Will Canadian Customers Adapt to the “Basic” Airline Standard? – Toronto News
Catch up on all the exciting Toronto business schools new from the past week below.
Air Canada, WestJet Offer Cheap Basic Economy Fares for No-Frill Seekers – CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC News sought the expertise of airline analyst and York University Schulich School of Business professor Fred Lazar for an article that examined the intricacies of “basic economy” fares. Though these fares, which offer cheaper seating and even fewer benefits than standard economy, have been popular in the United States, they have only recently been adopted by AirCanada and WestJet.
Though the thought of a cheap flight is tantalizing, basic economy definitely has its drawbacks. Passengers who take advantage of the cheap fares will not earn points (Aeroplan miles or Westjet dollars) with the airlines, cannot change their flights, are ineligible for refunds, and cannot upgrade their seats.
Though some predict the limiting and cost-effective option will see backlash from dissatisfied passengers, Lazar predicts Canadian travelers will adapt quickly to the no-frills travel option.
“Just like when [airlines] started charging for food, charging for blankets, pillows, there were complaints. You rarely get them nowadays,” Lazar said.
Learn more about Canadian airlines’ “basic economy” option here.
Why Students Make Their Ideas Commercial Faster – Forbes
This week, a Forbes article about student entrepreneurs featured a paper authored by three experts, including University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management professor Joshua Gans. The book, “Control Versus Execution: Endogenous Appropriability and Entrepreneurial Strategy,” whose other authors include Kenny Ching of University College and Scott Stern of MIT Sloan, explored entrepreneurship in technological innovation.
The researchers looked at the successes of student-led and faculty-led entrepreneurial endeavors and found that students prioritize bringing an idea to fruition quickly, rather than obtaining intellectual property assets. Forbes used the findings in the paper to suggest that student entrepreneurs are more successful due to their emphasis on speed over caution.
“Our analysis suggests that student entrepreneurs, with less time and with less access to university intellectual property institutions, are more likely to choose an execution-oriented strategy. Compared to University faculty, who are more likely to be patient, wait for delayed market entry and pursue a control-oriented strategy with formal protection.” – Kenny Ching
Learn more about why student entrepreneurs are often successful here.
New Course Explores Intersection of Business and Community – McMaster’s Brighter World Daily News
First year students in the Integrated Business and Humanities (IBH) program at McMaster University’s Degroote School of Business have been traveling to downtown Hamilton to attend a weekly class at CityLAB. CityLAB is a hub that allows students from community institutions (McMaster University, Redeemer University College, and Mohawk College) to collaborate with municipal staff and engage with the community to tackle pressing projects and issues.
Integrated Business and Humanities meet at the CityLAB space / Photo via dailynews.mcmaster.ca
“It’s a totally new way of learning,” said IBH student Yael Morris. “We’re finding out how we can apply social innovation not just to business, but to our everyday lives so we can build relationships and interact with people in our communities.”
The class, IBH 1AD3 allows students to gain a new perspective on challenges facing their community, and to tackle these challenges from a business perspective. IBH was a collaboration between that Business and Humanities faculties aimed at producing industry leaders apt to address societal issues such as sustainability and business ethics.
“Through a combination of instruction, community-based guest speakers, field trips and projects, students have been learning about the concepts that underpin community engagement and social innovation, as well as about social enterprise and the business models used by community organizations.”
Read more about McMaster’s CityLAB course here.
