Airline executives, catering service providers and industry experts will gather in Toulouse later this week for the second Airline Catering Association (ACA) event.
The ACA Leadership Symposium, taking place February 18-19 at the FirstName Toulouse hotel, seeks to “drive improvements in service quality, operational efficiency and sustainability” by fostering collaboration and innovation within the airline catering industry.
Organisers said the event aims to “enhance the passenger experience while ensuring industry resilience in an ever-evolving market”.
After a welcome reception on the evening of February 18, the event kicks off the following morning with ‘The Pitch Galley’, a Dragons’ Den-style session where providers of goods and services pitch their latest innovations and solutions directly to inflight caterers.
After lunch, a presentation by Nicolas Jourdan, Airbus Senior Strategist for Cabin & Cargo, will explore whether sustainable growth is finally going to unfold for the foreseeable future, and will outline any clouds on the horizon that the industry needs to monitor.
A panel discussion will bring together airline leaders to explore evolving passenger expectations, sustainability imperatives and the role of innovation in inflight catering
Speakers include Rosine Allené, Air France VP In-Flight Services & Supply Chain, Brij Mohan Sharma, Etihad Airways Head of Commercial Airline Catering, and Agnieszka Bargieł, LOT Polish Airlines Deputy Director Product Development & Customer Experience.
In another session, five CEOs from inflight catering companies will debate how the industry is evolving to meet rapidly changing passenger expectations, from digitalisation to sustainability and culinary innovation.
The CEOs include Christoph Schmitz, gategroup CEO, Robin Padgett, dnata Divisional SVP Catering, Michiel van der Eijk, KLM Catering Services CEO and Pierre Bastjaens, Cathay Dining CEO.
The day ends with conclusions and a presentation from Jonathan Stent-Torriani, Newrest Chairman & ACA President, and the new ACA President-elect, Fabio Gamba, ACA MD.
The following day (February 20), delegates are invited to a site visit at the Airbus facilities.
Onboard Hospitality Contributing Editor, Bev Fearis, will be in attendance.
