Future of inflight dining: dnata, iFLEAT innovates food delivery system

By Rahul Vaimal, Associate Editor
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Onboard food delivery
Representational Image

The Emirati airport services provider dnata has entered into a deal with iFLEAT, an airline innovation and technology leader and the world’s leading food delivery company Thuisbezorgd.nl to begin a pre-order inflight retail initiative in the Netherlands.

The innovative partnership is making an important transformation in the onboard food and beverage supply system and they are further planning to widen their service to new markets by offering tasty meals and snacks to airline passengers around the globe.

In September, the Dutch low-cost airline Transavia launched this service from Schiphol Airport of Netherlands in a plan to widen the service to more destinations of the group in the future.

The passengers flying from Schiphol Airport can pre-order their food through the ‘Takeaway’ app one hour before boarding and their order will be delivered to the airplane before departure.

The Divisional Senior Vice President of dnata’s catering division, Robin Padgett says that this initiative marks a significant shift in the onboard dining experience as it could bring the services of high-end companies of the airline food and beverage division.

“With this new service offering and through technology, we’re putting the choice in the customers’ hands and delivering a revenue-generating service for airlines, while also reducing food waste on board. We’re excited to now expand this pre-order service to dnata’s more than 120 locations across the world,” says Jaap Roukens, the founder of iFLEAT.

Robin Padgett
Robin Padgett
Divisional Senior Vice President of catering
dnata

“App-led food delivery services continue to grow immensely across the world, with the ease of use, choice of cuisine and loyalty driving incredible consumer uptake. Passengers are no longer restricted to what’s available in the air. This model enables our airline partners to offer their passengers a wider choice of fresh, healthy food and reduce wastage on-board.”

The companies are planning to deliver the order to passengers quicker than the expected delivery time of the city environments.

dnata and iFLEAT are now in talks to further expand this revolutionary service which is a perfect addition to existing onboard retail and catering services.

dnata

The Dubai National Air Transport Association (dnata) provides reliable and safe ground handling, cargo, travel, and flight catering services to over 300 airlines around the globe. The catering department of the company has a special team of employees to deliver high-quality catering, inflight retail and food & beverage solutions from 65 provisions in 12 countries.

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