PAX March/April VOL 15. NO. 2

N E W S A N D A N A LY S I S F O R T H E P A S S E N G E R S E R V I C E S E X E C U T I V E MARCH/APRIL 2011

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VOL.15, NO.2

Bacardi Cruise

Competition winners

P LU S!

Crew apparel Cruise ship galleys

Cruise news >

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PreGel AMERICA >

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Latin wines >

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CHECK OUT PAX ONLINE AT

www.pax-intl.com

EDITOR’S LETTER

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Old World and New World open for cruise business

or the second time in less than six months, members of the Marine Hotel Association will be gathering for a chance to network and socialize, this time on more traditional turf.

Last fall’s first ever European convention will probably be fresh on the minds of many who are gathering in sunny Orlando. The MHA has rightly and boldly taken on the challenges of handling a second conference venue out of a need to service the global cruise line industry.

The latest statistics we could find, from 2008, showed that European manufacturers alone produced €385 million worth of food and beverage provisions consumed onboard cruise ships. In our last issue, we detailed how some smaller ports in the region long passed by have now become important stops for cruise lines large and small. As the U.S. dollar continues to trade at levels below the euro and the pound, cruising the Med continues to be an attractive and economical choice.

“The cruise industry long ago ceased being primarily a Caribbean or U.S.-based vacation option and well over a third of our business is done in the European market through European distribution channels and with European cruise lines,” said Bill Fennel, senior manager of cruise division for Nestlé Professional Vitality Foodservice, in our last issue’s coverage of November MHA Convention in Barcelona.

With the change in emphasis comes a change in cruise line itineraries. Looking over the MHA website one runs across news that Norwegian Cruise Lines plan to deploy more ships year round in the Mediterranean in 2012 and 2013. The Norwegian Spirit will join the Norwegian Jade there for year-round operations. It appears even off season in the Mediterranean holds some promise.

In this issue, we have cruise news from around the industry. In our galley report, Daniel Laine of D-L Services gives us his approach on galley design from his company’s offices in France. From Florida, Bacardi again has rewarded the two most innovated recipes from a chef and a bartender.

In this issue, we devote part of our back page to a new regular department for our advertising customers. They, and their potential customers, can now find their ads easier with the help of an alphabetized Advertiser’s Index. Simple in concept, but it will help save time paging through the magazine looking for information on a particular company.

RICK LUNDSTROM Editor-in-Chief, PAX International

PAX International is published six times a year (January/February, March/April, May, June/July/August, September/October, November/December) by PAX International, 26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2, Canada. International Distribution. Subscriptions: $200 for one year; $300 for two years; $400 for three years. Art and photographs will not be returned unless accompanied by return postage. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher or editor. March/April 2011, Vol. 15, No. 2. Printed in Canada.

All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. © PAX International magazine

PAX International 26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2, Canada Tel: (1 905) 821-3344; Fax: (1 905) 821-2777 website: www.pax-intl.com

PUBLISHER

Aijaz Khan E-mail: aijaz@globalmarketingcom.ca EDITORIAL OFFICES

Rick Lundstrom, Editor in Chief PAX International 723 Jefferson Street, NE Minneapolis, MN 55413, USA Tel: (1 612) 378-0862 Fax: (1 612) 378-0852 E-mail: rick@pax-intl.com Maryann Simson, Associate Editor Tel: (1 905) 821-3344 x31 E-mail: maryann@pax-intl.com Chantelle Boyal, Associate Editor Tel: (1 905) 821-3344 x21 E-mail: chantelle@pax-intl.com CONTRIBUTOR

Ryan White A R T D E PA R T M E N T

Patrick Balanquit, Art Director E-mail: patrick@globalmaketingcom.ca ADVERTISING OFFICES

Deepa J, Subscription & Conference Manager Tel: (1 905) 821-3344 x21 Fax: (1 905) 821-2777 E-mail: deepa@globalmarketingcom.ca

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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VOLUME 15, NUMBEr 2

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS EXPO COVERAGE 14

CUTTING EDGE TECH Products from Lufthansa Technik hold the promise of a smarter, safer and more entertaining cabin for both large and small aircraft

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ALL TURNED ON Tried and tested meets up and coming in an industry that continuously evolves. PAX International recently gave 10 IFE providers an opportunity to discuss the year behind them, the path ahead and trends that shape the demands and expectations of those who purchase these systems

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MAGIC IN THE BOX The world of galley inserts runs the gamut from esoteric products for business jets and fussy clients to full product lines, branded in families

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MAKING THE ROUNDS Driessen rolls out the hybrite in grand fashion at several important shows

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ON A ROLL Trolley companies have been reading industry moods and designing an array of unique products to answer the needs of airlines for weight savings, aesthetic appeal and, of course, cost

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PASSENGER SAFETY NEWS Developments in aviation and cruise cabin safety

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WORKWEAR 32

FROM THE GROUND UP PAX International delves into the task of outfitting busy crewmembers onboard

airliners and cruise ships alike, because a sharp-looking, happy and comfortable crew can directly translate into relaxed, comfortable and happy guests

