Air India Begins Stocking Food From India For Return International Flights

According to an update given by Pradeep Singh Kharola, the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India to the Economic Times, the airlines has started stocking food from India for the return international flights. The step has been taken to keep catering costs in check. The report also says that this practice had begun on flights from India to countries like Stockholm, Copenhagen, Birmingham and Madrid. Kharola said that the food bought from these countries was way more costly.

Stocking Food For Flight

“The food is taken from here in India in chillers and then it is heated whenever it has to be used… Catering costs for us are around Rs 600 crore to Rs 800 crore a year. Catering in India is 3-4 times cheaper as compared to catering in the West,”  said Kharola in an interview with the Economic Times. He also added that food from India will be served on Air India flights returning from Gulf. “There are some flights like the ones going to Gulf, Singapore and even some parts of Europe, where it is possible to upload the food here (in India) only. Some work is going on in that direction,” he said.

He said that though the strategy has changed, the food portion would remain the same. “More important thing is the taste. Whatever you can do, the European caterer’s taste can’t match with the Indian caterer, especially when it comes to Indian food. That is the additional benefit we get. The main thing is that the costs come down drastically,” he added.