Surge in Passenger Air Traffic & the Corresponding Demand for Quality, Fresh, and Delicious Food On-Board to Drive the In-Flight Catering Services Market

The global market for In-Flight Catering Services is projected to exceed US$21 billion by 2024, driven by booming air travel and the corresponding increase in passenger traffic, and enhanced focus on choice, quality and consistency supported by innovation in bringing about the best quality meals on-board.

The simple fare of biscuits, sandwiches, beef tea, mineral water, whisky and beer served about nine decades ago by Imperial Airways, the predecessor of British Airways, was the seed to the present huge business of airline catering which serves elaborate high-end culinary offerings that are customized to the passenger’s tastes. Increasing competition is driving airlines to make the experience more memorable and also differentiate in terms of total in-flight experience from competitors. In-flight catering services market has also witnessed numerous changes over the years led by people’s changing preferences for new variety of foods, particularly in view of the growing health consciousness and increasing awareness about nutrition. While traditionally the aviation sector benefited from business travels, rise in number of air travelers on leisure/pleasure trips, international tourism, growth in student travel under student exchange programs, global sports meets and growing popularity of medical tourism, are also contributing to the significant increase in air traffic and demand for airline catering. Fast paced urbanization and resulting increase in migrant population is also driving increased passenger traffic between major business centers and towns, representing the primary growth driver for the inflight catering services market.

Future growth in the market will be driven by digital platforms and interfaces offered to passengers by airlines, which leverage the technology inputs and knowledge to manage inventories, create customer profiles and data-based specific offers, and also streamline workflow and operations. Airlines are making use of AI for determining the amount of food required by passengers. By employing machine learning, airlines are optimizing the process of loading planes and reducing wastage of food. Airborne Cooking Robot, an industry 4.0 in-flight oven’s multi-channel energy transmission technology ensures that each course in the food racks receives customized treatment and food is cooked with adjustable parameters, including time, temperature, etc. Growing expectations of all class of passengers to have healthy and nutritious food; advent of mobile and online meal order booking that is witnessing steady adoption by major airlines, and surge in travel needs of the Chinese millennial population that represent the largest and most important demography worldwide represent other important growth drivers. Increasing demand by air passengers for environmentally sustainable food solutions with locally sourced food products; shift from complimentary meals to buy-on-board meals transforming in-flight catering from a free service offering to a revenue model; and rising popularity of mini-meals and nutritious snacks for the health-conscious airline traveler are additional factors poised to benefit market prospects in the near term.

As stated by the new market research report on In-Flight Catering Services, Asia-Pacific represents the largest and the fastest growing market worldwide with a CAGR of 6.5% over the analysis period. Rising number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) as well as expanding middle class income group with increased discretionary spending; rapid urbanization; increasing international travel and tourism, and rising standard of living to complement aspirational travelling are factors poised to drive growth in the region. The Middle East is also emerging as a hub of international airline activity with the regional airlines remaining top performers in in-flight catering for the past few years. Emirates, with daily production of more than 300,000 meals and 117 million meals per annum for 134 airlines and a high tech catering unit, provides provincial chefs for preparing particular dishes for customers of different nationalities.

Key players in the market include Abby’s Catering,  AAS Catering Co., Ltd., ANA Catering Service Co., Ltd., Brahim’s SATS Food Services Sdn Bhd, Cathay Pacific Catering Services (H.K.) Ltd., DO & CO Restaurants & Catering AG, dnata, Emirates Flight Catering Co., LLC, Gate Gourmet, KLM Catering Services Schiphol BV, LSG Lufthansa Service Holding AG, LSG Sky Chefs, Newrest Group International S.A.S, Royal In-Flight Catering Co., Ltd., Saudi Airlines Catering Company, and SATS Limited, among others.

The research report titled “In-Flight Catering Services - Market Analysis, Trends, and Forecasts” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities of global companies. The report provides market estimates and projections for all major geographic markets including the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

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