Air Panama

Case Study Prompt

Your client is Air Panama – Latin America’s 2nd largest airline.

The airline has a hub in Mexico City and flies to North, South, and Central America as well as a handful of European and Asian destinations. Recently, a number of smaller airlines have expanded and are flying to North America directly, taking market share from our client and decreasing revenue and profitability (which is heading towards the red). Your job is to advise on what we need to increase revenue.

Customers basically come from 2 areas:

1. Frequent fliers who depart from Mexico City
2. Throughput transfers to smaller cities that go through the Mexico City hub.

Case Study Overview

Air Panama is facing a revenue decline due to increasing competition, and in this McKinsey case study, it’s your job to find the cause of the decline and recommend a solution for your client.

If you are preparing for a final round interview at McKinsey, you can use the Market Study Framework to solve this case study. That said, the top interview candidates build a custom framework that is tailored to each case.

This case has no math diagrams. The qualitative difficulty is 3 out of 4, which makes this a more advanced case interview you would more likely see in a McKinsey final round.

McKinsey Interview Tips

What does McKinsey look for in its case interview candidates? The ability to problem-solve and clearly communicate your process and recommendations.

In this case, focus on communication and overall polish as you walk through the case.

For out-loud practice with an expert, book an hour with an ex-MBB coach.