MHA CRUISE COVERAGE

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BACARDI CRUISE COMPETITION rCI bartender, Carnival chef take top honors

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DINING ON THE DREAM Disney style means entertainment, fun and several unique options

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BEHIND THE SCENES From seemingly a clean slate, planners, suppliers and cruise lines sketch out the part of the food service component the passenger never sees

DEPARTMENTS EDITOr’S LETTEr

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CHARITY WORK

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PEOPLE 12

WORTHY CAUSES PART TWO with the popularity and interest surrounding our first charity report featured in the last issue of PAX International, we’ve once spotlighted some key players in the travel catering industry to find out how they are giving back to their communities.

whAT’S hOT, AIX 42 whAT’S hOT, MhA 74 ASSOCIATION NEwS 76 ADVErTISEr’S INDEX 78

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46 FOOD AND BEVERAGE 68

SINCE THE 80’S Cruise ship guests have been quenching their thirsts with cold, fruity drinks since the holiday ships set sail. Nestlé Professional Vitality’s Bill Fennel shares how new technology, great taste and old-fashioned customer service have kept his company fresh and afloat for so many years

AIRLINE PROFILE 48

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A RICH PARTNERSHIP TAP’s inflight offering relies heavily on authentic cuisine and a well-known chef who takes a hands on approach to the airline’s food service

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LION’S SHARE OF LISBON TAP and LSG Sky Chefs have lock in Portuguese capital’s airline catering market

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ITCA ’11, NICE Delegates meet, greet and focus on year aheadfor its Caffè ritazza stores

2020 VISION It doesn’t take long to find fans among wine experts for the strategy and variety of wines now being produced and exported from Chile

COMPANY PROFILES 60

THE KEY TO SATISFACTION PreGel AMErICA’s new Key Accounts division lets cruise lines order dessert by design

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NEW FRIEND FOR ‘FRIENDS’ D&F Marketing scoops representation of Colorado Foods’ French wine in a can

CONFERENCE COVERAGE 46

DELIVERING HEALTH AND VITALITY

NEWS CATERING

gategroup calls 2010 “turning point,” posts profits

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mproved performance among airline customers in Asia, the United States and Latin America helped push gategroup’s sales and profits in 2010 “as the worldwide economic recession began to ease its grip.”

The company ended the year with a profit of CHF 50.7 million (US$56.29 million), a 35 percent increase from the previous year. The company recorded sales of for 2010 of CHF 2.7 billion (US$2.99 billion), a 3.4 percent increase from the previous year.

While the company enjoyed strong sales in most regions, events in Europe cut into potential earnings. The Icelandic volcano, labor unrest in the industry and weather events took their toll on European cus-

tomers. The company estimated that the volcano ash cloud cost the company CHF 21 million (US$24 million) and cut into its estimated before income tax profit by CHF 8 million (US$8.8 million).

“The industry in Europe lagged, however, as the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone proved to be an economic drag,” said a March 17 announcement by gategroup.

The company made key acquisitions last year with the purchase of Cara Airline Solutions in Canada and a majority share of Skygourmet in India. In Japan, gategroup

opened a new unit at Haneda Airport. The company’s Japan units at Haneda and Narita airports were not seriously affected by the March 11 earthquake, and both are operational at present.

Although gategroup sees the airline industry in recovery mode “looking ahead in 2011, we remain cautiously optimistic” said the company CEO Guy Dubois.

“We expect the U.S. economy to continue moderate growth; for Europe to exit the recession and for robust growth to continue in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Do & Co reports strong catering business

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LSG reports profit, sees quick recovery

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SG Sky Chefs ended in 2010 well in the black as increased capacity, a boost in and premium travel and cost management pushed up sales and profits for the company.

“In 2010, our industry recovered at a rate faster than expected and reached stability globally,” said the company’s CEO Walter Gehl in a March 18 announcement.”

The company reported consolidated revenues of €2.24 billion (US$3.2 billion) with an operating profit of €76 million (US$107 million).

In the year ahead, LSG Sky Chefs sees current market trends continuing.

“The company is seeking to extend its customer relationships by selling additional products and services. Consistent standardization in production and administration aims at raising the level of quality and transparency within the company, while creating competitive cost structures,” said Gehl LSG Sky Chefs has also targeted several spots in the world for expansion, particularly Russia and China. In Turkey, the company has established a joint venture and set up a pre-production facility

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ales in the airline catering division for Do & Co grew 27.3 percent to €251.8 million (US$350 million) for the first three quarters of its 2010/2011 fiscal year, earning the company an estimated before income tax profit €14.4 million (US$20 million) for the division, the company report recently.

Catering sales and margins increased notably at the company’s operations in Turkey, where it now caters Emirates. Do & Co also caters five daily catering of Emirates flights at London Heathrow, where at least two are operated with A380s.

“The Do & Co locations in Milan and Frankfurt managed to add Jet Airways from India and Gulf Air from Bahrain respectively to their portfolio of customers,” said a release from the company.

Over all the company’s divisions, (airline and event catering, restaurants, lounges and hotels) Do & Co recorded €330.5 million in sales (US$459.7 million) with an estimated before income tax profit of €19.5 million (US$27.1 million).

