According to Gizmodo, Airbus may be ditching SkyMall, the in-flight magazine, in favor of a foldable OLED screen.
At press time, Airbus had not responded to a request for confirmation, but the story was gaining traction. It comes after numerous other airlines announced that they would no longer publish paper magazines.
Airbus has been working with Royole Technology on a digital magazine device that looks like an iPad but is more flexible, according to Gizmodo, and hopes to test one. Flyers may use it to place orders for food and merchandise, watch movies, and read magazines.
According to Gizmodo, not only will an OLED display look better than the inexpensive LCDs that airlines install in every seat, but they’ll also be lighter, consume less electricity.
In comparison to a print magazine, OLEDs are easy to clean and disinfect between uses, according to the report.
Print magazines are generally rolled up and placed back into the backs of seats, but OLEDs provide another option. (A flexible OLED might potentially be bunched up, based on how it sounds.)
In June, American Airlines discontinued its American Way magazine, following Delta and Southwest Airlines in doing so. In 1966, American Way began as an annual publication.
Instead of paper, American will focus on inflight entertainment, with a library of 600 movies and TV shows as well as over 150 creative, productivity, and language classes available through its new Lifestyle inflight entertainment channel.
Print’s expense and environmental impact are cited by the airlines. However, given the necessity for technology and the unpredictability of wi-fi on flights, it may turn out that print is difficult to replace.
