Handling A Hub

Loading Aircraft at O'Hare International Airport.

Airline hubs, where hundreds of flights converge to exchange thousands of passengers, are a daily marvel of modern aviation. Carriers the world over depend on Gate Gourmet to manage the catering and logistics of these complex operations because they have the utmost confidence in our ability to meet their needs expertly, efficiently and consistently. "It's like planning a wedding every day -- and the dress has to be perfect," is the way one of our hub managers summed it up.

Examples include British Airways at its home base in London Heathrow, United and American at their Chicago hubs, Delta in Atlanta, Swiss International in Zurich and Jetstar in Australia.

Flexibility and Versatility

International gateways require the capability to service many large aircraft within a short time span, and Gate Gourmet has the equipment, people and expertise to do so. To effectively manage a gateway hub requires managing the entire flight network, which our eGate Solutions suite allows us to do by providing a state-of-the-art systems to forecast passenger and meal volumes. Coupled with our extensive experience and partnership with customers, we can react quickly to changes in aircraft size, flight schedules, departure and arrival gates, ramp requirements and menu cycles and all the unusual situations that can arise.

Our mission is clear to every one of our employees: Keep flights on time, fully serviced and customers satisfied.

Talent and Equipment Pool

Gate Gourmet's pool of people talent and equipment are superbly positioned to handle any circumstance. This ranges from multiple gate changes during a weather delay to rapid deployment of a new menu offering -- all within the fast-paced environment of an international hub. In some locations when the schedule and network allows, we double cater -- providing the supplies for both the outbound and return flights so that servicing is not needed in the spoke city.

We are equipped to respond to customers' routine requests for quick turn around assistance to plan meals, develop plating and tray arrangements, manage duty free offerings and orchestrate final delivery of products and services. On short notice, we are able to meet the special requests of VIP charter flights. On an ongoing basis, we provide menus that range from Halal and kosher to low salt or vegetarian depending upon our customers' requirements. We're equipped to do it all. Gate Gourmet carefully monitors all operations to dispatch the right people, supplies, vehicles and equipment to handle whatever surge requirements might arise.

What's more, our subject matter experts know how to quickly set up in a new city and work hand-in-hand with our customer's start-up team as our customers continue to extend and expand their network world wide.

Control Points in a Complex Operation

There are a number of control points involved in safely managing the complexity of international catering: careful inspection of food and amenity items, validation of safety seals; chains of custody of galley carts and catering trucks; and correct handling of inbound international waste, to name a few. Gate Gourmet is skilled in each facet of the overall operation to handle the details and ensure consistency.

We put ourselves in the right place at the right time to anticipate and deliver on every flight.

Valuing a Partnership

We make it a point to get to know airline employees in their hubs. In this way, we develop a deep knowledge of our customers to manage the complex and multi-layered partnership so that agreed upon standards are consistently met each and every day.

Gate Gourmet managers frequently attend customer station meetings and forums with flight attendants at their home base to stay informed about the airline's needs and to maintain open lines of communications. We also are involved in each stage of the planning process for new and additional flight services, ensuring that local and global passenger needs are met through culinary design as well as final execution and delivery.

We combine our customers' needs with Continuous Improvement tools and best practices. Gate Gourmet provides "Best in Class" service for every class of service in the aircraft cabin.