“The airline catering division can expect to have its market environment further stabilized in the aftermath of the economic and financial crisis,” said a release from Do & Co. “It can be assumed that the growth in passenger figures will continue over the next months.”

Finnacatering earns environmental and safety designations

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inncatering Ltd. in Helsinki announced last week that it had been granted the ISO 14001 environmental certificate and the ISO 22000 quality certificate from international auditing agencies.

Finncatering is a subsidiary of Finnair. It manufactures ready-made, takeaway and bakery products along with frozen meals. The company’s customers are rail and air transport companies along with cafés, restaurant and catering kitchens.

The company has undergone an extensive environmental program. Nearly 97 percent of its waste is recycled partly into bioethanol. Packaging is studied to minimize waste generation. Last fall, Finncatering Ltd’s product range was extended by the addition of a triangular shaped sandwich in a biodegradable package.

On the quality management side, Finncatering has taken significant steps to ensure the safety of its food supplies. “A condition of the awarding of the certificate is that the company adheres to the strict quality standards prescribed by the certificate, in addition to relevant laws and statutes.”

Its sister company Finnair Catering has held the ISO 14001 certificate since 2002.

NEWS CATERING

FFG picks up Qantas contract for Dallas departures

Servair to partner with GACL in Ghana

antas has selected Flying Food Group (FFG) to cater passenger meals on its new service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Sydney, says the caterer. Service begins May 16 with four 747 flights per week.

In other news from FFG, an International flight comparison web site called Skyscanner recently polled 1,200 passengers worldwide about taste, presentation and choices for in-flight meals and according to Nicolas Rondeau, Flying Food Group executive vice presi-

ervair and Ghana Airports Company Ltd. will open a 2,000 square meter catering unit at Accra airport toward the middle of this year, the companies reported March 2.

The new unit, called Servair Ghana will produce up to 4,000 meals per day. Servair will have majority ownership of the unit.

Servair Ghana will bring the total number airline catering kitchens operated in Africa by Servair to 16.

Earlier this year, Servair began construction of a new united near Lagos airport in Nigeria, which will produce approximately 2,000 meals per day. It is also scheduled to open some time this year.

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dent, airline sales, eight of the 10 highest ranked airlines in the poll are U.S. customers of Flying Food Group.

Emirates took first place in the poll followed by Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Aeroflot, Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways, Etihad Airway, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France.

Chicago-based Flying Food Group services more than 70 airlines, primarily international, from its 17 U.S. kitchens and one in Shanghai, China.

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IFE & CONNECTIVITY

Amtrak plans wiFi expansion

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mtrak plans to install its AmtrakConnect on its Northeast Corridor trains by the end of this year with hardware from Nomad Digital providing the service to 450 Amfllet rail cars.

In addition, the U.S. rail carrier has completed construction of a dedicated wireless network that “significantly improves connectivity and delivers a true high-speed to trains while traveling through the New York tunnels and when stopped at the Penn Station platforms.”

Amtrak has been supplying power to the seat in addition to expanding its free WiFi offering. The railroad plans to expand its entertainment options and give passengers the chance to track their journey with realtime train position information. Another upgrade will be the addition of 4G technologies such as LTC and WiMAX to increase the available bandwidth for passengers’ devices.

“Nomad provides Internet links to trains around the world. This Amtrak contract ensures that trains in the USA will be among the best connected anywhere,” said Nigel Wallbridge, Nomad’s executive chairman.

Lufthansa expands inflight hot spot

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ufthansa’s Flynet Internet service is now equipped on 17 aircraft on long-haul flights to the United States with business travelers accessing e-mail and leisure travelers whiling away the hours browsing Internet sites.

“Meanwhile our surveys show that passengers are very interested in browsing the latest news on the Internet and accessing social networks,” says Christian Körfgen, vice president product management and innovation at Lufthansa.

The service has been in place slightly more than two months.

Lufthansa’s FlyNet is offered in partnership with Panasonic and Deutsche Telekom. From any point in the cabin, passengers with a WLAN-enabled device, can log in, open a web browser to the FlyNet portal that is free, for updates on news business, politics, sports and entertainment.

If they wish to surf the web, a one-hour flat rate is €10.95 and a 24 hour access is €19.95.

Lufthansa says that approximately 20 percent of is long-haul fleet is now WiFi equipped.

GuestLogix store technology combines with digEcor’s system

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uestLogix, Inc. provider of onboard store technology to airlines and the passenger travel industry, and digEcor Inc., a manufacturer of handheld in-flight entertainment, announced an agreement to integrate GuestLogix’ OnTouch® retail technology and merchandising platform with digEcor’s digEplayer family of products. The joint effort will result in a comprehensive onboard retail, communications and entertainment offering.

“Our agreement with digEcor expands the access points to our onboard retail and merchandising platform, enabling us to process more transactions,” said Tom Douramakos, resident and CEO of GuestLogix. “digEcor’s purpose-built personal entertainment devices provide us the ability to embed our transaction processing services and travel-relevant content with in-flight entertainment systems that can be easily and quickly deployed by any airline. With digEcor’s market leading systems already in use onboard a number of North American and European airlines, and soon to be deployed on several more, this agreement positions us to augment our growth.”

