44,783 flights catered in 2009

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 20 February, 2010: Following on from its International Air Transport Association (IATA) Gold Award, Abu Dhabi In-flight Catering Company (ADIFC), along with its management partners LSG Sky Chefs, has announced its 2009 on-time performance results, with 44,783 flights catered and zero associated delays recorded.

Despite the volume of catered-flights increasing by 41.3 per cent over the last three years, ADIFC and LSG has seen a corresponding decrease in flight delays attributed to catering operations. ADIFC announced that it had moved from seven delays in 2007, to three in 2008, to zero last year.

Huraiz bin Huraiz, Chief Commercial Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports Company, the parent company of ADIFC, said: "First and foremost, this is a team effort and I would like to thank all 1,263 employees at Abu Dhabi Inflight Catering Company for delivering this result; it is an achievement that each and every staff member can be justifiably proud of."

"The result demonstrates ADIFC's constant drive and determination to achieve its 'Right First Time, Every Time' philosophy and complements the consistently high quality services and products we offer to our airline customers, especially at a time where they have faced rapid expansion and increased activity."

As the home airline at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad is understandably ADIFC's largest customer but amongst ADIFC's other airline customers are international carriers such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, and KLM.

-Ends-

About Abu Dhabi In-flight Catering Company (ADIFC)
Abu Dhabi In-flight Catering Company LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Airports Company PJSC which is owned by the government of Abu Dhabi.  The company was formed after its predecessor Abu Dhabi Flight Catering & Duty Free was Split at the end of 2007.  

The management team were retained after the split and further strengthened by a strategic partnership with LSG Sky Chefs through a management contract which started January 2008.  The new partnership married existing local/regional experience with the latest in current industry best practice to provide the best possible catering solution to airlines using Abu Dhabi International Airport.

A major expansion to the facilities was carried out in conjunction with specialist in-flight catering design consultants Industrieplanung + Organisation.  The construction was completed in 2006 to take the overall production capacity from 15,000m/d to 35,000m/d.  Our current average daily production is 20,000m/d.

The facilities are located with direct airside and landside access.  The location allows easy raw material supply and close proximity to aircraft with high loader delivery times not exceeding ten minutes. In addition to the food production we also provide bonded facilities, duty free liquor capability, laundry services and tailoring for airline linen and uniforms.

Top 10 Airline Clients 

As the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates with it's hub in Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airlines is the biggest customer.  We are also proud to cater for several other prestigious airlines with the top ten accounting for 95% of the business (Top 10 below):

1) Etihad Airlines

2) Royal Jet

3) Singapore Airlines

4) British Airways

5) Presidential Flight

6) Lufthansa

7) Air India

8) MEA

9) KLM Royal Dutch

10) Ukraine International Airlines

About Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC)
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is a public joint-stock company wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. It was incorporated by Amiri Decree number 5, issued on 4 March 2006, to spearhead the development of the Emirate's aviation infrastructure.

In September 2006, ADAC took over responsibility for the operation and management of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain international Airports. In 2008, ADAC added Al Bateen private jet airport, formerly Al Bateen military airbase, and Sir Baniyas and Delma Island Airports to its portfolio. These airports all serve different segments of the marketplace and help contribute to Abu Dhabi's development as a destination for both business and leisure tourism.

Currently under way is the large scale multi-billion dollar re-development and expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport designed to increase the overall capacity of the airport to more than 20 million passengers per year. As part of this redevelopment, a second runway and a third terminal have been completed. A new ATC tower and Midfield Terminal Complex will complete the redevelopment within the next few years.

For more information, please contact:
Press Office, ADAC - Abu Dhabi Airports Company 
P.O. Box: 94449, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E
Telephone: +971 2   635 4452
Fax: +971 2   635 4453
Mobile: +971 55 980 6698
E-mail: adac@fourcommunications.com
Website: www.adac.ae 
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +4

© Press Release 2010