Gate Gourmet gears up for customers in London

Three new customers, which account for more than 15,000 extra meals per week, were launched over a two-day period at the end of March at Gate Gourmet’s unit at London Heathrow.

Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and Air France all began receiving meals from the caterer on March 29 and 30. “Conducting the start-ups in such close succession is virtually unprecedented in airline service provision,” says a release from Gate Gourmet.

Gate Gourmet says that between 25,000 and 42,000 components are needed for each flight and the venture took the planning and preparation by nearly 1,000 employees at the caterer.

The new business will mean an addition 63 flights per week for the unit. In other news, the caterer recently added Qatar Airways to its customer list at Heathrow. The caterer also extended its contract with Cathay Pacific Airways, which has 31 flights per week out of Heathrow Airport.