In-flight catering dates back to the early years of commercial aviation. On October 11, 1919, one of the earliest recorded examples of airline meal service took place on a flight from London Heathrow (LHR) to Paris Le Bourget (CDG), where passengers were provided with a cold lunch box.

As commercial aviation developed, airlines began offering snacks and beverages, often served in wicker baskets. With the advancement of aircraft technology and the development of more powerful engines capable of lifting heavier aircraft, in-flight catering gradually became more sophisticated.

By the late 1920s, airlines began experimenting with heated meals served onboard aircraft. Over the following decades, the quality and complexity of airline catering continued to evolve. What once consisted of simple cold meals eventually developed into highly sophisticated dining experiences, particularly in First Class, where airlines began offering premium products such as fresh lobster and caviar.

Even today, on selected flights, Flying Chefs prepare the final heating, finishing, and plating of certain dishes onboard immediately before they are presented to passengers.

Modern aircraft are also significantly faster than their predecessors, reducing overall travel times. As a result, airlines increasingly require more economical, efficient, and fast-consumption catering concepts, particularly for short-haul operations.

How Airline Catering Is Planned

Every airline has dedicated departments responsible for managing the onboard service experience. These teams evaluate factors such as:

Based on these requirements, the airline communicates its specifications to its catering partners. Airline catering companies then develop several menu concepts tailored to the airline's requirements. These concepts are presented to the airline, after which the selected menus, recipes, specifications, portion sizes, equipment requirements, and service agreements are finalized.

The Story Behind a Simple Airline Meal

Have you ever wondered how much work is behind the simple meal tray placed in front of you on an aircraft? Before a single tray reaches a passenger, an enormous operational chain must take place.

The ingredients required for the meal must first be sourced, purchased, received, and inspected. Following quality control, the products undergo the necessary cleaning, preparation, and hygiene procedures before being transferred into the appropriate production areas.

Meals are then prepared and subjected to food-safety controls. After production, they must be chilled and maintained within the required cold chain throughout preparation, packing, storage, transportation, and delivery.

Once the catering has passed the necessary security inspections, it is transported to the aircraft. After loading, additional delivery checks are performed. At the appropriate point during the flight, meals may be reheated, finished, plated, and served to passengers.

After service, the equipment and remaining catering items are collected, offloaded at the destination station, and transferred to the appropriate cleaning and processing areas.

Behind this apparently simple journey is the work of hundreds, and in some operations thousands, of people working across multiple shifts. These professionals operate against extremely strict deadlines, often competing against minutes — and sometimes seconds — to ensure that every item reaches the aircraft correctly and on time.

The Psychological Role of In-Flight Catering

In-flight catering is not only about providing food. Research and operational experience indicate that onboard meal service, together with inflight entertainment and other passenger services, can help occupy passengers throughout the flight and make the journey feel shorter.

The sequence of meal preparation, service, consumption, and collection creates a structured experience for passengers and can contribute to reducing the perception of travel time and, in some circumstances, the stress associated with flying.

What Is In-Flight Catering Management?

In-flight catering management is the complete process of planning, preparing, controlling, and delivering food, beverages, and onboard service equipment before an aircraft departs, in accordance with contractual airline requirements.

The objective is to ensure that every item is:

This is one of the most tightly time-controlled operations in aviation. A single delayed trolley or one missing special meal can potentially affect an aircraft's departure and, more importantly, negatively impact the passenger experience promised by the airline.

For airline catering companies, the management of minutes — and sometimes seconds — is therefore operationally critical. Depending on the size and volume of an in-flight kitchen, these operations may involve hundreds of employees or thousands of employees working across multiple shifts, all of whom must remain precisely synchronized.

The Mathematics Behind Every Meal at 35,000 Feet

Behind every meal served at 35,000 feet is professional planning, calculation, and operational control. This is precisely where the concept of a Catering Calculator originated.

From product sourcing and approved-supplier management to goods receiving, production planning, production, quality control, preparation, delivery, security inspections, galley trolley loading, and aircraft delivery, airline catering consists of a highly interconnected operational ecosystem.

All of these processes must be synchronized against a fixed aircraft departure time. In addition to the production and delivery process itself, enormous internal operations take place within the in-flight kitchens where this entire system is executed.

