SkyMall, the airline catalog that passengers have been ignoring for years during their flights, has landed in bankruptcy court. SkyMall LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Phoenix today.
The catalog was filled with weird items that used to be only available through the print editions that were tucked into the pocket in front of passengers during flights. However, most are now ignoring them, especially as more carriers add in-flight Internet access. The final dagger in the company might have come when the passengers were finally allowed to use their smartphones and tablets during take-offs and landings.
According to Bloomberg, the company said in today’s filing that it has already fired 47 call center employees and suspended the catalog. The company hopes to keep running a bare-bones operation while it tries to find a company interested.
“The substantial increase in the number of air carriers which provide Internet access, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's recent decision to allow the use of electronic devices during take-off and landing, resulted in additional competition from e-commerce retailers and additional competition for the attention of passengers, all of which further negatively impacted SkyMall's catalog sales,” Scott Wiley, the CFO for SkyMall LLC parent company Xhibit, said in the filing.
Delta already no longer has a contract with SkyMall and Southwest won’t carry it beyond April 1.
Clearly, the next time you need an iFetch ball-launcher for your dog, you’ll just have to order it online... or you could get it on Amazon!
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