LSG Sky Chefs Services First European A380 Flight
Neu-Isenburg – With the inaugural European flight of Singapore Airlines A380 airbus to and from London Heathrow, LSG Sky Chefs participated in the official world premiere for catering a regularly scheduled flight of the largest passenger aircraft.
LSG Sky Chefs is contracted to provide catering services to all Singapore Airlines flights out of London Heathrow. The caterer has not only created signature dishes together with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, but also invested in special airline catering trucks capable of loading the super jet.
In order to fulfill the catering requirements during the allowed timeframe, LSG Sky Chefs purchased two of the worlds tallest airline catering trucks capable of reaching the A380s upper deck. Standard airline catering trucks only extend to around six meters above ground, but LSG Sky Chefs two Iveco Stralis 300 trucks can lift containers 8.4 meters into the air. The trucks have a payload of 4.5 tons and can carry up to 50 catering trolleys on each journey. Apart from the unique height extension, each vehicle has a fold-away link bridge from the truck to the aircraft and has the ability to maneuver the container above the A380s massive wings to reach the upper deck doors.
LSG Sky Chefs drivers received special training at the Airbus manufacturing centre in Toulouse, France, on door opening procedures, aligning trucks next to the aircraft and simulating catering and decatering of the A380. Catering staff, including equipment packers and managers, also traveled to Singapore to familiarize themselves with the airlines special requirements for the new super jet.
LSG Sky Chefs London-Heathrow Customer Service Centre provides full in-flight services to three long-haul flights each day out of London-Heathrow to Singapore – supplying nearly 500,000 meals for first, business and economy passengers each year involving more than 1,000 flights in total.
Dale Easdon, LSG Sky Chefs Chief Operating Officer in the UK, said: “The first pas-senger flight by the A380 into the UK is an enormously important occasion for everybody concerned. LSG Sky Chefs has made a considerable investment to provide the unique resources required for this model of aircraft and we hope to extend our service offering to other carriers as more A380s come on line. This really is a momentous occasion for both the aviation and airline catering industries and LSG Sky Chefs is very proud to be a part of it.”