After 25 Years of Selling Quirky Products to Idle Flyers, SkyMall is Filing for Bankruptcy

A source of strange and wacky gifts for travelers, SkyMall may soon lose flight status after filing for bankruptcy.

Once considered synonymous with the American flying experience, the SkyMall catalog may no longer have a place on airlines. Yahoo! Travel reports the limited liability company and its parent, Xhibit Corp., have filed for bankruptcy protection and will liquidate assets in court.

Founded in 1990, the parent company claims SkyMall once reached over 600 million flyers per year. Although it was known for showcasing a unique variety of items, the catalog featured by nearly every domestic carrier experienced difficulty adjusting to the evolution of technology. The Wall Street Journal reports that between 2013 and 2014, revenue from catalog sales dropped by more than 50 percent.

In addition the lost revenue, SkyMall also struggled to stay in the seatbacks of domestic flights. According to The Wall Street Journal, SkyMall deplaned from Delta Air Lines flights when the carrier ended its contract in November 2014, while Southwest Airlines announced it would stop carrying the catalog sometime this year. In bankruptcy filing, SkyMall cited Delta, American Airlines and US Airways as its biggest unsecured creditors.

“We are extremely disappointed in this result and are hopeful that SkyMall and the iconic ‘SkyMall’ brand find a home to continue to operate,” Scott Wiley, acting chief executive of SkyMall, said in a statement issued Friday.

An auction for brand assets is tentatively scheduled for March, with sales expected to completed by April. A banner at the top of the SkyMall website still invites flyers to place their order, stating: “There are changes in the air, but we’re still here! Place your order today.”

[Photo: SkyMall]