Flying this holiday season and wondering where to get an inflatable Darth Vader with kaleidoscope Death Star snowball for your lawn or a “Will bark for bacon” t-shirt for your pet?
You’re in luck because the inflight SkyMall catalog is back in the skies, sort of, with a slim catalog insert in an airline magazine.
Once a mainstay of airline seatback pockets, the SkyMall catalog filled with garden Yetis and other offbeat items was deemed a victim of the digital age when the company filed for bankruptcy last January.
New Jersey-based C&A Marketing purchased the company’s assets in April, vowing to breathe new life into a quirky brand.
SkyMall’s online site is full of holiday gift ideas, such as a Stanley Cup popcorn maker and a Zombie Claus holiday statue, and, during October and November a SkyMall catalog appeared as an insert in United Airlines’ in-flight magazine, called Hemispheres.
“That was the fastest way to get the catalog back in the air, and it was a trial,” Pikarski told NBC, “We did the same thing on the Acela Amtrak trains in the northeast. If it works we’ll try different airlines and other travel areas.” He said those could come next year.
The definition of "works?"
“If people don’t just read the catalog but actually spend money,” said Pikarski.