Flying on commercial airlines has gotten just a little more boring. No, I don’t mean “on-time” or “here are your bags” boring. I’m talking about what’s in the seat pocket. It looks like we’ll have to add the Skymall catalogue to our list of things from the “good old days” of flying! They have gone bankrupt (Link to Wall St. Journal article). Some of the blame is put on customers having more access to similar cool(?) stuff via their smart phones.
But could it be another problem? Insiders cited multiple lawsuits and (confidential) payouts in the millions for injuries (and 3 fatalities) when people used this “super chair” in traffic. Judges repeatedly sided with the plaintiffs (or their heirs) in judgements in civil courts across the U.S. Specifically, they held Skymall liable for the advertisements that led customers to believe the $7999 (powered) lounge chair was safe to drive in traffic.
For $7999, it’s understandable that some people took this ad literally, and were injured or killed as a result.
Of course, it wasn’t safe, and had never been certified as road-worthy by the U.S. DOT.
One judge said, “People are getting dumber everyday, but that is no excuse to present this souped-up chair as safe for the road, despite it’s $8000 price tag.”