Once a flight gets confirmed and you received all information about: A/C type and registration, date of flight, departure airport, arrival airport, flight duration, number and name of passengers; start develop the menu and preparing the catering order.
There are several applications for ordering catering. It is possible to order via app or sending an email with all the details.
If your requests and needs are of a higher level you can easily rely on the 5-star hotel restaurant or Michelin restaurants. Get in touch with the Food and Beverage Manager or the Chef and coordinate with him/her about the order.
It is very important to take into account the budget that is established by the company.
Enhancing the Passenger Experience. In-flight catering refers to providing meals and refreshments to passengers aboard an aircraft. It plays a significant role in the flight experience, particularly in long-haul, luxury, and business aviation.
Before preparing the menu and ordering the catering is necessary to clarify:
- how many services we have to provide.
- who our passengers are (European citizens, Muslims, Indians, Asians, Jews, etc.)
- what are their special requests (vegans, celiac, various allergies, etc.) or (birthday, honeymoon, anniversary, etc.)
- what type of trip (work or holiday)
To know how many services and type of it shall be provide, it is recommended to use Service Type Guideline
| 30 min – 1 hr | 1hr – 2hrs | 2hrs – 5hrs | more that 5 hrs | |
| 04:00 – 09:30 | Continental breakfast | English/American Breakfast | Buffet, hot Breakfast | Buffet, hot Breakfast |
| 09:30 – 11:30 | Brunch | Brunch & Snack | ||
| 11:30 – 14:30 | Lunch | Lunch & | ||
| 14:30 – 17:30 | Afternoon Tea | Afternoon Tea | ||
| 17:30 – 18:30 | Welcoming | Pax request | Aperitivo &Snack | Aperitivo & Snack |
| 18:30 – 21:30 | Dinner | Dinner | ||
| 21:30- 00:00 | Snack | Snack |
Once you have identified what and how many services you will serve on board, start develop the menu and prepare the email for the catering team. Remember to be very clear and detailed with all the information and how you want your order be packed.
According to company rules, sometimes, crew meals must not be included in the catering. In this case, the flight attendant asks the captain and first officer what they want to eat and personally goes to buy.
Before make catering order, we need to keep a few things in mind:
- Specify if the delivery is made to the FBO or directly to the plane.
- Specify the payment method. (by company card upon delivery by plane).
- Specify the size of the oven/microwave
- Specify the size of the aluminum container or suitable containers.
( kindly pack the hot items in SMALL/ MEDUIM/BIG size aluminum plates and hot sauces or soups in microwave suitable containers)
- For garnishing drinks and food, specify how many fruits we want slices from. (lemon wedge from 2/3 lemons). (lemon slice, lime wedge, orange slice, mint leaves, cucumber slices, pepper, maraschino cherries)
Always order
- ice cube and dry ice.
- Bread, how many and which type
- Individual butter
- Order by portions. Pay attention to foods that can be cut and divided, such as chicken, a meat roll.
- The menu must always contain: one dish with vegetables, one with meat and one with fish
- Crudite’ with dip
- Canape’/ Sandwich , always 4 different type: fish, vegetarian, meat and cheese.
- Petit four, 3 pieces per guest.
Some products (described below) can be bought directly at the supermarket. In this case, the flight attendant will ask the captain or first officer to accompany her and pay with the company credit card. In this way you will save a lot of money.
- Milk – fresh full fat milk. Soy milk
- Water – natural and sparkling. Water for coffee machine.
- Fruit – season fruits. Orange always. Fruit basket.
- Juices – orange, apple, tomatoes. Fresh juices.
- Newspapers – always in English and then in the company origin language and language of the guests. The newspaper should to be about business and finance. Example: Economic time, New time, Crypto, ecc.
- Magazines - they are always bought at the beginning of each month. Should be divided into gents and ladies. Must be about: travels, design, luxury yachts, private jets, fashion, golf, horses, discovery, science.
- Flowers – one orchid for the bathroom and a fresh composition for credenza.