GuestLogix and digEcor will help airlines develop profitable in-flight programs through a set of offerings that includes: OnTouch merchandising, advertising, gaming, movies, television shows, music, and device rental that produce recurring revenue streams for airlines. OnTouch merchandising delivers ground transportation, events, attractions, catalog shopping, and more. The combined offering can be selectively programmed for specific flights and classes of travel to enhance service and profitability.

"We are excited about our plans with GuestLogix to help grow ancillary revenues for our customers with a comprehensive solution that is essentially self-funding,” said Brad Heckel, president of digEcor. “With the built-in secure transaction capability and destination-based merchandising content provided by GuestLogix, we can conveniently drive more new revenues for our customers through a single sourced, globally supported offering.” www.pax-intl.com

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SUPPLIERS

Key suppliers team up for marketing

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MI Inflight Inc. and D/F Marketing GmbH announced a strategic marketing partnership starting March 1.

In addition to each companies food portfolios AMI will market D/F GmbH’s European food portfolio to their U.S. airline and catering customers and D/F will in turn market AMI’s food portfolio to all nonU.S. based airlines.

‘We are excited about the opportunities this partnership opens up for us, among them we will have greater sourcing abilities out of Europe for our customers” said Denise Poole, CEO of AMI Inflight.

The AMI Inflight and D/F Marketing team celebrate a new partnership, marketing products in the U.S. and Europe

German Pavilion to promote beauty ‘while-you-fly’ service at Aircraft Interiors Expo

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eauty Air, a young company whose goal it is to enhance the flying experience for passengers, will make their Aircraft Interiors Expo debut this April in Hamburg. They will appear in the German Pavilion for Young & Innovative Companies.

Beauty Air’s treatments include reflexology and neck and shoulder massages to relax and energize passengers before they arrive at their destination. The company’s trained flight attendants and beauticians can

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also be booked to help passengers prepare for events such as photo shoots and personal appearances.

Beauty Air is also planning to set up spa outlets within airports so passengers can book treatments during their waiting time before they board a flight.

Eight exhibitors have been accepted to appear in Aircraft Interiors Expo’s first German Pavilion. Each company is receiving financial support from a program run by the

German government to help young German firms promote their products and services at accredited trade fairs.

Aircraft Interiors Expo exhibition director, Katie Murphy, said: “It is great to see such a diverse range of cabin interiors suppliers participating in our first dedicated German Pavilion for Young & Innovative Companies.

The exhibition offers them all a wonderful opportunity to increase their profile in the aircraft interiors industry; we hope that other potential pavilion exhibitors will visit the event this year and then apply to join next year’s pavilion.”

PEOPLE | NEW FACES, NEW PLACES

Bacardi Global Travel retail Division picks

new Americas director Leigh Irvine has been appointed as the new director for the Americas region at Bacardi Global Travel Retail.

Before taking the position, Irvine was the company’s regional director for Western Europe where for the last three years he has been instrumental in developing the growth of the Bacardi Travel Retail business across the UK, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Before joining BGTR, Irvine was senior buyer for World Duty Free. He started his career in the industry as a buyer for the Nuance Group.

Irvine has been based in Miami since taking on the new role April 1.

Oakfield Farms

adds director for Europe

Oakfield Farms Solutions is pleased to welcome Lorenza Maggio as their new managing director in Europe.

In her new role at Oakfield Farms Solutions, she will be in charge of the start-up of the European business. She will develop the client base, establish the local supply footprint and launch the new business's operations.

Her working experience has been for the last 10 years in management positions within LSG Sky Chefs, first in quality assurance and operational excellence, then in manufacturing.

Most recently she was in commercial and sales at the company. She completed her University degree at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, in Switzerland.

Smith moves to key accounts at AMI Group AMI is pleased to announce that Carlos Smith will be the new director key accounts, for the AMI Inflight sales team effective March 1.

Smith comes to AMI Infight from D&F Marketing where he was responsible for airline sales. He will be located in the company’s sales office in Alpharetta, Georgia, near Atlanta.

Yann Schilling is director of Servair Solutions Yann Schilling will be in charge of Servair Solutions, the Group subsidiary responsible for the upstream integration of catering services.

Schilling began his career with Servair in 2001. He has worked in the international sales division and then as assistant director of international development at Servair.

From 1988 to 2001, he held the position of managing director of two SMEs in the agri-food sector (Pourshins and Galyon) and was sales director, France and Europe, for DMG, a specialized wholesale food company.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Cabin comfort for the VIP jet market. The niceview system in HD aboard a business jet.

Cutting edge tech Products from Lufthansa Technik hold the promise of a smarter, safer and more entertaining cabin for both large and small aircraft

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ufthansa Technik will be bringing examples of its latest developments in cabin surveillance and cabin management to this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, but there will be developments on the inflight entertainment front as well.

