Verified Public Place Update—Airline/Restricted-Access Clubs

At the November 2007 ABC board meeting, Rule 15.1 Verified Circulation was modified for copies distributed to airlines or airline restricted-access clubs. Following the announcement of the updated rules, an interim ruling was provided by the Magazine Committee of the ABC Board with regard to the maximum number of copies allowed and how the calculation would be made. This interim rule received unanimous consent at the March 2008 ABC board meeting. Therefore effective March 17, 2008, Rule F 15.1 will now reflect the following updated qualification criteria:

• The publisher or agent must enter into a formal agreement with the airline. The agreement should include the following information:
  • Title of magazine(s).
  • Term of distribution.
  • Affirmation that the airline has not received any inducements to participate in the program.
  • The total number of monthly flights per airline with a maximum of 8,000 copies to any one airline.
  • The term of the agreement shall be for not less than two consecutive issues.
  • The agreement must be updated annually if intended distribution exceeds one year.
  
  
  
• The airline must be willing to provide an affidavit attesting that all magazine copies were distributed by the airline and made available to their customers either on-board or in restricted access clubs.
  
  
• Updated Rule Language (March 17, 2008)

  The maximum number of copies to be provided to the airline for any magazine (regardless of frequency) is two copies per total number of monthly flights, not to exceed 8,000 copies per airline.

  Example: XYZ Airline has 100 flights per day or 3,000 per month (100 x 30).

  So in using the example above, the magazine may serve 6,000 copies per issue. (2 issues X 3,000 total flights in one month)

  Example: ABC Airline has 300 flights per day or 9,000 per month (300 x 30).

  So in using the example above, the magazine may serve 8,000 copies per issue. The total number of flights is 9,000 x 2 copies per issue for a total of 18,000, however 8,000 is the maximum number of copies that can be counted on any issue.

• The airline shall have total discretion as to where the copies are made available.

  For example: XYZ Airline may choose to place all 8,000 copies in the restricted club access area. They may also choose to place them on international flights only, or they may choose to split the copies across all flights.

• Copies that do not meet these qualifications or are placed in other airport public locations and/or are made available for pick-up shall not qualify as verified circulation but rather reported in analyzed non-paid bulk.

Updated 03/17/08