Aircraft provisioning Print

Gate Gourmet Aircraft provisioning

Last-Mile Reliability
At Gate Gourmet we share our customers’ passion for on-time performance. That’s why we handle more than 2 million airline flights a year world wide with an average reliability rate of over 99 percent.

With our global footprint in some 120 airports, we offer you network solutions and a consistent and reliable partner. Our provisioning services include:

Pre-flight cart packing, delivery and galley loading
Before a flight can be dispatched, thousands of individual items must be provisioned to make the trip safe and comfortable for passengers. A typical long-haul flight between the U.S. and Asia, for example, requires about 200,000 items, ranging from food to equipment and amenities. Compare that with a new compact car, which typically has between 20,000-25,000 parts.

At Gate Gourmet, we orchestrate the assembly of meals according to your specifications, pack the service trolleys in the prescribed manner, stage the carts for loading in huge coolers, and deliver them in high-loader trucks to provision your aircraft’s galley just before departure.

We operate a worldwide fleet of nearly 1,700 high loader vehicles to serve our customers efficiently and promptly. Many are equipped with cooling systems, onboard cameras and state-of-the-art engines, meeting strict environmental standards.

Post-flight aircraft stripping; equipment washing and sterilization; trash disposal
Removing carts from an arriving aircraft and taking them to the flight kitchen for unloading and sanitization are integral parts of the catering process.

At locations set up for recycling, refuse is sorted accordingly. For international flights, we separate trash from the general waste stream according to regulations and sterilize it before disposal. Re-usable items such as crockery and cutlery are sent through the dishwashing/sterilization line. Carts are washed and sterilized, too, and the trolleys undergo safety inspections to check that they are functioning properly.

Inventory management, including bonded warehouses
Gate Gourmet maintains separate equipment storage for each customer. Our employees collect the data for inventory management either through your system or via our proprietary state-of-the-art software offered by gategroup member company Pourshins, to ensure that the optimal supply of any service item is available when needed.


Find further details about one of Gate Gourmet’s case studies here.

To learn more about how Gate Gourmet can help enhance your onboard offering, please contact us.