Metro

Saturday July 11, 2009

The inside story of in-flight food

By FAZLEENA AZIZ


DID you know that in-flight food is considered the safest, compared with food served in any hotel or prepared in any famous kitchen?

This is because in-flight catering has to comply with stringent International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations as well as submit to regular testing and auditing.

Waiting to be filled: The Qatar Airways trays are laid out before the food items are put in.

KL Airport Services Sdn Bhd (Klas) is one of the few ground handlers that provide a range of services for various commercial airlines operating through Malaysian airports.

Among its top services is its 24-hour in-flight catering with a production capacity of up to 8,000 meals a day.

Klas has so far met with all the standards set by IATA and has never failed any audit.

The catering division provides services to some of the world’s renowned airlines, like Saudi Arabia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Egypt Air, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Merpati, Transaero, Kuwait Airways and Royal Brunei Airlines.

Its chief operating officer, Shukrie Salleh, said meeting specified standards was the company’s way of ensuring it was a frontrunner in the business.

He said the raw materials were tested for quality before they were cooked.

“We prepare the food based on the requirements of the respective airlines. Some carriers have loading capacity of 80% and we prepare for that particular number.

“The important element is forward planning; preparation is carried out based on the information gathered, like loading factor as well as class.

Meeting requirements: The food prepared must be according to the menu grid.

“It is a common misconception that airline food is not tasty, but that has to do with air pressure. What is salty here, on the ground, may not be salty in mid-air.

“As the food is pre-cooked, it has to be frozen and reheated later to prevent bacteria growth,” he said.

Shukrie said the feedback from clients had been positive because they followed every specification, from the ingredients, salt and even how many grams of meat was to be used.

He said the average cost of an economy class meal was about RM8 to RM12 while a business class meal would cost between RM16 and RM24.

During a recent visit to Klas, inflight catering division head Asri Sahari walked the StarMetro team through the whole process of how it is all done.

The division is divided into five sections – purchasing, kitchen or production, operations, quality assurance, and sales and commercial.

The process begins with the menu grid confirmed by the airlines. Then the food preparation starts with the receiving of the raw materials, which are checked for quality.

First in, first out: Food that is precooked is dated before it is stored.

The raw ingredients are then cleaned and cut before they are cooked.

The prepared food products are sent to the blast freezer for one hour before the food is portioned in accordance with the airline’s menu.

Lastly, the meals are placed on the carts and sent to the holding room four hours before loading.

About 300kg to 500kg of raw ingredients are needed daily. They are dated before being stored in their respective freezers or places.

Asri said they observed the “first in, first out” practice with regard to the materials.

“In the kitchen section, we have sections for each process, like the hot and cold kitchens, bakery, patisserie and a place where the meat is cut and weighed according to portion.

“Some airlines provide their own set of utensils and serving trays, so we always prepare the food according to their requirements.

“We have a staff of 128 in our section and there are 14 high-lifts to carry the food to the aircraft,” he said.

According to Asri, the food has to be at the airport five minutes before the plane lands for the loading.

He also said most of the airlines dictated what they wanted to use and Klas would provide the services they required.

Klas is a wholly owned subsidiary of DRB-Hicom, which was established in 1995.

It has been awarded a concession period of 50 years as a ground handler at KL International Airport by Malaysia Airports Bhd.

Klas also operates at the Penang International Airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport and Kuching International Airport.

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