ZURICH, Switzerland, Oct. 1, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Gate Gourmet International expands its activities with direct-to-passenger sales in Europe. Together with Swiss International Air Lines, the international airline caterer has launched its new food sales concept for the Swiss Economy class passengers on European flights today. Swiss is the first major flag-carrying European airline to introduce this restaurant style choice in the Economy class. The first day was a success.
In cooperation with Swiss, Gate Gourmet International has developed an impressive range of quality products. Gate Gourmet manages the whole offering and operates the business, owning the products and providing the Swiss Crew with training support and sales incentives.
The meals are offered for sale on all Swiss European Economy flights of over 70 minutes duration. The choice includes Gourmet sandwiches, fresh salads and breakfast specials, along with a varied beverage selection. A restaurant style menu card is handed out on board. To offer the passengers a constant variety of choice, the menus will change every month. During a test phase in September the products were offered on a complimentary basis.
World leader
Gate Gourmet is a world leader in direct-to-passenger meal programs having first offered the service in Australia and expanding it later to Europe. As air traffic started to decline following the events of 11 September 2001, Gate Gourmet approached its major airline customers in the U.S. with the concept to provide travellers the opportunity to purchase a meal as a value added option. The concept was developed in response to airlines reducing scheduled flights and the elimination of most in-flight meals on domestic flights in the U.S.
"Particularly in the United States, the airline industry is undergoing a transformation, and we are excited to be on the cutting edge, partnering with our airline customers to provide them with the high quality choice that their passengers say they want," says Henning Boysen, President & CEO of Gate Gourmet International.
International experience
In Europe, the addition of Swiss brings the number of such "sale on board" schemes managed by Gate Gourmet for its customers to a total of 7 airlines (Hapag Lloyd Express, Deutsche BA, Volareweb, Maersk, Sterling, Norwegian and Swiss) based in 6 European countries. The Danish regional airline Maersk Air launched its new onboard service with Gate Gourmet on 1st July this year.
Note to Editors:
Gate Gourmet is a world leading airline catering company. Its turnover in 2002 amounted to CHF 2.8 billion. With the world's most important airlines among its customers, Gate Gourmet produces over 195 million meals per year and employs a staff of about 22,000 in its 123 flight kitchens. This international enterprise is located in 31 countries on all continents and through its non-catering divisions also has capabilities in supply chain management and in-flight operations management (egatematrix), inspection and validation services (Gatesafe) and in-flight equipment sourcing (FiveOceans). The company was created from Swissair's in house catering operations in 1992 and has grown through the acquisition of other caterers including Aero-Chef, SAS Service Partner, Varig flight kitchens and British Airways flight kitchens. With the acquisition of Dobbs Catering in 1999, Gate Gourmet doubled in size and spread its business in the United States. In 2002, the U.S. investment group Texas Pacific Group (TPG) became the main investor in Gate Gourmet, which has its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
Further Information: Connie Voigt Director Corporate Communications Gate Gourmet International, Head Offices Zurich Media Line: +41 43 812 7117 E-mail: cvoigt@gategourmet.com
The press release can be downloaded from the following link:
http://reports.huginonline.com/919226/123560.pdf
Gate Gourmet International Corporate Communications CH-8058 Zurich Airport Switzerland Phone: +41 1 812 71 17 Fax: +41 1 810 91 75 E-mail:cvoigt@gategourmet.com www.gategourmet.com