Look away from the pixellated B-list movie on that glitchy, glaring screen: the boredom buster on your next flight should be a bespoke book. Australian flag carrier Qantas has teamed up with Droga5 and publisher Hachette to release a series of ten tailor-made works of fiction for its flights, each edited to fit neatly into the duration of a particular route. A lengthy trans-pacific nets an odyssey (considerately scalloped to take in to account nap and cocktail obligations), while something more bite-sized will accompany the odd hourlong domestic.

The series, beautifully designed by Paul Belford, spans various genres, with each work written by a notable Australian author and all apparently packed with poignant Aussie evocations. The initiative is part of a larger push to move the brand more broadly upmarket. And with good measures of tactility and exclusivity baked in, these stories should go a long way towards a new narrative for Qantas.