A few months ago I wrote a post about some of the ways that airlines were hoping to save money by cutting back on passenger amenities–if you could call in-flight soda and peanut-packets amenities. Then there’s the notion of charging for all checked baggage (be still my heart Southwest, which continues to be my favorite airline because it refuses to following the airline crowd. And it still refuses to charge for any kind of baggage. It’s no wonder its profits are going up in a down economy). Now I’ve read that one airline is banning its in-flight magazine as a way of saving money.

Emirates Airlines’ decision to jettison its in-flight magazine called Open Skies has nothing to do with saving money on producing a magazine. It’s all about saving weight. In a Sustainable Life Media article, the airline claims that taking magazines off of the plane will save a ton–literally, a ton in weight.

As someone who makes her living writing for in-flight magazines (among other publications), I hate hearing news like this. Because if airlines start cutting back on each of their in-flight publications, I’m going to have to find a new way to make a living. Yes, I’m biased here but at least I’m honest about it. I say save the in-flight magazines!

Here’s a thought: if airlines really wanted to cut down on the weight of their airplanes to save fuel, why not stop taking passengers all together? That will save a ton (or two or 10) of weight.