Calling the airplane the final bastion for the old-fashioned paperback novel, Aussie airline Qantas is launching a series of specially written books that can be read from start to finish within the duration of the flight.
Aimed at appealing to the carrier’s frequent flyers -- most often business travelers -- the strategy is meant to strengthen the brand’s image as a sophisticated, premium airline, particularly in light of its recent partnership with luxury Middle Eastern airline Emirates, points out AdAge.com.
The collection of books called “Stories for Every Journey” were written in collaboration with publisher Hachette and invites digitized passengers who’ve grown accustomed to e-readers like the Kindle and the Nook to rediscover the pleasures of thumbing a good paperback novel.
Their target audience, meanwhile? The Qantas Platinum Flyer: i.e., male.
That means books are predominantly non-fiction, thrillers and crime-based short stories, written to match the flight time of each route.
The average reader, for instance, consumes between 200 to 300 words a minute which is equal to about a page per minute, said partner and ad agency Droga5 Sydney’s David Nobay to AdAge.
Book covers are designed by award-winning art director Paul Bedford who has worked on The Economist, Sony Playstation and Waterstones, and include forwards from the airline.
{{/usCountry}}Book covers are designed by award-winning art director Paul Bedford who has worked on The Economist, Sony Playstation and Waterstones, and include forwards from the airline.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Time magazine came up with its list of ‘airport books,’ a genre of easy-reading novels and reads to pass away the passive flying time.
Calling them ‘tray-table tomes,’ the list includes page-turners like Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink,” and Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love.”