Gate Gourmet

Gate Gourmet
Industry Airline catering
Founded 1992
Headquarters Zürich Airport
Switzerland
Area served
 Worldwide
Parent gategroup SAirGroup (Formerly)
Website www.gategourmet.com
A Gate Gourmet catering truck servicing an Air Berlin aircraft at Hamburg Airport

Gate Gourmet is an airline catering firm with headquarters on the grounds of Zürich Airport, Switzerland, near Zürich.[1]

Gate Gourmet was founded in 1992, and is the world's largest independent airline catering, hospitality and logistics company.[2] As a part of parent company gategroup, the company has substantially expanded its products and services recently through acquisitions and strategic investments. The portfolio now includes cabin service ware (deSter); comfort/entertainment items (Harmony); packaged food components assembled in central production units (Supplair); aviation services such as cabin cleaning, aircraft washing and de-icing and passenger services (Gate Aviation [formerly Fernley/IAS - see below]); catering security (Gate Safe); business applications (eGate Solutions) and supply chain optimization (partnership with Pourshins).

As of 2015, it had 28,000 employees[3] and posted revenue of 3.1 billion Swiss Francs.[4] Some of its clients are British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, LAN Airlines, Air Algérie, Air Canada, Air Transat, American Airlines, United Airlines, Qantas, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Avianca, Iberia Airlines, Air China, Air France, Delta Air Lines, Emirates Airline, Thai Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, TAM Airlines, Airblue, Air Indus, Shaheen Air International, Amtrak and EasyJet.

Gate Gourmet's roots are in Swissair. For a long time, Gate Gourmet was considered Swissair's "Crown Jewel". The company was worth roughly 6 billion Swiss Francs before the September 11 attacks and the bankruptcy of Swissair. The rise of oil prices and collapse in consumer travel damaged the airlines and many of Gate Gourmet's main customers went bankrupt or narrowly avoided bankruptcy. The weakness of the airlines affected the industries that cater to or support it. This eventually set the stage for Swissair's crown jewel requiring a restructuring effort, which soon burdened its employees. The company was then sold in 2002 to Texas Pacific Group for USD $870 million,[5] and later its ownership became known as gategroup.

Disputes and strike action

A major dispute, reminiscent of the Grunwick dispute of the 1970s, ensued when it sacked 670 staff based at Heathrow Airport in August 2005; the staff were gathered in a car park and the announcement made by megaphone.[6] In sympathy with the sacked workers, British Airways staff at the airport walked out, and mass pickets of Gate Gourmet were organised by the Transport and General Workers' Union. Several workers alleged that Gate Gourmet had engineered the dispute to employ non-union workers at lower wages and with worse conditions of employment. The company subsequently offered a redundancy package of more than twice the statutory minimum in an effort to resolve the labour difficulties, secure a new deal with British Airways, and avoid insolvency. The union later negotiated the reinstatement of some of the employees, but others have continued to protest at their treatment.

On 1 March 2007, Texas Pacific Group sold its remaining shares in Gate Gourmet to Merrill Lynch.

Fernley and International Aviation Services (IAS)

GateSafe Security Car.

On September 27, 2007, Gate Gourmet acquired a leading UK-based group operating under the Fernley and International Aviation Services (IAS) brands.[7] The acquired companies offer a comprehensive range of aviation special services including aircraft cabin cleaning, aircraft washing, de-icing and toilet and water servicing; security activities such as baggage screening and document verification; airport executive lounges; and passenger services such as wheelchair and unaccompanied minor assistance.[7]

Along with Fernley and IAS, the group also includes Specialist Airport Services, European Airport Services and Airfield Services Ltd. The companies operate primarily in the UK, including at London's Heathrow, Gatwick Stansted and Luton airports, as well as Manchester, Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Liverpool, East Midlands, Biggin Hill and Glasgow. European Airport Services also operates in Amsterdam; Brussels, and several other regional airports in France and the Netherlands.[7]

The acquired Fernley/IAS companies were privately held entities - mainly owned by Gary Morby - that have been in business for about 25 years. The new range of Gate Gourmet's aviation special services will be renamed Gate Aviation Services, which will be led by Morby.[7]

Food safety

Contaminated carrots incident

In August 2004, 45 people became ill with Shigella after eating contaminated carrots provided by Gate Gourmet.[8] After the outbreak, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected Gate Gourmet’s Honolulu facility and determined that there were substantial problems. Gate Gourmet was warned that unless the problems were rectified, its facility would be shut down.[9]

Cara Airline Solutions

Gate Gourmet acquired Cara Airline Solutions from Cara Operations in 2010.

Needles incident

On July 16, 2012, sewing needles were discovered in four different turkey sandwiches on separate Delta Air Lines flights.[10] Each sandwich was distributed by Gate Gourmet.[10] The flights originated from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to several different US cities, including Atlanta, GA, Minneapolis, MN, and Seattle, WA.[10] The needles were discovered by passengers, including a US Federal Air Marshal.[10] In response to the incident, Delta advised all of their flights leaving Schiphol Airport to stop serving the sandwiches, and an FBI investigation was launched to determine the cause. One passenger was injured, but declined medical attention.[10]

Rivals

References

  1. ↑ "Contact Us." Gate Gourmet. Retrieved on 12 February 2010.
  2. ↑ Waking the Green Giants: World's largest airlines caterer Gate Gourmet to implement sustainable policies
  3. ↑ "Strong franc claims 300 Gategroup jobs". Swissinfo. Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "BRIEF-Gategroup Holding FY 2015 adjusted EBITDA at CHF 180.8 mln", Reuters, 10 March 2016, retrieved 24 June 2016
  5. ↑ Reuters Article
  6. ↑ Personnel Today, 31 August 2005
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Sept. 27, 2007 -- Gate Gourmet Acquires Aviation Services Provider". Gate Gourmet. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  8. ↑ Isle firm linked to airline food ills
  9. ↑ FDA warns airline food supplier over filth
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Cooper, Aaron; Ahlers, Mike M. "Needles found in sandwiches, Delta says; FBI to investigate". CNN. Retrieved 17 July 2012.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.