{"id":119441,"date":"2024-08-19T14:30:49","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T14:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/19\/united-airlines-ditching-paper-version-of-hemispheres-magazine-the-points-guy\/"},"modified":"2024-08-19T14:30:49","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T14:30:49","slug":"united-airlines-ditching-paper-version-of-hemispheres-magazine-the-points-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/19\/united-airlines-ditching-paper-version-of-hemispheres-magazine-the-points-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"United Airlines ditching paper version of Hemispheres magazine &#8211; The Points Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It is both the end of an era and a sign of the (electronic) times.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/airline\/united\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">United Airlines<\/a> recently announced it is discontinuing the print version of Hemispheres, the inflight magazine that has greeted passengers from the seatback pocket since 1992.<\/p>\n<p>Starting with the October issue, United will offer Hemispheres in digital form only.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Value check: <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/credit-cards\/are-airline-credit-cards-worth-it-anymore\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> Are airline credit cards worth it anymore?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many passengers will miss grabbing a pen, flipping the magazine open to the crossword puzzle and hoping no one else has filled it out yet. Others will miss carefully tearing out that month&#8217;s enticing &#8220;Three Perfect Days&#8221; feature and dreaming of jetting off for a quick, efficient trip to that destination. It was even fun to quickly flip through the magazine to see what snacks were available for sale on a particular flight.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Muren, United Airlines&#8217; managing director of product, identity and loyalty, told TPG that the carrier is instead &#8220;taking a big leap into digital entertainment&#8221; and moving the magazine online. This way, United can offer passengers &#8220;more personalized content and tell richer stories,&#8221; according to United&#8217;s statement, as well as options for enlarged text, access to archival features and (soon) translation into eight languages.<\/p>\n<p>Muren remembers the days when he&#8217;d study the route maps in the Hemispheres magazine, read the note from the CEO and take the magazine with him at the end of a flight.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-1853040249 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.6875%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Earlyish-cover-of-the-magazine.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-1853040249 figcaption\">UNITED AIRLINES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But now, United is &#8220;taking this product that was really built for another time and making it much more accessible,&#8221; he said. Nowadays, most passengers travel with their own electronic devices, and United has vowed to put screens at every seat in its new fleet.<\/p>\n<p><b>Want more airline-specific news? <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/aviation-newsletter\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for TPG&#8217;s free biweekly Aviation newsletter<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"&#10;        EmailSignUp_container__qYzYT&#10;        undefined&#10;        EmailSignUp_isLoading__i_qm0&#10;      \"><picture class=\"EmailSignUp_graphic__zgpFm\"><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-mob.svg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/images\/EmailSignUp\/daily-dt.svg\"\/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"EmailSignUp_form__C8FWb\">\n<p>Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG\u2019s experts<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>United Airlines is far from being a trendsetter by retiring its physical magazine.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the carrier is <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/airline-inflight-magazines-are-being-pulled-will-they-return-after-the-pandemic\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the last major domestic carrier to close the book<\/a> on the print version of its inflight magazine.<\/p>\n<p>Back in the days when there were no seatback screens and perhaps one monitor for movies at the front of the cabin, the print version of Hemispheres &#8220;was a great way for us to communicate with customers, provide interesting content and help them learn a little bit more about United,&#8221; Muren said. While it may be &#8220;tough to let it go,&#8221; he said the carrier&#8217;s research shows that transferring attention to the mobile app and a screen is the right move.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a correlation between having a screen on board and the customer liking so many different aspects of their journey,&#8221; Muren said. &#8220;It makes a lot of sense and is the right thing to do,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new\" class=\"jsx-2362441780 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-2362441780\">Out with the old, in with the new<\/h2>\n<p>United said the Hemispheres digital platform will include &#8220;personalized, timely and dynamic travel content&#8221; in various formats, such as fresh feature articles for destination inspiration, archival issues and fan favorites such as the Three Perfect Days guides.<\/p>\n<p>According to Muren, some flight and travel information that was once only available in the magazine \u2014 such as listings of the inflight entertainment options, customs information and airport maps \u2014 are already available in easier-to-use form on the airline&#8217;s mobile app.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/credit-cards\/credit-card-annual-fee-united-miles\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How to pay your United credit card&#8217;s annual fee with miles<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-1853040249 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.6875%\"\/><img alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_cover-of-the-August-issue.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-1853040249 figcaption\">UNITED AIRLINES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The print version of Hemispheres magazine included details about connecting to Wi-Fi and listed the food and drinks available during the flight. For now, that information will be printed on a small card slipped into the seatback pocket that includes &#8220;a bit richer explanation of the food experience and more pictures,&#8221; Muren said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We still want people to know what&#8217;s available and be able to make an order,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And we can do that without the entire magazine wrapped around it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>You won&#8217;t be able to tear out or draw on the route maps, but Muren said United is &#8220;going to be able to create a world where it is very interactive.&#8221; It will allow customers to program things into the map, such as places they want to go and places they&#8217;ve been, he added.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"sustainable-yes-but-thats-not-whats-driving-the-change\" class=\"jsx-2362441780 anchor\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"jsx-2362441780\">Sustainable? Yes. But that&#8217;s not what&#8217;s driving the change<\/h2>\n<p>United said removing the physical Hemispheres magazine reduces workload, carbon dioxide emissions and cost. While it&#8217;s great to get points for being &#8220;the environmental good guy,&#8221; Muren said what&#8217;s most important is that United customers have a great experience. &#8220;And we think digital is really key to doing that,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/save-united-miles-by-booking-partner-flights\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Save thousands of United miles by booking partner flights to Europe<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Over at the Smithsonian&#8217;s National Air and Space Museum, commercial aviation curator Bob van der Linden isn&#8217;t all that sad about inflight magazines going away.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not essential to travel today,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Everything you need is on your cellphone or in the entertainment system, so there are now so many other distractions to keep you busy for the length of your flight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-1853040249 tpg-figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0\" class=\"jsx-36530878 full-width-auto-height-image\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;overflow:hidden;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;position:relative\"><span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:initial;height:initial;background:none;opacity:1;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;padding-top:66.625%\"\/><img alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"responsive\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;border:none;margin:auto;display:block;width:0;height:0;min-width:100%;max-width:100%;min-height:100%;max-height:100%\" sizes=\"100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=640 640w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=750 750w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=828 828w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=1080 1080w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=1920 1920w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=2048 2048w, https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=3840 3840w\" src=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.global.ssl.fastly.net\/us\/originals\/2024\/08\/20240816_United-Airlines-Hemispheres-Magazine_Early-cover-hemiphers.jpg?width=3840\"\/><\/noscript><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"jsx-1853040249 figcaption\">UNITED AIRLINES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But Matthew Burchette, senior curator at Seattle&#8217;s Museum of Flight, is a bit more nostalgic.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sure, I can watch nearly every season of &#8216;Friends&#8217; or a newly released movie, but I&#8217;m more old-fashioned,&#8221; Burchette said. &#8220;I liked learning about Memphis&#8217; SmokeSlam: The World&#8217;s Ultimate BBQ Showdown or the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. Even though I wasn&#8217;t going there, it gave me a sense of what it was like to live there. I like to think it made our country a bit smaller and more accessible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>Related reading:<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/news\/united-airlines-seatback-magazines-digital-changes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is both the end of an era and a sign of the (electronic) times. United Airlines recently announced it is discontinuing the print version of Hemispheres, the inflight magazine that has greeted passengers from the seatback pocket since 1992. Starting with the October issue, United will offer Hemispheres in digital form only. Value check: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-119441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}