Last fall, the company announced a joint partnership with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to form a yet-to-be-officially-named company that will manufacture and sell inflight entertainment and cabin management systems for VIP aircraft. Not only do the partners plan a state of the art, easy to use system for corporate and VIP jets, but also the ability for passengers on the aircraft to “create an experience that will exceed the expectations of even the most discerning customers,” said a release from Lufthansa Technik.

To meet this tall order, the company will offer in its entertainment package digital distribution, high-definition media playback, iPod and iPhone controls, remote maintenance, high-speed connectivity and media and game libraries among other features.

The new venture has its eyes on a growing market for VIP aircraft and a desire long pursued by manufacturers and airlines: to provide end users an experience in the cabin that mirrors anything found in a home entertainment environment that is rapidly changing and developing and spinning out new gadgets.

“I would say that the VIP market over the next few years is going to be very strong,” said David Crossett of the Lufthansa Techinik Innovation Centre. “All indications are that completion centers around the world are pretty full. The slots are taken and we believe very strongly that there is a strong market ahead for VIP completions and therefore the need for high-end IFE and CMS (cabin management systems).”

To create the platform, the new company will harness strengths that are found in both the Panasonic high-definition X Series prod14

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BY

RICK LUNDSTROM

uct line and Lufthansa Technik’s nice® cabin management and IFE system. The system will be designed for both narrow body and wide body VIP aircraft, and the two companies plan to make a splash with the newly formed company at this year’s the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) in Geneva and the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) in Atlanta.

Bringing all the features that such a system promises requires more than technological advances that are found within the reach of the users. The challenge of securely taking content from Hollywood and music companies and transferring it to the VIP aircraft while guarding against the possibility of piracy is also a massive responsibility that the two companies plan to meet with the new product.

“Content and copyright protection in today’s digital world is becoming extremely important and people are trying to protect their investments,” said Crossett.

And what the company will be able to offer content providers for The VIP Control panel on Lufthansa Technik’s nice® system.

COMPANY PROFILE The aerosight system can accommodate up to 16 cameras in an aircraft cabin

digital rights management is an Ethernet-based distribution system much like those found in homes and computers with encrypted data delivered throughout the aircraft from the source to the display system, whether it is aircraft monitors, or handheld consumer products such as iPhones or iPads. Lufthansa Technik’s Innovation Unit has also developed a purpose built combined Blu-ray player and media server for the aerospace market that will deliver high-definition video.

“We strongly believe that the aircraft system should enable people to live the life they are used to living on the ground,” said Crossett.

Monitoring cabin activities will be the task of the nice® product offerings, particularly the nicemate, a small device that works as a multi-tasking unit with Wireless LAN, cellular GSM/3G connections, media, maintenance and network server. For cabin diagnostics, the nicemate monitors and logs files from the nice® system network and can establish a secured broadband connection once the aircraft lands. Flight logs are transmitted to a Customer Service Innovation center at Lufthansa Technik for any proactive maintenance.

Other features in the nicemate system are the ability to send information to iPhone and iTouch applications.

Also developed by Lufthansa Technik is a niceview brand moving map product that provides Satellite 2D worldwide views with the ability of users to access news and information.

Such bold advancements for the VIP aircraft are expected to fully take shape over the course of this year.

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The next step in cabin surveillance Last year, Lufthansa Technik introduced to visitors at the Aircraft Interiors Expo its new aerosight brand cabin surveillance system with the capacity to handle signals from up to 16 cameras in a pressurized airline cabin.

This year, the company says qualification of our new CDSS camera has been completed and the first units will be delivered to Lufthansa German Airlines in the month of April for use on one of the carriers A340s.

Work on the A340 was carried out in Hamburg and the aircraft will have three cameras with the first installation kit.

The aerosight system is primarily for use by pilots, who are able to better control access to the cockpit and overlook the cabin and cargo compartments with the aircraft inflight. The system automatically switches between a colored day view and infrared night mode. The system goes further by allowing a connection with the pilots’ Electronic Flight Bags. It is an Internet protocol based camera system that is operated through a Local Area Network (LAN).

IFE REPORT

All turned on

BY

MARYANN SIMSON

Tried and tested meets up and coming in an industry that continuously evolves. PAX International recently gave 10 IFE providers an opportunity to discuss the year behind them, the path ahead and trends that shape the demands and expectations of those who purchase these systems

AURA is one of a small, but growing group of IFE providers offering a with a seat-

New kid on the block he new guy always turns a few heads as his entrance is made. He commands attention as a result of his novelty alone, while causing even the most prominent competitors in his new environment to evaluate their own efficacy. Intelligent Avionics burst onto the IFE scene this year with a bold campaign and tradition-testing concept, though in this start-up, the new guys are not exactly new.

“It’s an experienced and creative team,” reports Rob Britton, the UK-based company’s vice president of business development for the Americas. “Founder Martin Cunnison has broad experience with IFE and e-commerce, having previously been part of the founding teams of both a start-up IFE company and a major retailer’s online

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centric platform

division. Murray Skelton, who will head the technology team, has over a decade of avionics and IFE experience, while Chairman Steve Cloran is owner and CEO of parent company AeroTechnics, an accredited ISO9001 company with a team of 100 providing a range of aircraft engineering services.”

