 |
 |
| Airline: British Airways |
| Title: High Life Shop! |
| Frequency: Every two months |
| Pagination: 112 (including cover) |
| Categories (including adverts): |
| Emphasis on local items: Strong |
Quality of paper: Good |
| Photo quality: High class |
Pre-order: Yes, via website |
| Website preview available?: Yes, at www.bagiftshop.com |
Website sale available: |
Source: ©The Moodie Report |
UK. Brimming with enticing offers, the January/February 2007 issue of High Life Shop! maintains the high standard British Airways has set for its inflight publication.
A strong local feel starts with a front cover devoted to London fragrance and skincare specialist Jo Malone and continues throughout the 112-page brochure, from Sindy dolls to Stella McCartney fragrances.
Previous reviews |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The incentives to shop begin similarly early, a collection of Super Savers highlighted on page four, with savings on the UK high street prices of £100 on a Raymond Weil gent’s Tango watch (£340), £66 on Hugo Boss men’s sunglasses (£69), £51 on a DKNY ladies’ Bangle watch (£99) and £30 on a Links of London Allsorts necklace (£165).
And the facing page spotlights “six smart must-haves for the ski season”, ranging from an Elizabeth Arden eight-hour travel set (£20) to a Samsung Miniket Sports multifunction camcorder (£440).
Likewise, the High Life Shop! Directory, which makes up the bulk of the publication, features a generous number of exclusive items – nine in the Jewellery section alone – free gwps and triple BA Miles for Executive Club members on selected purchases.
Images are high quality and always large enough to do the product justice, accompanying summaries are comprehensive and well-written, and while prices are given only in pounds sterling, savings on recommended retail prices are helpfully shown.
The wide selection of Children’s goodies is laudable, as the sector is sometimes overlooked, while the Gadgets section spotlights one of the best selections of available-onboard consumer technology we’ve seen. Included among 11 pages are a number of exclusives, such as a Sim4travel card (£34), i-Mate smartphone (£240) and Casio Exilim digital camera EX-Z1000 (£255).
Finding the right category is simple, thanks to colour-coded headings at the top of each page, while the sprinkling of editorial content from contributors such as Elle‘s Features Assistant and the Commissioning Editor of British GQ is a nice touch that adds variety.
The opening 23 pages that precede the directory are given consumer magazine treatment. For instance, there’s a section containing letters to the editor, relating to High Life Shop!-related queries – a simple technique but one which gives a personal touch to the Q&A format:
Q: “”¦what if the product I want is out of stock?” – Kate, Liverpool
A: “”¦ BA will post your order, with the exception of some selected items such as alcohol, tobacco and fragrances that can’t be posted outside the UK. Postage is free and the price”¦ is the same as the one onboard”¦”
Features include interviews with health and beauty experts over four pages, a look at Champagne brand Moët & Chandon, a focus on Stella McCartney – Stella In Two edt (£29.50) and solid perfume (£18.50) are both available onboard – and a profile of the iconic Sindy doll, the UK equivalent of the US’s Barbie, which is available exclusively wearing a BA uniform (£10).
The closing pages cover duty free allowances and payment methods, as well as promoting the online shopping service available at www.bagiftshop.com, which gives passengers a web preview, mail order service and online shopping, including exclusive online-only offers. Use the site’s Wish List and a spend of over £50 will earn discount vouchers of up to 10%.