Critical Control Points

The most important critical control areas in airline catering are:

Passenger health and safety must always remain the highest priority. There can be no compromise when it comes to these areas.

CATCAL is designed to support the management of these critical control points while generating operational records, reports, and data that can be used for future audits, continuous improvement, and operational development.

How Does In-Flight Catering Work? From Goods Receiving to Aircraft Delivery

A typical airline catering operation consists of numerous interconnected stages. Each stage depends on the successful completion of the previous one, meaning that a delay anywhere in the chain can put the entire flight's catering readiness at risk.

1. Goods Receiving and Inventory Management

When raw materials, packaged products, beverages, and other supplies arrive at an in-flight kitchen, they go through receiving and quality-control procedures before being entered into the inventory system. CATCAL provides dedicated modules designed to support these processes.

Cold-chain control begins at this stage. Perishable products must be received, inspected, recorded, and stored under appropriate temperature conditions in accordance with the food-safety standards applicable to the facility, including systems such as HACCP and other applicable regulatory or customer-specific standards.

All relevant information must be properly documented and traceable. At this stage, multiple official forms, records, temperature logs, and inspection procedures may be required.

2. Production and Assembly

Everything begins with effective planning. The production planning department establishes the recipes, specifications, portion sizes, and production requirements for every product. CATCAL enables these recipes and specifications to be digitally created, managed, and stored within a centralized operational platform.

Based on the aircraft loading plans received from airlines, catering teams establish the required loading plans and determine which aircraft equipment will be used for each product. Every product and every piece of equipment is normally assigned a unique identification code.

Airlines frequently change their menus according to different service periods and menu cycles. These are commonly referred to as menu cycles, with each menu and product combination being individually specified and controlled. This is where operational management becomes particularly important.

Depending on the menu cycle, products may be changed through either soft cuts or hard cuts. These changes must be planned and controlled precisely. Poor management can result in significant financial losses through unnecessary production, waste, overstocking, or shortages.

The In-Flight Kitchen

An in-flight kitchen is essentially a highly specialized, massively scaled version of a professional restaurant kitchen, but with significantly stricter operational controls. Depending on the facility, it may include:

In some facilities, particularly where religious dietary requirements apply, dedicated areas may be strictly separated for Halal and non-Halal production.

Kitchen teams prepare meals according to standardized airline recipes, portion specifications, presentation requirements, and production procedures. In many airline catering operations, meals are partially completed during kitchen production, with the remaining finishing process taking place onboard the aircraft. This approach helps preserve freshness and allows the airline to complete the final heating or finishing process closer to the time of consumption.

Frozen-product operations are managed according to predefined production and handling requirements. Following processing, products are rapidly chilled and maintained within the cold chain until the final stage of delivery. Maintaining the cold chain is one of the most effective methods of protecting product quality and food safety.

In-flight kitchens are also subject to regular inspections and audits by multiple authorities, airline customers, certification organizations, and other relevant bodies, depending on the operation. The rules governing these facilities are strict, and failure to comply can result in significant operational and regulatory consequences.

Cabin Classes and Special Meals

The requirements of different cabin classes can vary significantly. Economy, Premium Economy, Business Class, and First Class may each have different:

In addition, airlines manage a wide range of Special Meals (SPML) and Pre-Selected Meals. Passengers may request special meals based on religious requirements, medical or dietary restrictions, allergies, or personal dietary preferences, depending on the options offered by the airline. Some airlines also allow passengers in premium cabins to pre-select a specific meal from the onboard menu before departure.

CATCAL can exchange data with airline reservation, ticketing, and catering systems and translate these requirements into intelligent Cart Maps, helping ensure that every special meal is prepared, identified, and loaded correctly.

Every special meal must:

3. Packing and Tray Assembly

Products manufactured by different kitchen departments are typically transferred to dedicated packing and assembly areas. Depending on the facility and operational concept, products may be organized using:

Products are separated and identified using various operational color codes, labels, and barcodes to support production-date, expiration-date, and FIFO (First In, First Out) management. CATCAL's FIFO management capabilities simplify the tracking and control of these products within in-flight kitchen operations.

CATCAL and the Operational Flow

CATCAL was developed specifically around this operational environment. Modules such as:

connect critical operational processes within a unified digital environment.

