Stanley Goh, CEO of SATS, discusses trends in inflight catering, sustainability initiatives and incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into operations.
What are the current key trends in inflight catering?
Post-Covid, with travel picking up, we’re seeing that travellers today are looking for more immersive and engaging experiences at their destinations—including through food.
One major trend is personalisation. Travellers want experiences that reflect the local culture, even inflight. For example, if there are festivals or cultural events happening at a destination, passengers are interested in how their inflight meals can reflect that.
Another trend is health and wellness. We’re noticing that more travellers, even those who aren’t vegetarian, are choosing vegetarian meals inflight. They may opt for lighter meals for health reasons, rather than religious or cultural ones. While plant-based meats haven’t taken off significantly—many still prefer the real thing—plant-based and vegetarian options are definitely on the rise.
Authenticity is another key trend. Younger, more connected travellers are more aware of what authentic food tastes like, thanks to social media. As an Asian-based inflight caterer, we’re in a great position to deliver authentic Asian cuisine that aligns with these expectations.
What sustainability steps are you taking?
Sustainability is a key focus area for us, including ESG goals and carbon footprint reduction. We’re:
- Investing in technology to improve refrigerants in older and newer facilities.
- Working on waste management pilot projects with airline partners to establish baselines on food waste.
- Exploring recycling food waste through compactors that convert waste into bio-pellets for energy or feed.
- Partnering with third-party vendors to scale food waste recycling.
- Looking into water and plastic recycling solutions.
We’re still in the early stages, but data collection is critical. Once we establish our baseline, we’re working on a clear three to five-year roadmap to make meaningful progress.
Are you incorporating AI into your operations?
Yes, we’re moving in that direction. In our Singapore production centre, which produces around 50,000 meals daily, we’re using cameras with visual recognition to scan and categorise food waste before it’s discarded. This gives us real-time data to analyse and reduce waste.
While we’re not yet using advanced, generative AI; we’re using simple analytics now, which is a first step. Once we’ve collected enough data, we aim to integrate AI-driven insights into operations to further optimise processes.
