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Medium Opportunity Assessment Operations

Wildcat Wings

#Transportation & Logistics #Aerospace & Defense
ProHub Comment

This case tests market sizing, operational efficiency analysis, and creative financial thinking. Candidates must balance revenue loss from cashless transactions against operational cost savings while identifying less obvious benefits like time value of money and working capital improvements. The key insight is recognizing that bottom-line savings are more valuable than top-line revenue when magnitudes are equal.

Estimated Time 15 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source Kellogg
50 / 100

Our client is Wildcat Wings, the third largest airline in the United States by passengers carried. This week, the CEO flew with our primary competitor, Phoenix Air, and she noticed something interesting: Phoenix has stopped accepting cash for in-flight food and beverage services and they now only accept major credit cards.

The CEO of Wildcat Wings wants to know why Phoenix Air switched to Card only, and if Wildcat Wings should follow them.

Clarifying Information

  1. Card Use: Roughly 99% of all consumers purchase their airline tickets using a credit card, i.e. all consumers on an airplane have a credit card available to them.
  2. Items Sold: Only food and alcoholic beverage items are sold on Wildcat flights.
  3. Competitive Dynamics: Phoenix is the only airline that has made the switch; however all other airlines are evaluating the switch.
  4. Competitors: For the purposes of this case, Phoenix and Wildcat should be considered to be exactly the same in all regards.