Inflight Catering Consulting

We plan inflight catering facilities from the ground up — or redesign existing ones to meet new capacity, compliance or efficiency requirements.

• Spatial programming and zone allocation (production, storage, tray set, dispatch, utilities)
• Hygiene zoning according to HACCP principles and international food safety standards
• Material flow modelling and transport route optimisation
• Equipment selection and integration planning
• 2D and 3D layout design including BIM-based planning where required
• Compliance engineering for IFS Food, ISO 22000, HACCP and airline-specific audit standards

Every layout decision we make is driven by operational logic — not architectural preference.

One of the most consequential — and most frequently mishandled — decisions in inflight catering facility development is sizing. DSC-Consult has developed a structured right-sizing methodology that challenges default assumptions about facility size from the outset.

• Flight schedule data analysis and passenger volume modelling
• Service class mix and meal complexity modelling
• Peak hour and peak day load analysis
• Production flow simulation to identify real capacity constraints
• Growth scenario modelling and phased expansion planning
• Benchmarking against comparable international facilities

In practice, this approach has enabled our clients to reduce construction costs by up to 30% compared to conventional sizing models — while maintaining full operational capacity.

The physical facility is only as good as the processes running inside it. We design and optimise the full production flow — from inbound receiving through production, portioning, tray assembly, chilling, dispatch and equipment return.

• Process flow mapping and bottleneck analysis
• Standard Operating Procedure development
• Staffing model and shift structure design
• Yield and waste reduction planning
• Digital workflow integration and production control systems
• Performance benchmarking and KPI framework development

For existing operations, we conduct structured process audits and develop targeted improvement programmes — prioritised by impact and feasibility.

Before any investment decision, a structured feasibility study establishes whether a project is viable, what it will cost, and what returns it can generate.

• Site and market feasibility assessments
• Capital expenditure modelling
• Operational cost structure analysis
• Revenue and volume projections
• Risk assessment and sensitivity analysis
• Investment decision papers for boards and investors

Our feasibility work is built on real operational data and international benchmarks — not generic assumptions.

Many clients have a clear vision for their facility but lack the specialist knowledge to translate it into tender documents, evaluate supplier proposals or manage commissioning.

• Technical specification development for equipment and construction tenders
• Supplier evaluation and negotiation support
• Factory acceptance testing and site acceptance testing
• Commissioning management and ramp-up planning
• Performance verification against design specifications

For existing catering operations, we provide structured performance reviews, benchmarking against international standards and targeted improvement programmes.

• Full operational audits covering production, logistics, hygiene and staffing
• Benchmarking against comparable operations globally
• Improvement roadmap development with prioritised action plans
• Implementation support for operational change

Inflight catering sits at the intersection of food production engineering, aviation logistics and regulatory compliance. This intersection is narrow — and requires consultants who have built their practice there, not generalised their way in from an adjacent field.

A consultant who specialises in food manufacturing but lacks aviation operations knowledge will miss the specific dynamics of flight schedule dependency, airline-specific service standards and the consequences of a single service failure at 35,000 feet. The production planning logic of a distribution centre does not apply to a flight kitchen operating against a live departure board.

DSC-Consult has built its practice exclusively at this intersection. Our team combines food technologists, production engineers, logistics specialists and aviation operations experts — all with direct, multi-project experience in the inflight catering industry across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The global inflight catering market is growing. Air travel volumes are recovering and in many regions exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Airlines are investing in service quality as a competitive differentiator. New airports are being developed across the Middle East, Asia and Africa — each requiring catering infrastructure designed for long-term growth.

At the same time, existing facilities built 15–25 years ago are facing increasing pressure: higher volumes, more complex service requirements, stricter food safety regulations, and growing sustainability requirements. Retrofit and redesign projects are becoming as common as greenfield developments.

For operators, airlines and investors, the window to plan and invest in the right infrastructure — ahead of the next capacity constraint — is now.

We work with clients at any stage of their inflight catering development — from initial market entry to the optimisation of mature operations.

Our engagements range from focused advisory assignments of a few weeks to multi-year project accompaniment covering design, procurement and commissioning. We adapt to what our clients need — not to a standard engagement model.

If you are planning a new inflight catering facility, expanding an existing operation, evaluating an acquisition, or simply trying to understand where your current operation stands against international benchmarks, we are the right conversation partner.