Challenges on Airlines
Time-sensitiveness in food preparation. A typical airline caterer delivers over 45,000 meal trays per day. For these items to be supplied to the airlines, the caterer has to organize the operations in a way that everything is delivered and served on time given the strict schedules of airlines. Any delay in adhering to flight schedules will be costly to the airline due to the heavy penalties attached to flights that fail to meet the schedule.
Storing food in safe temperatures. Unlike regular restaurants, in-flight meals are to be consumed thousands of feet above the ground. Hence, it is a challenge to store the meals in its appropriate temperature, especially for the perishable dishes or cold plates such as fruits and salad. Failure to properly store food may lead to food safety issues.
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| Fig. 1. Cold plates incorporating fruits, salads and ham. |
Difficulty in guaranteeing food quality. As food is to be re-heated before serving, their outlook may vary from when they were freshly prepared. For example, some green vegetables may turn yellow after being re-heated, or the meat and rice may appear to be very dry and lack of moisture, which would look unattractive and unappealing. Besides, the food may also taste blend and without much flavor after reheating as compared to freshly consumed, which may affect the guests’ perception of food quality.
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| Fig. 2. Dry and unattractive appearance of the meat and rice. |
Difficulty in ensuring good hygiene. Unlike how meals are promptly served in restaurants, there tends to be long hours between preparation and when the food is actually served. Hence, it is a challenge to maintain good hygiene during the lead time when food is to be waited for hours before serving.
Challenges on Airport
Logistical challenges. Due to the remote location of airport restaurants, logistical challenges in food delivery is common as compared to restaurants in the city-center which is able to conveniently import food ingredients.
Limited storage area. As airport restaurants are usually small in size, storage for food ingredients is limited. Therefore, a precise forecast of demand is needed in order to avoid shortage of food ingredients.
Restrictions on disposal arrangements. Unlike regular restaurants with proper catering facilities, the wash-up area in which all the airline and kitchen equipment are washed is quite limited in size. Hence, there is not much space for clean up or sewage arrangements.
Recent trends
Preparing meals beforehand. As air travelled increased, cooking can no longer be done inside the aircraft and meals turned to be pre-made in order to serve the growing number of passengers.
Dishes made to measurements. Food has to be massively and consistently prepared beforehand in the airline catering kitchens. Dishes are to be made according to specific measurements, in which standards for preparation and presentation are unified for the chefs to follow once the recipes are confirmed.
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| Fig. 3. The chef is unifying the measurements of each ingredient in every dish. The exact amount of meat cuts, rice, vegetable accompaniments, and sauce are specifically counted and weighed. |
Provision of optional meals. Guests are given the freedom to choose whether they want in-flight meals when booking tickets. This is especially designed for cost-conscious guests, which creates a win-win situation as on one hand, guests can pay a cheaper overall price, and airlines can also offer a more competitive price as compared to other airline companies as the cost of food preparation is reduced.
Healthier meal options. The uptick in healthy eats is a prevailing trend in the travel and hospitality industry. There are two triggering factors for airlines to provide healthier meals. On one hand, there is increasing health concern from customers, and on the other hand, the more variety of options airlines provide for their customers, the more revenue reward they can get. Hence, airlines and airports are now offering a variety of healthy meal options ranging from low-fat snack boxes sold on a flight to low-calorie options in the airport, with the inclusion of vegetarian meals as well to suit the needs of their customers.
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| Fig. 4. Healthy food choices provided in airports. |
Evaluation:
Before doing research, I never expected that airlines and airports will face so many challenges and obstacles in providing Food and Beverage services. Now that I learnt more about their operations, I can understand why airport meals may taste blend, or why they always serve beans and carrots instead of regular vegetables.
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