Traditionally, many of these processes have been managed through Excel spreadsheets, telephone calls, paper forms, radio communication, and manual checks. CATCAL brings these activities together within a real-time operational platform.

Tray Packing and Cart Loading

Products received from the relevant kitchen departments are transferred to final packing areas. Depending on the facility's operating model, packing may be performed through systems such as:

Meals are then assembled into the aircraft equipment used for transportation, including meal trolleys, carts, and hand containers.

The cold chain remains one of the most important protection mechanisms within airline catering. For this reason, aircraft are equipped with galley chilling systems designed to maintain appropriate conditions during the flight. These systems can receive power from the aircraft's external or onboard power systems, depending on the aircraft configuration.

Aircraft meal carts and trolleys are specially designed to support this process and generally incorporate dedicated airflow channels, including inlet and outlet vents. Meals and trays are therefore planned and positioned within these carts according to the aircraft's galley configuration.

CATCAL's licensed drag-and-drop Galley Planning technology enables these loading configurations to be planned efficiently and accurately.

More Than Just Food

In-flight kitchens do not only prepare meals. They also prepare and load the equipment required for onboard service, beverages, service items, stationery, and other passenger-service materials.

An onboard catering operation should be considered as a large, one-time operational event. To provide passengers with a complete restaurant-like experience, equipment, beverages, food, and other service-related materials must all be prepared and loaded together.

At the end of the flight, these materials are offloaded, cleaned, replenished, and prepared again for the next operation. This cycle never stops.

4. Quality Control and Final Assembly

All prepared and packed products are ultimately transferred to the Final Assembly unit.

For an airline catering operation, one of the most important commitments is keeping the service promise made to the airline customer. Two fundamental principles define this commitment:

ON TIME  ·  WITHOUT MISSING ITEMS

If a product scheduled for an aircraft does not meet the required quality standard — or is missing entirely — it can negatively affect the passenger experience promised by the airline.

Every in-flight kitchen therefore has quality-control and final-preparation processes. These teams perform their checks according to the latest customer requirements and predefined operational deadlines before the aircraft departure. Each airline may have its own terminology, deadlines, and operational milestones. Common industry terms include:

Each represents a different stage or operational deadline. When CATCAL was originally conceived, one of our primary objectives was to manage these operational milestones digitally. By combining years of real-world airline catering experience with software development and operational design, our team developed CATCAL around these critical stages.

Final Preparation

Final-preparation teams work according to these deadlines and follow the aircraft-specific loading plans created in advance. Even when two aircraft are the same model, their galley configurations may differ.

Airlines acquire aircraft at different times, aircraft manufacturers continuously introduce new configurations, and airlines may modify their aircraft interiors. As a result, no two airline galley configurations should automatically be assumed to be identical. This is one of the most important challenges for both airlines and in-flight kitchens.

In major hubs where aircraft may be dispatched every few minutes, managing these operations accurately is an enormous challenge. From the outside, it may appear almost like magic. In reality, it is the result of extensive mathematics, calculation, planning, operational discipline, and synchronization.

Galley Loading Plans

Every aircraft is assigned a galley configuration and loading plan based on its aircraft registration, tail number, aircraft series, or specific configuration. These plans are commonly referred to as GLPs — Galley Loading Plans, although terminology varies between airlines.

Depending on the airline, these plans may be created by the airline itself or by its catering provider. Every item prepared for an aircraft is assigned to a specific loading position according to this plan.

The concept is similar to an online delivery system. Imagine a delivery driver using a massive digital map to locate your exact home and deliver a package precisely to your mailbox. The same principle applies to aircraft catering. Every product has an address. That address may be represented by a label, barcode, cart map, loading position, or equipment location. Preparation, quality-control, and delivery teams follow these predefined addresses to ensure that every item reaches the correct position.

A recently arrived aircraft may need to be serviced within approximately 40 minutes, depending on the airline, aircraft type, turnaround requirements, and operational conditions. Loading hundreds of individual items into their correct positions without error within such a limited timeframe requires an extraordinary level of operational coordination.

This is where the concept of Catering Calculations becomes particularly important. And this is the origin of the name CATCAL.

