Few things can make or break a flight as thoroughly as catering. Caterers know it, and passengers know it. So do the schedulers and dispatchers who order it and the flight attendants who serve it. That considered, said Brad Thomas, catering director and executive chef at Lindy’s in San Diego, “the goal of everyone is to make the passengers happy.”
Over the past decade, a worldwide cadre of caterers devoted exclusively or primarily to serving business aviation has come into existence to accomplish exactly that.
Ten years ago it was rare to see a business aviation caterer exhibiting at the NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference or making an appearance at the association’s annual Flight Attendant Conference. Now a catering working group is heavily involved in the organization and presentation of both events. At the Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference in January, 14 exhibitors were caterers, and at the Flight Attendants Conference in June, 16 major business aviation caterers presented four extensive training sessions.