Britton says that at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg (the company’s official debut) visitors will be able to view a mock-up displaying the 10.1 inch LED economy class solution, but that three other screen sizes (7, 15.6 and 22 inch) will soon be available as well.

Light, fast and flexible are three words that could easily sum up the most obvious benefits of this system that Britton says can be

IFE REPORT

Rockwell Collins has the ability to its ability to work with OEMs to co-develop IFEC solutions that optimize installation, integration and the passenger experience. Pictured here is the dPAVES system integrated with the Boeing Sky Interior

EDGE

of

reason

MS Company would likely be grouped as one of those established competitors whose ability to produce quality seat-centric IFE and back it up thoroughly is being proven on a daily basis. Hinting at a number of upcoming contract announcements in early April, the IMS Company looks like a pretty formidable foe to any newcomer in the seat-centric IFE business.

“Hamburg will see us announcing at least five and perhaps six airline commitments to our seat-centric IFE system called RAVE, as well as rolling out our newest portable called EDGE,” reveals Harry Gray, vice president of sales and marketing at The IMS Company.

“There is an ‘atomic element’ linking these two products, which can truly be called a product line.”

The increasingly popular RAVE system and its new sibling EDGE share common hardware, development efforts and maintenance facilities. According to Gray, The IMS Company has successfully migrated from its original portable product, repurposed from consumer off the shelf (COTS) devices, to production of a purpose-built portable product. At one time, says the company, COTS products offered many IFE-friendly characteristics, but have since trended into different directions that make less sense for airlines seeking cost effective and reliable IFE solutions.

Still, The IMS Company endeavours to keep the experience familiar to the many passengers who regularly use personal devices like the popular and ever-improving Apple family of electronics. “Passengers are very familiar with these kinds of devices so our graphical user interface (GUI) is mimicking that look and feel. Capacitive touch allows for a smarter recognition of what the passenger desires to do” says Gray. “Our selection process is much more intuitive.

There is really no way for the passenger to get lost and need to press three or four buttons to get to a particular location.”

A frustrating lag in responsiveness as signals are sent through a long system of wiring to the server and then back to the screen, is something that seat-based memory can help do away with. When functionality happens at the seat, the need for legroom-hogging electronic boxes underneath is also eliminated, making a more comfortable space for the passenger.

A small and simple head-end server capable of downloading 100 gigabytes in the time it take to fly from Sydney to L.A. (while passengers enjoy the current content stored at a second card their monitors), means that uploading fresh content as simple as plugging in an SD card and taking flight.

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Vision The increasingly popular RAVE system and its new sibling EDGE share common hardware, development efforts and maintenance facilities

easily line fit or retrofit. AURA is one of a small, but growing group of IFE providers offering a with a seat-centric platform, effectively shifting the ‘intelligence’ of an IFE system from a cumbersome head-end server to the seat, helping eliminate the dominoeffect failures that aircraft with traditional server-driven systems can experience.

AURA is expected to cost far less than the current offerings of established providers, both in initial cost and over the life of the system. And, says AURA, the system could pay for itself in a few years in fuel savings.

“We’re the new guys, the challengers, the David with a slingshot,” says Britton. “We aim to get people’s attention.”

of

integration

rance’s Vision Systems is another innovative company whose new VisiTouch IFE offering is connected to a small server called VisiBox, enabling the use of contents like moving maps, audio/video playlists and news.

The VisiTouch system has a fresh appearance with large buttons, easy to identify plug-ins and comes in a number of cheerful colors, should an airline want to add visual excitement to the cabin or stand out from the crowd. Visions Systems’ communications specialist Sonia Descoins tells PAX International that while double digit growth in developing regions like Asia and South America is tough to ignore, the company is confident that there is a strong desire to differentiate through IFE and connectivity in the stabilized market as well.

“The work we did in 2010 has been rewarded,” she reveals.

“Sustained commercial activity in the Americas to promote our

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7 reasons to smile ress releases announcing newly inked airline contracts have been all but pouring out of the communications department of dig-E-cor Incorporated’s Utah-based head office since the company (responsible for pioneering the first handheld IFE device - the digEplayer 5500) rolled out its latest L7 unit in the summer of 2010.

After the initial launch with Thomas Cook Airlines, says Adam Williams, digEcor’s marketing director and the man behind the consistent updates, sales began coming in and have continued to do so at a rate that makes the company very proud.“During the third and fourth quarters of 2010, we experienced orders for literally thousands of players – so 2010 was a big year for digEcor,” he reveals. “Some of the recent contracts for the L7 include United Airlines on its premium service routes, Gulf Air, Wataniya Airways, Sun Country Airlines, chart operator Jet Time and Azerbaijan Airlines.”

At this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, the digEcor team will highlight the digEplayer L7’s increased functionality and a new GUI. A new partnership between the handheld solutions provider and Canadian point of sale powerhouse GuestLogix is also sure to generate buzz at the show, says Williams, recommending that the industry “keep an eye on this partnership over the next several months as we collaboratively put together a joint store/IFE offering.”

