The Skys the Limit with Airline In-Flight Magazines

The Skys the Limit with Airline In-Flight Magazines Oh, did I mention they pay up to $1/word? Air Canada’s EnRoute magazine pays $1 Canadian/word, for example, and Alaska Airline’s Horizons magazine pays $150 $250 for short articles (300 – 800 words) and $700 for 2,500 word features.  Airline magazines’ web sites don’t make the guidelines easy to find.   Be prepared to hunt and peck.   Here are 10 tips to make your pitch fly:  1.  Ã‚   Consider the airlines’ customer demographics and include in your pitch why your story will appeal to them.   Find the demographics under the â€Å"advertising† section of the magazine’s web site.  2.   If submitting a destination article, make sure the airline flies to that destination!  3.   Pitch â€Å"evergreen† stories, or stories that allow for the magazines’ long lead times.   Time-sensitive events are likely to get your pitch ditched.  4.   Mention if you have accompanying photos. Airline magazines ar e primarily visual vehicles.  5.   Check out the magazine’s editorial calendar, usually found under the â€Å"advertising† section on the web site. You’ll find some surprises!   For example, Alaska Air’s Horizons magazine is publishing a special on Tahiti as a destination in their February 2013 issue.  6.   Keep your story short.   Most pieces are 600 words or less;   â€Å"longer† features usually run under 2,500 words.  7.   Read the magazine! The magazines’ web sites often have archived copies to download. Match their style.  8.   Pitch a specific column. You’ll be more likely to get an assignment if your pitch matches the magazine’s format – and the editor will be more likely to read your pitch if she doesn’t have to guess where it might fit.   Many of the web sites list the specific departments for which the editors solicit submissions.  9.   Keep your ideas positive, not challengi ng. In-flight magazines want to keep their readers calm and relaxed. 10.   Forget poetry, fiction or â€Å"how I spent my summer vacation† travelogues.  OK, where to start?   Here are some on-line resources:  A comprehensive list of 101 in-flight magazines from AirArabia to Wizz Air (many with links directly to the magazine’s web site) is: itravelnet.com/publications/inflightmagazines.html      Many of these web sites have archived copies for your perusal.  Cision Navigator lists the top-ten in-flight magazines http://navigator.cision.com/news/news.aspx?nid=571   United’s Hemispheres leads the list with a circulation of 800,000.  Kelly Kyrik’s excellent article in Writers Weekly lists the needs of 7 major in-flight magazines.   (http://writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/002792_07062005.html)  So get those fingers flying!