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ITCA Shanghai finds a region on the move From the expansion plans for China Eastern Airlines Catering to the continued efforts by airlines to seek high quality food service and the caterer’s to seek high quality employees, visitors to this year’s International Travel Catering Association Conference Shanghai event found a region that continues to grow at a pace that demands much the companies that set up shop there. Set in the third hall of the massive Food and Hospitality China (FHC), the November 30 to December 2 event in the Pudong section of Shanghai drew approximately 200 registered delegates and listed 32 exhibitors. Companies from Asia and beyond brought a host of new products and provided browsers with updates on the current lines. The conference happened at a time when airlines from the United States were vying hard for coveted routes to the vibrant Chinese city that will host the World Exposition in 2010. By the end of the year, one of four U.S. carriers will be awarded a nonstop route to the city. The conference also occurred the week before China Eastern Airlines opened its first direct flights from Shanghai to New York. Like other airlines in the region, China Eastern is growing quickly. In his address to the gathering China Eastern Air Group Chairman Li Feng Hua said that by 2015, the carrier is projected to have a fleet of up to 322 aircraft. In addition to the launch of the service to New York, Li said the carrier is embarking on a new friendliness initiative for its flight attendants and crew. To cater to western and southern Chinese tastes, Lee said the company’s massive catering operation in Shanghai has been updated with improved equipment. From January to September of this year, Lee said the kitchen prepared 18.7 million meals and will expand service “upstream and downstream” as the carrier prepares for the flood of tourists who will attend the 2010 World Exposition. The additional growth will mean additional pressures on airline caterers in the country to adapt to personnel issues, and the demands of an ever-growing number of laws, rules and regulations. In a round table discussion December 2, a group from aviation, finance and local catering talked about those challenges and others. Every province and district has its own unique set of laws and regulations, said Felix Muntwyler, general manager of the Gate Gourmet unit in Shanghai. In a discussion moderated by Hanseuli Meuli a consultant from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, a group of panelists talked on a wide range of subjects, from the need for an adequate supply chain to dining habits of Chinese people, who are choosing to eat in restaurants in increasing numbers. “We see the trend for fast food moving at a breathtaking pace,” said Muntwyler. In addition to catering meals in Shanghai, Gate Gourmet has secured a business with Pizza Huts in the city, supplying cut vegetables. An expansion of such outlets to secondary Chinese cities means an increased challenge for the region’s supply chain. The longtime need for airlines to keep track of their equipment in catering operations was addressed by Peter Melander a consultant for outflight.net and Scandinavian Airlines who gave visitors a history of the efforts by the airlines and caterers to initiate bar coding and other programs for tracking onboard trolleys. Several programs have been tried and eventually suspended over the years. Currently Melander said the only one in place is taking place on Air France, and has been successful in discouraging theft of duty free goods. Melander said that in the next year, the International Air Transport Association plans to launch a new program Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to help airline customers keep track of trolleys online anywhere in the world. The group also had the chance to learn about the evolution of high-tech gadgetry from Rob Grimes, Chairman of an information technology company called Accuvia. Grimes talked about the future of products such as iPods, which will be integrated into employee training devices. He also predicted evolutions in mobile phones, global customer cards, voice recognition and wearable computer equipment. He urged visitors to keep the eye on Hollywood, for the movies tend to be a good predictor of future products. This is the 10th consecutive year that ITCA has held a conference in Asia -- all but two in partnerships with the International Flight Services Association. But two years ago, ITCA board members voted to hold their own event that included a trade show. At that time, IFSA also committed to the region with a focus on a networking event only as requested by the membership. The first conference by ITCA alone occurred last year in Bangkok. The future of the event itself was part of the discussion by Khalid Al Duwaisan, the president of ITCA. In his address to the group December 2 Al Duwaisan reported that two members, Founder President Willie Seeman and ITCA Trustee Terry Coyle traveled to Boston recently to visit with IFSA President Sandra Pineau and Vice President Ken Samara. “These two gentlemen, at our initiative, duly met with IFSA and thoroughly discussed the whole future co-operations,” said Al Duwaisan. The outcome of the meeting was discussed at the IFSA Board Meeting December 7. In an e-mail to PAX International IFSA stated that they continue to focus on what the membership in the region wants and will work diligently to make that happen, while keeping a strong presence for the association within the Asia Pacific region. Additionally, IFSA said it is open to discussing future cooperative efforts for 2008 in response to the meeting between the two parties. Due to plans well underway and finalized for 2007, IFSA the group said it would go ahead with its 2007 June Global Leadership Conference-Asia Pacific in Phuket, Thailand and will revisit the subject at the February board meeting in at IFSA’s Global Leadership Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica Look for more news from the Shanghai gathering that includes updates from some of the leading exhibitors and an interview with LSG Sky Chefs Executive Vice President of Operations Thomas Nagal in the next edition of the PAX International Online Newsletter. |