Staging for Aircraft Delivery

Products prepared according to the required quantity, quality standards, and galley loading plan are staged at designated areas of the in-flight kitchen, often near truck docks or what may be referred to as the bridge or staging area, according to flight number and departure time.

Meal products remain under controlled temperature conditions for as long as operationally possible. Exposure to ambient temperature is minimized. During this stage, hygiene and quality teams may continuously monitor and record the required environmental and product conditions.

5. Security Controls

In modern civil aviation, passenger security is unquestionably one of the highest priorities. Airline catering operations may be subject to security requirements that are at least as stringent as, and in certain areas more specialized than, many passenger-facing airport processes.

Every in-flight kitchen operates under its own security policies, access-control requirements, restricted areas, and procedures. Depending on the airport and airline, catering facilities may be subject to specific certifications and security requirements. Airlines may conduct these controls internally or engage independent, authorized, and certified aviation-security providers to ensure that the appropriate security measures and inspections are implemented.

This is an area in which compromise is not acceptable. All products prepared for a flight may be subject to continuous visual inspection. Some facilities are also equipped with X-ray screening systems.

Before aircraft loading, catering products and equipment can undergo detailed internal and external inspections and may be secured using tamper-evident, single-use security seals. These seals remain intact until the catering is delivered to the aircraft and accepted by the appropriate personnel. This chain of security is critically important.

Personnel working within the facility are also assigned specific access privileges. Certain areas may be physically restricted or protected by barriers, and unauthorized access is strictly prohibited. Some areas are connected to airport-controlled operational zones and may therefore require specific airport security credentials or access badges. Personnel without the required authorization are not permitted to enter these areas.

The founder of CATCAL, Onur Oğuz, has spent many years completing aviation-related training and specialized security education and has extensive experience in this area. He has also provided advanced operational training to airline catering personnel in the United States.

6. Flight Preparation and Aircraft Delivery

Once quality-control procedures have been completed and all catering materials have been finally staged, the products are released for delivery according to the operational deadlines defined earlier in the process.

Catering materials are transported to the aircraft using specialized high-lift equipment commonly known as high loaders. The high loader approaches the aircraft loading position, and the loading team transfers the catering equipment and materials onto the vehicle according to the predefined loading sequence. Appropriate securing procedures are applied to prevent movement or damage during transportation.

Following a final security inspection, the prepared vehicle may be secured using a tamper-evident shipping seal before proceeding to the aircraft.

Dispatch: The Brain of the Operation

One of the largest operational departments within an in-flight kitchen is the preparation and delivery organization. Tracking every flight, preparing the required catering, assigning resources, and ensuring on-time delivery requires an exceptionally well-managed operation.

At the center of this process is the Dispatch Department. Dispatch teams continuously monitor aircraft arrivals and departures and remain in a state of active operational planning. One of their most important tools is the airline catering information system.

Managing delivery schedules, assigning aircraft duties, allocating teams, monitoring progress, and responding to operational changes requires a significant level of coordination. Airline operations are highly dynamic. Weather conditions, airport restrictions, aircraft technical issues, passenger operations, delays, gate changes, aircraft substitutions, and numerous other factors can change the operation at any moment. Responding to these changes quickly requires a highly capable team and a carefully synchronized operational environment.

Aircraft Approach, Loading and Departure Procedures

Every step of the aircraft servicing process — including approaching the aircraft, positioning the high loader, raising the platform, loading, and departing the aircraft — is governed by clearly defined safety and operational procedures. Loading teams are responsible for complying with these procedures throughout the operation. Protecting aircraft equipment is important, but employee health and safety are equally critical.

Depending on the dispatch plan and operational model, catering service may involve:

The specific process depends on the aircraft condition and the airline's operational requirements. Once loading is completed, the final delivery process begins.

CATCAL is designed to support the management of these processes through modules such as Pulse Check and various Tracker systems. These tools enable operational steps to be monitored in real time and reported to the relevant departments.

Final Aircraft Delivery

Final delivery may be performed by an assigned Flight Coordinator or, in smaller operations, by catering loading drivers. All catering loaded onto the aircraft is checked item by item together with the flight crew. The crew is briefed regarding the catering loaded for the specific flight, and quantities are verified against the latest available figures. Any last-minute discrepancies can then be identified and corrected before departure.

