Skyjack Magazine Issue 2: The 1990s Queer Air-Travel Zine You Didn’t Know You Needed

BY MARK CHESNUT

Recently, I shared the very first issue of Skyjack Magazine, my 1990s fanzine “for gay people who fly.” The reaction from readers was wonderfully nostalgic. Now I’m taxiing out again with the second installment: Skyjack Issue 2, the Spring 1994 issue, which I’ve freshly scanned, digitized and made ready for boarding.

If you missed the first flight, catch up here. That premiere edition captured the giddy DIY spirit of the time: in the days before blogs, Instagram and TikTok, we shared our stories via photocopied layouts, humor with altitude and serious stories about how queer airline employees navigated an industry that didn’t always welcome them. Skyjack wasn’t a glossy gay travel magazine; it was a homemade homage to queer travel and the airline industry — with a sharp sense of humor.

With Issue 2, the turbulence gets juicier, the destinations sunnier and the writing even more sky-high. Just click here or scroll to the PDF at the end of this post to read the whole glorious thing. If only inflight magazines had been this engaging. (If you have trouble viewing the PDF on this site, you can also download the full PDF here.)

Here’s a quick look at what’s in Skyjack Magazine Issue 2:

Yes, that RuPaul. It was such a small little article, but it carries a lot of weight thanks to the star power. Issue 2 includes a “Celebrity Travel Profile” interview with RuPaul, fresh from Supermodel (You Better Work) fame (I interviewed her on other topics for a New York City newspaper, and tacked on these questions, just for the Skyjack audience).

The chat covers RuPaul's Georgia roots, Delta Air Lines, and other aspects of air travel. This was clearly not a typical interview for this rising star — as evidenced in her ultimately flustered responses: 

Me: What is it about male flight attendants?

RuPaul: I don't know, what is it about male flight attendants? 

Me: When you fly, what's your favorite airline meal? 

RuPaul: I bring my own food. 

Me: You're originally from Georgia. Do you feel that Delta Air Lines has an unfair grip on air travel in Atlanta?

RuPaul: I really never thought about it. What is this sudden obsession about air travel? Where is this interview heading? Do you have a flight fetish? 

Front and center on the cover of Issue 2: a row of sun-bleached water skiers carrying letters that spell SOUTHERN AIRWAYS. It probably wasn’t Miami’s Biscayne Bay, but it still serves as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the sunshine state's close connection to airline nostalgia — one of the zine’s favorite obsessions. Inside, the feature story “Greetings from Miami: Hub of Airline History” is a love letter to the South Florida’s glamorous aviation heritage. I wax poetic about Pan Am’s ghostly Art Deco headquarters, the Miami City Hall building that once dispatched Clipper flying boats, and the city’s unending obsession with jet-age style.

For readers who think Miami is all sand, nightclubs and neon, this piece shows another side: the humid, history-soaked corner of town where vintage travel posters come to life and retired pilots swap stories over café cubano.

One of the great joys of Skyjack was pairing humor with cultural commentary, and award-winning writer James Hannaham delivered that perfectly in “Heaven’s Gate.” His deep dive into the cinematic evolution of airline disasters starts with 1970s melodrama (Airport ’75, anyone?) and lands squarely in the theology of fear, guilt and oxygen masks.

It’s both hilarious and oddly profound — the kind of essay that could only appear in a zine obsessed with flight, fear and fabulousness. By page 7, you’ll find a cheeky box promising “More Movies the Airlines Won’t Show You,” an ongoing series that showcases noteworthy (and often delightfully bad) movies that incorporated the more dramatic aspects of air travel. It feels especially relevant today, at a time when we can more easily stream movies both in the air and on the ground

Another standout story follows flight attendant Graham Leith in “Life Across the Pond.” It’s a rare insider look at what it was like to work cabin crew for airlines on both sides of the Atlantic, comparing the prim discipline of British carriers with the casual charm of their U.S. counterparts.

It’s part sociology, part gossip column, and very Skyjack — offering the same blend of personal storytelling and aviation anthropology that made the zine so distinctive.

Art lovers won’t want to miss “Hurtling Through The Air: Martha Rosler’s Aviation Art” on pages 4 and 5, which explores how the acclaimed artist used air travel as metaphor for modern alienation and consumer desire. That’s right — a queer travel zine casually dissecting postmodern art theory between jokes about jet-lag and bad airline coffee. What can I say? We were nothing if not high-minded.

Like every Skyjack issue, the back pages of Issue 2 are pure time capsule: classifieds seeking “grounded men with frequent-flier potential,” ads for the Gay Airline & Travel Club and a notice for Operation World Pride 1994, a dance party aboard the USS Intrepid in New York City.

These pages remind me that Skyjack helped to connect communities. Before apps, hashtags or even AOL chat rooms, our readers connected through snail-mail classifieds and the shared language of travel, creativity, humor and queer identity.

Looking back, Skyjack Issue 2 captures the confidence of a movement gaining altitude. It’s funny, political and deeply personal — and it preserves stories of LGBTQ+ people who worked in, loved and were at times challenged by an industry that often tried to keep them invisible.

As I scan each page, I’m struck by how relevant it still feels. The aviation world continues to evolve, and queer travelers have more visibility than ever, but that blend of humor, honesty and fascination with flight is still priceless.

So, buckle up for another trip through the queer skies of the ’90s. Click below to download the full Skyjack Issue 2 PDF, pour yourself a ginger ale (or champagne if you’re in business class), and enjoy a ride through pop culture, art and airline nostalgia — with just a touch of jet-age attitude.

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ABOUT MARK CHESNUT

Mark Chesnut is a New York City-based journalist, editor, travel industry consultant and public speaker with more than 30 years of experience. The winner of the 2019 NLGJA Excellence in Travel Writing Award, Mark is the author of the book Prepare for Departure. Follow him on Instagram!