Aviation catering experiences growth

Aviation catering has picked up and already employs close to 1000 people directly. Ama Amankwah Baafi reports

Meal time on board an aircraft is more than just culinary pleasure. Experts contend it is also relaxation, entertainment, a good use of time and a denominator of quality for the best airlines of the world.

This is why airlines invest in getting the best catering companies to prove them with the finest catering services, in most cases with the best cuisines sampled from across the world.

Since people find it difficult to grope around new tastes, airlines go great lengths to ensure that their mouth-watering menus include delicacies familiar to the areas they are flying to or flying from.

Some of the companies delivering sumptuous dishes to airlines operating from the Kotoka International Airport are Newest First Catering Limited and Servair Ghana.

The industry is experiencing remarkable growth in tandem with increasing activities in the airline industry. Catering industry players are anticipating a 15 per cent a year growth rate.

The aviation sector in Ghana is undergoing tremendous growth and recorded an increase in frequency of airlines operating in Ghana.

Reports said the number of scheduled and non-scheduled careers flying in and out of Ghana doubled from 13 to 38 in 2011.

Indeed, with this increase in flights comes the need for quality catering on board the flight. Servair, a leading French airline caterer and cleaning services provider also launched its operations in Ghana about a year ago.

Newrest First Catering Limited is one of the oldest such companies to operate in the country. Located on the Spintex Road in Accra, Newrest First was established in Ghana in 1998 and began full operations in general catering, including servicing the airlines. The company also renders outdoor catering services.

The General Manager, Ms Maud Lindsay-Gamrat, explained that the company services 12 airlines, including KLM, Lufthansa, Emirates, South African Airways, British Airways, Afriquiyah Airways and Air Namibia.

It also serves charters flights such as Air Ghana, Aero Gem Aviation, SA Presidential Flights, Thai Oriental Airlines and Vim Airlines (UN) as well as Diplomatic missions including Australian High Commission, Swiss, Netherland and German embassies, and Czech Republic.

Ms Lindsay-Gamrat said they produced 400 meals a day for an average of 11 airlines, and employs 320 persons. Newrest showcases the variety of meals available to the airlines to choose from.

“We try to package local products so our meals are a blend of continental and local food. Gradually we have introduced ‘red red’ (ripen plantain and beans sauce) and jollof rice. So far the results are very good and passengers are enjoying them, particularly on African routes,” she explained.

She said they often try to source ingredients locally. However, the challenge had been quality and availability, for instance with apples, grapes and some dairy products, which sometimes compel them to import.

As a response, Newrest periodically organises seminars for some of these vegetable famers to train them on good agronomic practices to ensure that their produce met quality standards.

She expressed the hope that the acclaimed expansion project at the Kotoka International Airport by the airport authorities would be able to accommodate the boom yet to be witnessed.

Ms Lindsay-Gamrat said products from Newrest Catering met the highest quality criteria.

The company’s systems and standards are constantly being monitored and supported by a number of systems: the internationally recognised Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), a systematic preventive approach to food and pharmaceutical safety.

“HACCP concept provides structural controls to prevent any food health risk. We attach a lot of value to stringent cleanliness controls and hygiene in all our production facilities and those of our suppliers. Moreover, all our employees take part in internal and external training”, she stated.

The premises of Newrest Catering has an in-house Microbiological Laboratory that is fully equipped for bacteriological analysis of food and water samples, in-house industrial laundry facility, in-house bakery for the proofing and baking of bread and pastries, a fruit processing unit and a bonded airline store and maintenance workshop.

Due to the high standard of service provided to its customers, the company was awarded Silver Quality Service by Lufthansa Airways in 2002 and 2003. British Airways awarded it the Service of Excellence award in 2008.

Currently, the company operates in 46 countries worldwide, 24 in Africa.

Servair, a leading French airline catering and cleaning company, also set feet in Africa in 1998 and started operating in Ghana in 2011. The company is ranked third in the world and incidentally the third in-flight catering service to set up in Ghana.

It operates through 60 establishments and the new Servair Ghana centre is the first Servair modular centre in Africa which meets international standards in food hygiene and safety. The company also operates in Asia, the United States of America, Italy, the Caribbean and India.

The company has, therefore, deployed its expertise the full range of company namely, strict compliance with standards of food safety and hygiene and cutting edge production technology.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Servair Ghana, Mr Patrick Alexandre, has pledged his company's commitment to make Servair Ghana successful to contribute to the development of the airport.

He said that they would also help to drive Ghana's economy by giving preference to local suppliers and also incorporate Ghanaian cuisines into their food line-up, as well as provide employment for Ghanaians. GB