This case presents the situation facing Tony Fernandes, the former Vice President of Warner Brothers, ASEAN region, in 2001, who had to decide whether to venture into the aviation business by acquiring an existing airline or drop the idea altogether. Fernandes was interested in starting a budget airline in Malaysia similar to low-cost airlines in the USA and Europe. He and his two close associates presented a proposal to Mahathir bin Mohammad, Malaysia's Prime Minister (PM), to start a low-cost airline. Mohammad rejected the proposal and suggested Fernandes to consider buying an existing airline. Conceptually it helps the participant to build the concept of entry through acquisition mode as opposed to entry through own creation. In the larger context, it involves the participants in evaluating a strategic opportunity for a new entrant.

The AirAsia India 2017 (AAI) case presents the situation faced by Tony Fernandes, the CEO of the AirAsia group of companies, in 2017, when he had to respond to the changes in aviation policy made by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA). As per the changes, an airline operating in India could start its international operations without having five years of domestic flying experience provided it deployed 20 of its aircraft or 20% of the total capacity, whichever was higher, for domestic operations. The objective of this case is to help discuss issues relating to sustaining late entry and exploring new growth opportunities in the context of regulatory changes.