Inflight kitchens hit by low traffic

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 18, 2008

Chennai: A medical emergency forced Abhijit Basu to take a flight from Kolkata to Chennai. Though he paid a fortune to fly, the only thing that he got for free during the two-hour flight was water. The days of enjoying a high-altitude meal seems to be passe as airlines are rationalising routes and cutting corners. 

    Mainstream airlines have not only started operating their lowcost subsidiaries on long-haul routes, but also have started to reduce the number of full-service flights to different destinations. 

    Such drastic measures have started eating into the prospects of inflight caterers — companies which prepare and supply food for the airlines. According to industry sources, the number of meals being supplied to various airlines has come down drastically in the past few months. 

    Till a couple of years ago, only the Taj Group prepared and supplied food for flights taking off from Chennai. Today, there is Oberoi Flight Services, Saj Flight Services and Sky Gourmet. All these companies have set up flight kitchens near the airport for faster distribution. The latest entrant in the inflight food industry, LSG Sky Chef, is also building a kitchen near the airport. 

    “The low-cost carriers that encouraged more people to fly triggered a boom in the aviation sector. Chennai airport registered an unprecedented increase in passenger traffic and aircraft movement because of them. This increased the demand for more flight kitchens because food for inflight service should be prepared and stored in hygienic conditions,” an airport official said. 

    But the sudden shift in the fortunes of the aviation industry has hit these catering companies, especially the new entrants. 

    “The number of meals supplied per day to airlines has come down because there is a reduction in passenger traffic at the airports. We started the service in Chennai thinking that more passengers will fly. But the increase in air fares has caused a dip in traffic,” said Agnelo Pereira, general manager, Sky Gourmet, which supplies to a private airline. 

    The overheads are high for inflight caterers. “It is a round-theclock business and we need quality staff. So laying off staff to cut cost is not a good idea,” Pereira added. 

AIR POCKET 

    There are nearly 100 shops and food outlets at the domestic and international terminals of Chennai airport. They pay a monthly rent ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore 

    There was a scramble among food chains to open outlets at the airport in order to cash in on the boom in the aviation triggered by lowcost carriers. But the sudden decline in passenger traffic has hit them hard 

    The traders now want Airports Authority of India to either revise their rents or do away with the clause in the contract that stipulates a 10% hike in the rent every year. 

    The prominent restaurants chains that have outlets at the airport include Sangeetha, Adayar Anandha Bhavan, Zara, and Cafe Coffee Day. Due to the drop in passenger traffic, the otherwisepacked Sangeetha is losing Rs 5 lakh a month 

    AAI remains unaffected because according to the contract, the traders have to pay a fixed rent irrespective of revenue