In-Flight Magazine Extravaganza, Part III: A Double Dose of Continental

January 4, 2009 at 2:59 PM | by Victor Ozols | 2 Comments

Airlines have cut out just about every perk imaginable, but for now, you'll still find an in-flight magazine in the seat pocket in front of you, tucked between the barf bag, emergency procedures card, and SkyMall catalog. As a service to those readers who choose airlines based on the quality of their in-flight magazines, Jaunted is publishing a multi-part series that takes a look at the flagship magazines from airlines big and small. In the third installment, Victor Ozols pores over the December, 2008 and January, 2009 issues of Continental, the in-flight magazine of Continental Airlines.

We flew Continental round-trip to Phoenix from Newark over the holidays, and were rewarded with not one but two issues of their surprisingly high-quality in-flight magazine, which is cleverly titled Continental. I didn't expect too much when I pulled out the December issue (left), with its "Hurricane Fighters" cover. Hey, I'm not saying Houston Mayor Bill White and Judge Ed Emmett aren't sexy as hell, but the cover didn't really "pop," to use the lingo of the graphic designers I know. But once I started thumbing through it, I quickly came to the conclusion that Continental could almost be a "real" travel magazine, escaping the confines of the seat pocket and crawling to the racks at Barnes & Noble under its own power.

Sure, you'll find the same corny advertisements that support all in-flight magazines - Landry's Restaurant Group! Rosetta Stone foreign language lessons! - but the editorial content suggested a bias toward what real people want to read, as opposed to the treacly, micromanaged fluff designed to make it past the legal department. It really seems like editor Gail Harrington has done her share of pushback at the buzzkills in upper management. The magazine is better for it.

To wit, I learned that you can rent a bicycle for mere pennies at various locations in Hangzhou, China; that I could finally get a boomerang to return to me by taking the Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience tour in North Queensland, Australia; and that Beltway insiders spill state secrets over dry vodka martinis at Washington, D.C.'s Off the Record Saloon.

The highlight of the issue by far was writer Ian Mount's feature story on life in the new Buenos Aires called Capital Gains, which was complemented by elegant photos from photographer Pablo Abuliak. In a tightly-written yet lush overview of the Argentinian capital, the former Gridskipper contributor brings the city to life in a way that actually makes me want to visit, which, I suppose, is the goal of every travel story. Better still, he accomplishes this without trafficking in shopworn travel-writing cliches. (Kudos for not calling Buenos Aires a "city of contrasts," even if it is.)

The January issue (right) is anchored by a feature on Chef Charlie Palmer, whose restaurant empire in Las Vegas triggered an explosion of high-end dining in a city formerly known for mediocre buffets. It was a pretty good story - and we do love a thick steak - but our eyes were drawn to the teal blue tones of the Miami Nice feature. Hewing closer to the standard in-flight fare, we nonetheless gazed dreamily at photos of the fancy swimming pools at high-end hotels and read descriptions of a luxury lifestyle that we hope to enjoy one day. An altitude of 35,000 feet above the deck seems just right for dreaming.

[Photo: Victor Ozols]

Related Stories:
· Continental Magazine [Official Site]
· In-Flight Magazine Extravaganza, Part I: American Way [Jaunted]
· In-Flight Magazine Extravaganza, Part II: Delta Sky [Jaunted]

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