[Exclusive] Korean Air's Morning Calm to End Print Edition After 49 Years, Go Digital Next Year

Digital-only content starting next year
Global airlines follow the trend toward digital transformation
Reducing carbon emissions and advancing eco-friendly ESG management

Korean Air's in-flight magazine Morning Calm, which has a 49-year history, will cease publication in print at the end of this year.

Korean Air's in-flight magazine, Morning Calm. Korean Air

According to Korean Air on November 3, Morning Calm will be published exclusively in digital format starting next year, rather than as a physical in-flight magazine. Until now, it has retained the format of a traditional print magazine while also being available to everyone through Korean Air's official website and mobile app.

Launched in 1977, Morning Calm is a general-interest magazine distributed on all Korean Air flights and at its directly operated lounges in Korea and abroad. As the in-flight magazine of Korea's flag carrier, it has featured content showcasing Korea and introducing lesser-known travel destinations around the world. It also won the "Asia's Leading Inflight Magazine" award at the 2024 World Travel Awards.

Korean Air's move to digitize its in-flight magazine reflects a broader trend among global airlines. Hemispheres, United Airlines' in-flight magazine, ended its print edition with the September 2024 issue and switched to a digital edition. British Airways likewise shifted its in-flight magazine, High Life, to a digital-first format in September 2020 and stopped placing print magazines on its aircraft.

The shift from print to digital in-flight magazines is expected to reduce not only printing and production costs but also fuel costs through lighter aircraft, while helping cut carbon emissions.

According to United Airlines' 2024 Corporate Impact Report, the airline reduced the average weight of each aircraft by about 35.8 kg when it ended publication of its print in-flight magazine, Hemispheres, in September 2024. United Airlines estimated that this helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 3,000 tonnes from October to December of that year. Annualized, the reduction would amount to about 12,000 tonnes, the report said.

A Korean Air official said, "The move to digitize Morning Calm is intended to make the magazine more convenient for passengers to read in line with the expanded in-flight Wi-Fi environment following the introduction of Starlink, and to advance our environmentally friendly ESG management by reducing the weight of paper resources carried on board." The official added, "We plan to expand our services with digital content that passengers can access without restrictions anytime and anywhere, both on board and on the ground, using smart devices."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.