Principal
AirLearn
Rob Britton is the principal of AirLearn, a consultancy that helps suppliers, partners, newcomers, and students understand the complexities of the airline industry, and provides marketing and leadership advice to a range of organizations. In 2006, he retired as Managing Director, Advertising at American Airlines, where he was responsible for worldwide media advertising, brand stewardship, direct marketing, promotion, and customer research – he was part of the team that helped rebuild the AA brand after the September 11 attacks. He has spent 48 years in and near the travel and tourism industry, in a wide variety of roles. Rob earned a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Minnesota, and completed postdoctoral work at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He held staff and field positions with Republic Airlines and Northwest Airlines. Rob joined American in 1987, and worked across the enterprise, in marketing, international affairs, corporate communications, and operations. He has published more than 90 articles in major newspapers and magazines, in travel-trade publications, and in refereed academic journals. Rob has enjoyed a hybrid career, with long service to academia.
Originally a geography professor, he is now an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and lectures annually at 25 other business schools worldwide, including Kellogg, Wharton, and London Business School. He serves on advisory boards at the business school of Umeå University, Sweden, and the South American Business Forum in Buenos Aires. Rob is married to Linda, an attorney, and has two adult children and two grandchildren. They live in suburban Washington.