Sigh of relief: With the arrival of 10 new hi-lift trucks ahead of schedule, and the arrival of another 10 more trucks soon, MAB hopes to fully restore its full meal service by mid-November.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) will be providing hot in-flight meals again on board affected routes after its contract ended with Brahim’s Food Services (BFS) last month.
The Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG), of which MAB is part of, said this was made possible with the arrival of 10 new hi-lift trucks ahead of schedule.
“MAB anticipates the arrival of another 10 hi-lift trucks in the coming months, while proactively enhancing and fine-tuning its pre-packaged meal components during the interim period, with the aim of fully restoring the full meal service by mid-November this year,” said MAG in a statement yesterday.
“The hi-lift trucks are an essential part of the overall airline in-flight meal process in upholding food quality and safety standards.
“They ensure that the meal carts are uplifted at the correct temperatures, preserving the freshness of hot and ambient meals, while also maintaining stringent practices throughout the process.
“In the absence of the hi-lifts, MAB temporarily suspended hot meal offerings to ensure food safety is not compromised,” it added.
MAB had suspended hot meals on some of its flights earlier due to the absence of the hi-lift trucks.
On Monday, MAB reintroduced simplified hot meals for business class passengers on the Bangkok and Denpasar routes.
It also said that economy class passengers travelling to Bangkok and Denpasar, as well as passengers on all cabin class on flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Manila and Hong Kong, will also be served hot meals.
“Business class passengers heading to all South Asia sectors will additionally enjoy the renowned Malaysia Airlines satay. Other Asean cities will be served hot meals in stages.
“Meanwhile, passengers travelling to other South Asian, North Asian and Australia destinations will continue to receive the simplified hot meals on board.
“Services on the London, Auckland, Jeddah, Madinah, Osaka and Haneda routes had remained unaffected,” said MAG.
MAB had established a temporary distribution centre at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), to manage the assembly of F&B items by respective suppliers, and the uplifting of meal boxes on board via hi-lift trucks.
“The centre’s operations are in accordance with standards set by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and is endorsed by the local health authorities for its cleanliness, hygiene and environment - meeting food safety and hygiene standards,” MAG added.
The longstanding catering contract between MAB and BFS ended on Aug 31 this year after extensive negotiations did not result in an amicable agreement.
BFS had in early June served MAB with a notice of service discontinuation effective July 1, while discussions were still ongoing for a new contract.
However, it subsequently retracted the notice and agreed to extend service until Aug 31.
