Halal move for aviation catering giant
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Aviation catering giant Gate Gourmet is considering making most of its dishes to Halal standards, the UK’s Financial Times has reported.
The move comes as demand for Halal dishes has soared in line with the expansion of airlines from the Middle East and Asia, particularly Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways.
“My aim is to make our large hub operations Halal compliant,” said Guy Dubois, Chief Executive of Swiss-based Gategroup, whose Gate Gourmet division’s customers include Delta, Cathay Pacific and British Airways (BA).
“If I produce everything according to Halal standards, I will reduce complexity and increase cost effectiveness. It isn’t driven by social or religious considerations.”
The first dedicated Halal kitchen is set to open soon at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Peter van Niekerk, the head of Gategroup in the UK, said the company’s new US $3 million Halal facility at Heathrow was much smaller than the main kitchen — but he still believed there were obvious cost benefits through what he calls an inversion, where the larger area eventually becomes Halal and the smaller one non-Halal.
“We are at the moment competing for some more halal business, and when we make that, the scale tips,” van Niekerk said, adding that Gategroup would consult widely with existing customers such as BA and Cathay “to just manage perceptions and manage such a transition”.
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