Kia ora is how you say hello in Maori, one of the many languages we’re planning on adding to Lingopal.

It’s also the title of Air New Zealand‘s inflight magazine, and I’m proud to say that we have scored ourselves a mention in the Hot News section. We’re in there amongst the crocodile-skin laptop, some high-end ugg boots and a very nice (and expensive) Longines watch with a leather strap. Lingopal differentiates itself of course, by the fact that it doesn’t contain any animal products. Mind you, if that crocodile skin laptop is anything to go by, then I’m sure you can get pelt covers for iPhones. Something sung for your ear on those chilly winter days … a hind-quarter of poodle perhaps.

A quick look at the back of the magazine tells me that, New Zealand aside, the airline flies to London, the USA, all over Australia and the South Pacific, plus several Asian cities, chiefly in Japan and China.

There’s a bit of development going on with inflight entertainment apparently. Some airlines are doing away with magazines altogether, citing the additional fuel costs caused by their weight. Others have negated this, saying that the advertising revenue more than makes up for it. Technology is playing a part too. This article found on Stuff talks about the growing use of personal technology, and its encroachment on the traditional offer of movies, tv shows and the like.

Regardless, we’re very happy to be flitted over by Air New Zealand’s passengers for the month of August.