Who will ne named the 2014 World’s Best Inflight Caterer?

Which in-flight caterers have the best records of quality and safety? If travelers knew the answer, would they book their flights accordingly? Frequent fliers in 2015 appreciate every extra touch of comfort, so that knowledge is more valuable than ever. And some of the top airport kitchens will surprise you - few would guess that the tiny tropical island of Bonaire would beat out most airports in the Continental United States.

Every year, Medina Quality (MQ) names the best in-flight caterers in the business at a gala celebration presented by a global roster of major airlines that participate in the Quality and Safety Alliances In-Flight Services Programme (QSAI). This year the top honours will be announced on February 26 at a celebration held at the Cousino Macul vineyard in Santiago, Chile.

Last year’s Platinum Award for Worldwide Excellence - the highest award overall - went to Osaka Japan’s Kansai International Airport for the second consecutive year. Will Kansai continue its winning streak -- or will another nominee ascend to take its place? In addition to the Platinum award, gold, silver and bronze awards will be announced for three geographic regions (Asia, Americas and Middle East/Europe/Africa) for a total of nine additional prizes. There are over 200 catering facilities in the running for awards in 50 countries.

Most travelers don’t know where their in-flight meals come from. MQ designed the QSAI Programme to allow airlines to monitor and improve the safety and quality of meals provided by the caterers – caterers who are, in fact, located on the ground, at airport facilities around the world. Airlines hire these caterers to prepare the meals that roll down the aisles at 35,000 feet. Airlines that participate in QSAI include Air Canada, Air France, Air Tahiti Nui, Aeroflot Russian Airways, All Nippon Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Via Rail Canada, a rail operator.

The nominees for this year’s gold, silver, bronze and platinum awards are (in no particular order):

Middle East/Europe/Africa:
- Servair Nigeria – LOS (Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria)
- LSG Sky Chefs - MUC (Munich Airport, Munich, Germany)
- Saudi Airlines Catering - DMM (King Fahd International Airport, Dammam, Saudi Arabia)

Asia:
- Kansai Inflight Catering Co. Ltd. - KIX (Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan)
- ANA Catering Service Co. Ltd. - HND (Haneda Tokyo International Airport, Japan)
- Oberoi Flight Services – DEL (Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, India)

Americas:
- Goddard Catering Group - BON (Flamingo International Airport, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands)
- Gate Gourmet - MIA (Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida)
- LSG Sky Chefs - EZE (Ministro Pistarini International Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

The winners will be announced in a release on March 9th, 2015 following an exclusive gala for the honorees, featuring wines from one of Chile’s best vineyards.

Medina Quality has been conducting audits of in-flight caterers since 1983. The company developed the QSAI program in 2011 in collaboration with its airline clients. QSAI is the world’s first auditing program that allows airlines to monitor and improve in-flight food supplier compliance with internationally recognized standards while sharing program costs. QSAI is designed to ensure that airline caterers are rewarded for maintaining the highest standards of food safety and quality. MQ offers clients a variety of programs besides QSAI, including potable water monitoring programme, alleged food poisoning investigations, food and water microbial analysis results investigations, and alleged foreign body investigations. The company also develops management reporting tools with clients, including operations dashboards, supplier dashboards and performance snapshots.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia