As the first issue of Onboard Hospitality went to press in 2002, the inflight catering sector was still reeling from the devastating impacts on aviation of the September 11 terror attacks the year before. The terrorist threat had stopped years of steady airline growth dead in its tracks and as airlines pulled in their financial haunches and doubled down on security, the commitment to quality F&B suddenly seemed like a thing of the past.
Then, as confidence began to rebuild, the SARS respiratory virus in Asia – first detected among air crew – dealt the double whammy and any recovery stalled. But the inflight catering industry was not entirely unfamiliar with blows from external influences. The Gulf War and associated oil crisis of the 1990s had similarly hit passenger numbers and airline budgets, but over time the business had returned. By the late 1990s premium passengers could ‘Book the Cook’ for a chef onboard, or pre-order from a long menu of choices served by the likes of Singapore Airlines and Air India. Airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic were shifting their service styles from a structured catering delivered from the trolley, to extensive a la carte choices and ‘Freedom’ eat-as-you-please menus.
New eras
As George Banks, Inflight Culinary Consultant, recalls: “Passenger trends, not just airline budgets, were dictating a new way of dining onboard. Passengers wanted quality and they wanted snacks. They looked for lighter, fresher foods and grazing menus to dip into as they pleased.” And an era of celebrity chef input and endorsement was underway.
British Airways had just launched a new menu alongside its new Club World lie-flat seating and won the prestigious ITCA Mercury Award for its total rethink of inflight catering, balancing contemporary innovation with comfort foods, award-winning pastries and a ‘Raid the Larder’ snacking concept.
Banks adds: “We had seen several decades of tremendous growth in passenger volumes triggered in the 1970s by the launch of bigger aircraft such as the 747s, DC10s and Tristars. These all demanded heavy investment in catering, not just for the increased quantities of ingredients and staff needed but also costly new loaders and aircraft specific equipment. Only bigger caterers had deep enough pockets and many family caterers were swallowed up by that shift.
“Airlines themselves were increasingly selling off their own catering units and contracting specialist caterers capable of the mass catering demands. There was a lot of change in the air.”
Richard Wake, En Route Insight & Innovation Director, agrees: “I would say the biggest change in airline catering has been the move to out-sourcing for large parts of the meal preparation and items such as bakery. This has helped improve efficiency and network consistency. It has fluctuated over the decades but the biggest opportunity for this supply model came where airport caterers experienced labour shortages.”
Out-sourcing, the rising role of brokers and the growth of low-cost carriers also helped spawn another innovation we now take for granted. Salim Hazife, CEO and Managing Director at Foodfolk, says: “Retail has been the biggest game changer in the past 20 or so years and has changed the face of inflight catering. There remains a great opportunity to advance this model to better meet customer expectations into the future.”
But, he insists, anyone looking for a new golden age for inflight catering needs to keep one thing in mind: “The golden age of travel was all about the experience. Food was a significant touchpoint and there is certainly an opportunity to bring back some of that experience through food that connects with the passenger.”
He sees this coming through in a growing demand for catering tailored to different destinations and cabins. “This helps align the service and customer expectations and ensures better control of budgets”, he says, adding: “I think today’s offerings have become too budget-driven, prioritising cost over quality and freshness. Airlines could have a great impact on customer satisfaction by spending more on freshness and quality ingredients and less on packaged convenience. There are massive opportunities to connect through food with customisation and route-specific offerings giving great impact for close to neutral cost.”
Shifting gears
Gerard Bertholon, Chief Strategy Officer Cuisine Solutions, detects another shift: “The biggest catering change is in how much control airlines want over their menus. Initially, caterers would oversee the menu from start to finish and airlines would just approve at the final tasting. Now airlines bring in their own Consulting Chef to conceptualise the menu, focusing on trends, and then send the recipes to the supplier to execute. This has become key in their quest for differentiation. They are working with successful celebrity chefs to create on-trend dishes that cater to a new premium customer who is more educated around food. Expectations are much higher and passengers want thoughtfully created meals from a chef with a proven track record, using safe, cleaner ingredients. The sous vide method has become more popular for this reason as it ensures a consistent meal that doesn’t sacrifice quality and requires less prep work and staffing. It is also more resilient to any supply chain disruption, as products come frozen with an 18-month shelf life.”
Since the latest dramas of COVID-19, this resilience issue has become even more critical. Bertholon adds: “Caterers now plan for a long-term strategy when it comes to sourcing their products. They want products that are consistent and won’t be affected by any supply chain issues, menu shortages or labour shortages. Products that can be purchased frozen, in advance.“
In Economy, some 95% of meals served today are frozen. Frankenberg founders Helga and Rudi Friedrichs were among the early pioneers of inflight frozen meals prioritising new techniques as a way to drive up quality and consistency. Rudi says: “As networks grew airlines were keen to maintain a consistent standard across each region and this was hard with cook-and-chill meals. Having a central production unit in the middle of Europe began to make more sense, a place where fresh meals could be prepared well, frozen and then shipped across the network. This way they could have a consistent product on every route. Our goal was to show frozen meals were a way to bring real quality to inflight dining. We created every dish as if it was for a table of two and then we found ways to replicate that restaurant-level of attention and quality to a 20,000 meal run. We devised menu concepts and modified our processes so we could replicate quality at volume, developing techniques and equipment that could exactly replicate the ways chefs cook. Our reputation was built around quality and I do believe Frankenberg became the benchmark for frozen meals.”
Trend-setting
Helga identifies a more recent priority too. “Trends have become very important and in the last few years, a key change is that the food has to look good, it has to be instagrammable! It is not just about the taste.” Data is also driving change, with feedback scores on specific routes quickly showing carriers that better quality food brings in better customer satisfaction, she says.
At Bangkok Air Catering, General Manager Mohammad Farran, points up the shift to special meals. He says: “A major shift has been the focus on health-conscious and special dietary options, demand for a wide range of needs from gluten-free to vegan diets. Technological advancements have also revolutionised our operations. For instance, AI-driven demand forecasting and automation in kitchens have optimised food preparation and inventory management.
“Additionally, buy-on-board models for economy have become common, allowing caterers to introduce varied and customisable options within tighter budgets. Hygiene standards have also heightened, with new protocols to ensure food safety without compromising quality.”
Looking ahead, En Route’s Wake predicts greater use of new technologies and the focus on sustainability will grow. He identifies pick-and-pack technologies and intelligent tracking, vertical farming, AI, automation, and robotics all playing a big role.
And Farran adds: “During what many consider the golden era of air travel, personalised service, quality and passenger comfort were at the heart of the experience. These principles remain the same for achieving passenger satisfaction in today’s competitive market. Even with advancements in technology and automation, the human touch still resonates strongly and builds loyalty.”
As for using the past as a predictor for the future, Frankenburg’s Helga realistically cautions: “Which of us could ever have predicted those Icelandic volcanoes, the oil crisis, pandemics or wars?
“We cannot forecast the future, but we can stick to our core principles of quality, stay on top of wider trends and adapt with tailored meal solutions – ever ready to ride out any dramas beyond our control.”