For high-volume airline operations, this final verification process can be critical in identifying shortages and correcting discrepancies before they affect the passenger experience or aircraft departure.

CATCAL's founder, Onur Oğuz, began his airline career as a Flight Coordinator and has managed training and career-development programs that contributed to the development of hundreds of new flight coordinators across multiple countries. The operational experience of Onur Oğuz and his team has been incorporated directly into CATCAL.

83%

Reduction in potential loading discrepancies through CATCAL's preventive controls implemented before loading — as evidenced by KPI reporting from one of the world's largest airlines.

Common Challenges in Airline Catering Delivery

Airline catering operations face numerous operational challenges every day.

Tight Turnaround Times

Particularly on short-haul routes, the same aircraft may receive catering services multiple times during the same day. An aircraft arriving late from the previous station may have only a limited amount of time to complete its turnaround and depart according to schedule.

Aircraft Type Changes

Airlines may assign a different aircraft type to a flight at the last minute. This can require immediate changes to galley plans, equipment, quantities, and loading positions.

Ground Maintenance

A technical issue may be identified during the aircraft's pre-departure checks. The aircraft may then remain on the ground while maintenance personnel diagnose and resolve the issue, potentially changing the catering delivery timeline.

Cold Chain and Food Safety

Perishable products must remain within the required safe temperature range from goods receiving through production, storage, transportation, and aircraft loading. The entire process must also remain fully traceable. FIFO — First In, First Out — is a standard inventory-management principle used throughout this process.

Missing Catering and Special Meal Accuracy

The tolerance for mistakes is extremely low. A missing item or incorrectly delivered special meal can have significant consequences for the airline and the passenger experience.

Limited Galley Space

Every aircraft type has a specific galley configuration. As a result, trolley configurations and loading positions must be planned precisely in advance.

Apron Blockages

Multiple service providers may need to access the same aircraft simultaneously within a limited operational window. Catering trucks may therefore be blocked or restricted by other ground-service vehicles operating around the aircraft.

Multiple Airline SLAs

A single in-flight kitchen may serve multiple airline customers simultaneously. Each customer may have different:

Managing these different Service Level Agreements simultaneously requires highly structured operational control.

Airport Operations

Airport operations can change at any time due to weather, security conditions, airport restrictions, aircraft movements, or other operational circumstances. Operations may be temporarily suspended, which can directly affect catering preparation and delivery.

The Common Goal of Every In-Flight Catering Company

All in-flight catering companies ultimately serve a common purpose: to provide their airline customers with a safe, complete, high-quality, and on-time in-flight catering service.

The scale and structure of these operations vary according to the airport, airline, aircraft volume, and customer requirements. However, the fundamental objective remains the same:

Deliver the right product, in the right quantity, to the right aircraft, at the right time, in the right condition.

Behind these enormous operations are sometimes hundreds and sometimes thousands of people, all working with extraordinary dedication to make this possible. For these efforts to produce consistent results, the operation must be managed according to a structured methodology, properly documented, continuously monitored, and supported by data-driven research and development. This is where CATCAL brings a different perspective.

CATCAL: Turning Experience Into Operational Intelligence

CATCAL brings together extensive real-world airline catering experience and modern operational technology to provide enterprise-level solutions for in-flight catering companies. It was not created simply as another software platform.

It was developed around the realities of airline catering operations — the deadlines, calculations, loading positions, aircraft configurations, food-safety requirements, security procedures, inventory challenges, special meals, quality controls, and constant operational changes that define the industry. CATCAL transforms these complex processes into a connected digital operational environment.

The philosophy behind CATCAL is simple:

At 35,000 feet, what appears to be a simple meal service is actually the final result of a highly synchronized operational system involving people, processes, technology, mathematics, logistics, food safety, quality control, security, and time-critical decision-making. CATCAL was built to manage that complexity.

Catering Calculations. Operational Intelligence.
In-Flight Catering, Digitized.

This entire operational reality — every stage above — is what shaped CatCal. It was written into the system by people who have actually run these operations, not adapted to the industry after the fact.

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OO

Onur Oğuz — Founder, CatCal

Onur has spent many years managing airline catering operations across three continents and seven countries, beginning his career as a Flight Coordinator. This article draws directly on that operational experience. Connect on LinkedIn ↗  ·  More about CatCal's story →