Wake Me for Duty Free: The Evolution of Airline Travel

Did life used to be less commercial?

Several years ago I wrote a piece for Malaysian Airlines in-flight magazine (Going Places) called “Wake Me for Meals.” The luxury of being able to go to sleep and know that you would be gently awoken when it was time to eat was a luxury beyond my not-exactly-first-class-travel comprehension. Have things changed for the happy-go-lucky traveler?

On a recent flight in Malaysia, I found that the famous stickers had been changed to add another option to the reasons to wake up. Well, there only used to be two options:

1. Do not disturb.
2. Wake me for meals.

But now there was another reason to wake up: to buy stuff. There were now three stickers. How did the board meeting go to add the new sticker?

“You know, I think there needs to be more choice in our traveler’s waking patterns. It’s more important for people to wake up and not miss out on any potential shopping.”

“We wouldn’t want them to oversleep and never have the chance to purchase their favorite Bluetooth waterproof speaker.”

“They might not have time in between flights to get the not-really-a-great deal on perfume.”

“What if they have the special gift in mind for that secret someone?”

It all makes sense. It’s an important part of our culture. We need to buy things to survive, to stay alive, to continue with the evolution of our species. It’s probably a really long flight anyway, they can sleep when they get home. It’s time to shop.

What would you want to be woken up for? Or not at all?

1. Do not disturb.
2. Wake me for meals.
3. Wake me for duty free.

I think I’d go for option one and get those M&M’s before my connecting flight.