Retailing at 35,000 Feet

In a high-flying new bookselling venture, Gulf Air, which is owned by Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates and flies to 32 countries, has opened what it calls the Sky Bookshop on some of its long-haul routes. The service took off earlier this month on Gulf Air's London flights; the airline is now expanding it to other routes.

The emphasis is on classic airplane reading—thrillers and mysteries— demonstrated by what may be the first author event held five miles up. Sky Bookshop launched with an onboard appearance by Simon Kernick, who signed copies of his most recent crime novel, The Murder Exchange (St. Martin's/Minotaur). Kernick also appeared at a Bahrain bookstore run by Jashanmal and Sons, one of Gulf Air's partners in the Sky Bookshop venture.

Sky Bookshop will sell bestsellers and new publications from popular authors, feature screen interviews with authors and offer signed copies of selected titles. One of the first of these titles is Avenger by Frederick Forsyth (St. Martin's/ Thomas Dunne). The bookstore is part of Gulf Air's effort to "enhance the travel experience of every customer," said John Butler, the airline's vice-president of marketing and sales. As part of this effort, it created the Sky Nanny program (where a qualified member of the in-flight service team provides relief for parents by keeping children entertained and fed during the flight) and has five-star chefs in first class on its long-distance flights.