As the plane stabilizes at its optimal cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, you pull from the back of your seat the in-flight magazine, the cover of which is filled with images of fame and pocket happiness. Across all airlines providing the same service (flights), branding is the key to gaining a competitive advantage. The in-flight magazine becomes a vital product through which airlines can promote their brand, sell products and build relationships with their passengers. The magazine offers advertisers a very attractive and attentive audience as both on-board matters and information on airport transfers require reference to the magazine. The reach of these magazines is also broad, which makes them very attractive to advertisers. For example, Qantas carries more than 13 million passengers a year and 65,000 magazines are printed every month (Geels). In-flight magazines, however ideologically benign or innocent they may seem, prove powerful in illustrating the values ​​to which a traveler should adhere. Advertisements reflect society and the people they advertise to, so they convey meanings and messages about what is normal social behavior. Flying, although less expensive today than in the past, is reserved for the wealthiest in society; those who have the freedom and means to travel by air. Advertisements in airline magazines are a subtle way of dividing passengers into those who are socially and culturally acceptable air travelers and those who are not. When you start to get bored or try to find out more about the Airbus A380 you're flying, open the revised window to the first page. Staring at you is a Mont Blanc advertisement starring Nicolas Cage. This advert was in the August addition of Qantas' 2012 inter...... middle of paper ......tter and globetrotting is an opportunity to acquire an international lifestyle and lifestyle , fashionable and sophisticated” (Thurlow & Jaworski 601). Qantas adverts from Netjets and Mont Blanc promote a lifestyle of indulgence, comfort and luxury which can be purchased, usually at a considerable price. The recurring challenge for airlines has been to bring together different consumer perceptions across nations and cultures. The advertising is aimed at those who are rich in time and money and have the means to carry out activities such as purchasing ridiculously expensive watches and renting planes. Advertising promotes Western ideals of consumption and belonging in which it socially and culturally separates those who fly from those who do not. A passenger's identity is constructed by in-flight magazines as an air traveler with privileges and economic freedom.