This document summarizes challenges faced by the catering, cabin attendants, and gate managers for the European airline Sky Airways. It discusses problems like declining revenue and increasing passenger complaints about delays and onboard catering. Potential solutions proposed include reducing meal variety to cut costs, providing pre-cooked reheated meals, and stopping meals on short flights. However, these solutions may not be appropriate due to issues like increased complexity, costs, and decreased customer satisfaction. A better approach may be to provide snacks instead of meals on short flights and confirm special meal requests during booking.

1. Case Example
“Sky Airways”
Alessio Porcellato
Matteo Biasotto

2. Sky Airways
• European airline
• Most of the routes in Europe
• Daily flights to New York, Johannesburg,
Mumbai and St Petersburg

3. Problems
• Increasing number of complaints
• Expected problem: link between number of
complaints and minutes’ delays
• Unexpected problem: complaints about on-board
catering
• RPK (revenue passenger kilometre) declined
by 5 per cent over the past three years

4. Suggested Solutions (I)
• Tourist Class:
pre-cooked and reheated meals
(classic tourist class style)
pre-cooked food, heated, assembled
and served in front of customers
(business class style)
+ the food cost is little different
+ possible in long hauls (more time available)

5. Suggested Solutions (II)
• Business Class:
upgraded service for the
premium-fare passengers
CULTURALLY SENSITIVE MEALS

6. Challenges for Catering
• Portions and cost of menus have a wide variations in
quantity and quality in various airports around the
world
• Biggest problems in furthest destinations
• Pressure to reduce costs → load the precise number of
meals
• Not easy pre-flight predictions
• Cost effective and problems in weight
Possible solution: Reduce menus’ choice
(REDUCTION of VARIETY → REDUCTION of COST)

7. Challenges for Cabin Attendants
• Special meals (religious, dietary or health reasons...)-
need of extra vegetarian and kosher meals.
• Knowing the content of every meal
• Last-minute passengers (need to ask more meals shortly
before take-off)
• Not enough space for meals on the plane
Possible solution:
→ meals that need less preparation time and take less space
→ load additional special meals
(INCREASE IN STOCKS-CAPABILITY TO DEAL WITH
UNCERTAINTY)

8. Challenges for Gate Managers
• Shortly before take-off, finding that the incorrect
quantity, quality and meal type are loaded
• Need to delay the plane
Possible solution: stop providing meals altogether on short
hauls (not everyone actually wants a meal)
(RE-FOCUSED ON THE SERVICE CONCEPT FOR SHORT HAULS)

9. Suggested Solution
Low
Low
High
High
PROCESS
VARIETY
CAPABILITY COMPLEXITY
VOLUME PER UNIT
Increasing
process
definition
Decreasing unit cost
COMMODITY
SIMPLICITY

10. Why are they not appropriate?
• The new process would have high variety and
high volumes (complexity)
• The new process would be expensive
• Decreased customer satisfaction (delays)
• Wrong service environment (no room for all
meals on plane)

11. Outside-in Vs Inside-out
Service
The customer’s (outside-in) perspective
Experience Product Benefits
Airplane flight comfortable flight,
relaxing experience
no delay,
good food
reach the destination
with no stress
Service
The operation’s (inside-out) perspective
Inputs Processes Outputs
Airplane flight X X flight on time,
requested meal

12. What could be appropriate?
• No complete meals on short hauls for tourist-class
passengers (service doesn’t fit customer
needs), just snacks (that need less space)
• Reducing meal variety, increasing food quality
• Special meals have to be confirmed during
reservation
• Request meal content’s information to the food
suppliers

13. Thank you for your
attention