Celebrity Chefs Boost Aero Catering

SATS has become the first inflight food caterer to take onboard celebrity chefs as culinary consultants, a move it says could help its customer airlines acquire and retain passengers amid mounting competition from LCCs.

An inaugural culinary panel of five celebrity chefs worked with Sats to create more than 100 dishes, which were yesterday showcased to over 100 airlines in Singapore. The master chefs on the panel are New Zealand’s Dean Brettschneider, Singapore’s Eric Teo, South Korea’s Gwak Man Keun and Indonesia’s Idham Mirwan.

Sats believes the new creations could give full-service airlines a boost.

Alex Hungate, president and CEO, said: “Air travel traditionally has been the most glamorous form of travel and that’s what it should remain if the industry is going to continue to be 'healthy' – particularly for full-service carriers competing against LCCs.

“You have to justify the ticket price. (Passengers) want more glamour, more sense of occasion (in their inflight experience) and food is a good (and cost-effective) way of doing that. That makes them want to use the same airline next time.”

The new offering can prove a strong differentiator particularly in the online marketplace, where consumers find it “easier than ever to browse options and compare offerings”, he added.

Sats is positive that its new dishes will speak well to today’s travellers. Hungate remarked: “A lot of people travel because they want to learn about and experience other cultures… they want (their inflight meal) to be authentic and special. Special famous dishes are a big reason why people fly.”

Since it was introduced in January this year, Sats’ new line of inflight meals has seen takeup from six airlines – including SilkAir and XiamenAir.

The gourmet meals have been offered as part of festive menus and as chef’s special items.

In particular, SilkAir had worked with Sats' culinary team to finetune dishes in their All Time Favourites menu, which Rick Stephen, director of kitchens at Sats, said was “quite successful”.

“We expect to see a lot more takeup for upcoming festivities (and special occasions)," he said.

What could be in the way of airlines incorporating Sats' premium meals are concerns with margins. However, the economies of scale that Sats enjoys would allow it to provide “better quality and more authentic meals at more reasonable prices for the airline”, Hungate assured.

Sats has capacity to produce about 100,000 meals a day, and this number is expected to increase with the completion of a new production line at one of its two inflight catering facilities.