• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, November 23, 2007

Pace Communications' in-flight magazines, led by United's Hemispheres, dominate the affluent audience, according to the fall statistical report from Mediamark Research and Intelligence released last week.

Pace trumpeted the triumph of its custom publications over business and high-end lifestyle titles, reminding advertisers of their advantageous positioning: playing to a captive audience.

According to MRI, Hemispheres is read by individuals with a median household income of $123,333; for comparison, the median household income of Conde Nast Traveler readers is $107,768, the Economist is $102,267; Fortune's is $97,980; Forbes is $94,448; and Travel & Leisure's is $94,969.

Not all in-flight magazines are quite as well-heeled as Hemispheres, including sister titles also produced by Pace--Delta's Sky Magazine ranked somewhat lower, with a median household income of $98,640, as did its US Airways' Attache, at $91,931.

However, most in-flight magazines have enjoyed readership growth in recent years. Since fall 2002, Sky's total monthly audience increased from about 2.8 million to 3.7 million--a 32% increase. During the same period, Hemispheres rose 37%, from 1.6 million to 2.2 million in 2007.