Some current issues in airline catering

Abstract

This paper offers a preliminary analysis of the role of food provision in airline catering. It focuses on current issues in airline catering as reflected in the concerns of operators and caterers, while at the same time reviewing that previous research which has examined in-flight food provision. While service operators clearly believe in the importance of catering as part of the service experience, there is little evidence to suggest that this reflects consumers' views to any significant extent. Nevertheless, operators do gear their marketing campaigns to the sale of ‘extra’ services as a means of differentiating their product from those of competitors. More research into this neglected aspect of food service is required in order to elucidate more precisely the relationship between available products and the satisfaction of consumer needs.