronic devices on planes, fewer people browsed the SkyMall in-flight catalog," CEO Scott Wiley said in court filings.
Delta ended its contract with SkyMall back in August, and Wiley said airlines found the magazine "unattractive."
The magazine has been around since 1990 and offers items like a Yeti garden statue, a Volkswagen Camper Tent (a tent shaped like a VW Bus) and an adult jumping ball.
In 2013, SkyMall's revenue was about $33.7 million. In the first nine months of 2014, that number slipped to $15.8 million, according to Wall Street Journal.
SkyMall wants to sell the magazine in March, according to Wiley. He hopes someone will step forward and fund the struggling magazine, but so far no buyers have expressed interest.
With more passengers hopping on their phones or using the in-flight Internet, less are reading or paging through the magazine. With its partnerships with American Airlines, Delta and U.S. Airways, SkyMall reached almost 90 percent of U.S. passengers, Washington Post reports.
And people read them too. According to a survey, 70 percent of passengers surveyed by the magazine said they read the magazine. That gave advertisers reason to pay the near $130,000 for a full-page ad.
The bankruptcy filing says SkyMall has $10 million in assets.
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