While digEcor admittedly likes all the attention that the smart phone and tablet markets have brought to handheld entertainment options, the company does its best to stay humble and grounded. They do their best to ensure that they stay in sync with the rest of the industry and does nott get too far ahead, or behind, the latest trends and requirements.

“Brent Wood, our CEO, often reminds us in department meetings that we need to be easy to work with,” Williams divulges. “To that end, we have developed not only a robust, easy to use device, but we have engineered and manufactured all of the support equipment to make content loading and player management easier.

For example, we have a content update station that needs little space and is plug-n-play. One station can hold up to 100 digEplayer L7’s. To change content, just plug a player into an available slot and it immediately connects to the server and grabs any content updates.”

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VisiTouch can operate autonomously through localized SD cards or be connected to a small server called VisiBox

new system is bearing fruit with major aircraft manufacturers.”

Not missing a beat, Vision Systems has made note of, and responded to, the very global trend towards intelligent personal electronic devices (PEDs). The company has already implemented cabin management control to a personal device for cabin crew or private jet owners and is working on other applications like networked gaming and virtual books.

Unlike some other IFE players who integrate vertically, ambitious strategic partnerships have been a part of Vision Systems’ development and have allowed the company to offer complete IFE systems with exciting features. In collaboration with satcom provider Satcom1, Vision Systems has developed and integrated a multifunctional connectivity solution cased within the VisiBox server and together with New Zealand sound specialist Phitek, has pioneered a groundbreaking wireless infra-red sound distribution hub.

“Vision Systems is permanently expanding its network of close and integrated partnerships,” says Descoins. “Each of them has been selected for a specific skill complementary to Vision System Aeronautics products in order to propose complete systems to end users. We are currently finalizing a high level agreement with a major player in aeronautic content management that will allow us to build an integrated offer towards regional airlines who have specific short duration broadcast requirements and flexible updates.”

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digEcor’s content update station can hold up to 100 digEplayer L7’s

IFE REPORT

Redundancy – the good kind outhern California’s Lumexis garnered a lot of attention at the Airline Passenger Experience Association show in Long Beach last September thanks to a very impressive booth display. And while the company intends to scale back the size of its demonstration in Hamburg this spring, it has no intention of relenting in its mission to show the industry that they are a hardworking, reliable partner that is here to stay.

“I think people were really blown away by it because nobody had ever been able to bring out a full system to the floor,” said Lumexis CEO Doug Cline of the hundreds of monitors set up at APEX in a configuration much like that inside an operational jet.

“We essentially brought our ship set test lab the floor.”

Today Lumexis can boast newly installed fibre-optic systems on seven jets operated by flydubai, a contract joyously announced during a press conference at 2010’s Interiors Expo in Hamburg, where the company also used transparent displays to illustrate the simplicity of their wiring network. They will continue to fit the airline’s fleet at a rate of about one per month moving forward and are eagerly awaiting the outcome of multiple additional bids.

“We have hundreds of millions of dollars of bids out right now on every continent except Antarctica,” says Cline. “The IFE market is a very busy place and the fact is that OEM’s like Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer are all actively engaged with Lumexis.

These guys are getting a lot of requests from their various customers for our line fit systems and that is really our big push this year. To see how many lines we can get.”

If you ask Cline, he’ll tell you without hesitation that the interest in Lumexis’ offering can be traced back to a simple desire on the part of airlines to outfit their fleets with a new generation of IFE that is not too experimental to be trusted. While seat-centric IFE has claimed a large slice of the IFE spotlight in recent months, it has yet to really catch on and will take even longer still to stand the test of time.

“What we have is a super broadband network and full redundancy of the network paths and the head end server,” he says.”You could even lose a network path and a server and know that we have the ability to use local storage at the monitor to deliver and cache whatever content is required.”

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Down to business any of the innovations that make their way into the commercial cabin environment found their beginnings in the cabin of a business or VIP jet. The business and private jet sector, after all, pours a lot of cash into the comfort and entertainment of its very important passengers.

PGA Avionics is a French firm specializing in the development of a number of products that contribute to the overall comfort and ambience of the cabin, ranging from smart motion seat actuators, to lighting, to IFE and CMS. “PGA is having a strong increase of business in all of its activities,” Nicolas Duchéron IFE/CMS Product Manager for PGA. “We have won several major contracts over 2010 with deliveries expected in 2011 and 2012. Our backlog has never been so strong.”

Recently, in a bid to increase the scope of its offering to the private jet sector, PGA started technical discussions with Lufthansa Technik to explore interfacing techniques that will result in better communication between PGA’s Cabin Management System and Lufthansa Technik’s acclaimed Moving Map. Other new partnerships that will help advance PGA’s ranking in the competitive private jet sector include interface with True North, Otonomy Aviation, which will open doors

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At rest or at play welve months ago, the Cheshire U.K. based firm IFE Services, announced a partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), which made it possible for them to offer a new portable IFE device to airline customers, one that they are excited to showcase again in 2011.

This is not to say that the company is new on the IFE scene. In fact, IFE Services has been around for two decades, with locations set up across the globe, as a leader in the business of tailoring and delivering the content packages composed of everything from movies, TV shows, games and audio channels to safety films, entertainment guides and AVOD management.

