Marketing Prof. Presents on New Airline Sector

Prof. Clare Comm

Prof. Clare Comm of the College of Management recently made presentations on a new trend in air transportation to two industry conferences.

In September, Comm, who teaches marketing, traveled to Montreal to present “Marketing Very Light Jets,” which described how such aircraft – typically six seats or fewer – can provide convenient, cost-effective transportation, particularly for business travelers making 100- to 500-mile trips.

“It’s basically an SUV in the sky,” Comm says.

Comm says she made her presentation the same week that one of the major providers in the fledgling arm of the airline industry, DayJet of Florida, ceased operations because of trouble securing financing.  Her presentation addressed the marketing challenges faced by such companies, which include putting the message out about the size and type of aircraft used and how the service works.

The presentation was made at an annual symposium hosted by the Airline Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Society, better known as AGIFORS. The group, founded in 1960 by six workers from five international airlines, represents more than 1,200 professionals from airlines and related industries.

Comm was awarded a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to make the presentation. She was also recently selected as an affiliate of the foundation’s Sloan Industry Studies Program. Affiliates are scholars and researchers who have “a shared commitment to a research approach that places great value on direct contact with industry for insights, data and observations,” according to the foundation, which also states that the industry studies program “offers a dynamic forum for the exchange of ideas among scholars from a variety of industry specialties and academic backgrounds.” 

This month, Comm made another presentation on very light jets in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). Comm’s program was called “Opportunities for Decision Support in the Very Light Jet Market.”

Comm, who has published more than 35 articles in a variety of journals, areas of research include services marketing in the airline industry and higher education. Recently invited to join the editorial board of the International Journal of Business Excellence, she is co-writing a book titled, “Sustaining the Military Enterprise: Enhancing its Ability to Perform the Mission.”

- Christine_Gillette