“We firmly believe that the Sony PSP beats other handheld devices hands down in terms of entertainment content, battery life, low weight and its revenue generating potential,” says Adrian Andy McEwan, managing director of IFE Services. “Generally, adults enjoy the films and TV shows, whilst kids love the great games and digital comics that are now available on each device.”

IFE Services has already announced contracts to supply the PSP and customized content packages to several airlines globally including Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways and Iberia. They are set up with numerous international support locations and say that half a dozen more contracts to be made official this year. The company is also particularly excited about another partnership that has paved the way for the introduction of unique application they plan to share in Hamburg.

“We will also be talking a lot about a brilliant sleep and relaxation application called pzizz, which we have the rights to distribute to airlines globally,” McEwan reveals. “We believe it will revolutionise the way airline passengers travel and provide them with the rest they need and want.”

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IFE Services has already announced contracts to supply the PSP and customized content packages to several airlines globally

for connectivity and high definition video.

Paradize V, PGA’s latest generation GUI system can be discovered at the company’s booth in Hamburg along with several more debut products including a new 15 inch digital touch screen, an AVOD friendly GUI, Apple user friendly interfaces, seat controllers and a new SWING reading light. Most of all though, says N. Duchéron, he and the rest of PGA are anticipating the maturation of 3D technology in the aviation sector.

“The visualization of these movies in 3D invites the viewer to a unique video experience,” he says. “Moreover, PGA is proud to have developed the first full high definition 3D system for inflight that does not require the use of glasses.”

PGA reports that business is expected to increase by 25 percent in the coming year

IFE REPORT

Looking good ot unlike many of the other IFE providers interviewed for this report, the cabin systems division of Thales Group has been hard at work alongside several different aircraft seating manufacturers including Weber, B/E Aerospace, Recaro and Contour, in an effort to bring forward clever ways of better integrating the IFE system into the seat.

“The seat and IFE are starting to look better than ever together,” says Lori Krans, vice president of communications at Thales Avoinics, Inc. “This is very positive for cabin aesthetics.”

In Hamburg this year, the group will showcase a host of new developments, including the latest version of the fully integrated TopSeries system displayed in various seats and their new Crystal Cabin Award-nominated Touch Passenger Media Unit (TouchPMU). The sleek new handheld device can be used as an extension of the Thales IFEC System enabling passengers to view and employ system capabilities on it, while viewing something else on the seatback display. It can also act as a standalone media access device.

Also on the docket for Thales’ Hamburg exhibit will be the unveiling of the new, fully evolved TopSeries architecture that drives the system's seat-centric Smart Video Displays (launched at last year’s event), an apps store that supports the TouchPMU, new GUI technology and design possibilities, and much more,” Krans explains.

“Making Media Mobile” an online collaborative tool that enables Thales, its airline customers and service providers to work on the selection and packaging of content that is planned for future months will be featured, Krans reveals. She suggests that this tool combined with the company's “Gate Sync” wireless gate connection to the aircraft will become game changers over the next few years.

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Thales’ Crystal Cabin Award-nominated Touch Passenger Media Unit (TouchPMU) can be used as an extension of the Thales IFEC System.

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Keeping it simple ot every airline has the opportunity to select its IFE system from a list of big name players to be line fit on its latest fleet order. Many operators don’t have business models that allow for the time-consuming and costly retrofits that are required to upgrade IFE and CMS systems on older jets. Once found standard on almost all airplanes, DVD and even VHS players are still in use by large numbers of operators, most of whom are still anxious to improve their passenger experience regardless of tighter budgets.

“They often simply want to upgrade their IFE to a clean and modern digital image at a reasonable cost,” says Dan Hepworth, Director of Sales and Marketing for Airline Services Limited (ASL), a well established interior-services provider based in the U.K that has recently begun making inroads into the IFE market. “What we offer is a costeffective plug-and-play digital replacement for outdated, heavy and unreliable analogue equipment .”

ASL first introduced its replacement player – called AeroStream – at the Hamburg Aircraft Interiors Expo in 2010, having already displayed its HD, LCD monitors in the preceding two years. At this year’s Hamburg event, Hepworth says, a second generation of the player – AeroStream XP1 - will be on display that weighs under 3 kilograms, boasts 80GB of memory and uploads video of all encryptions via a very simple USB interface.

“A combination of on-board operational experience and engineering expertise allows us to bring innovation to all areas of the aircraft interior. We have recently developed an innovative modification that allows us to take existing legacy screens with poor picture quality and viewing angles and upgrade them to the latest LCD panel standard, whilst retaining the existing housing and other sub-components. This approach avoids the higher cost of replacing the complete monitor unit, main wiring and redesigning PSU’s etc whilst still delivering fantastic picture quality .” He says. “In keeping with Airline Services’ central philosophy, we offer a low-cost, reliable alternative.”

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Are you single? t can be easy to forget, in all the buzz and glamour of flashy GUI’s and the promise of a superb individual inflight experience, that a massive percentage of all new aircraft being built today are single aisle models destined for developing and established market segments alike.

Rockwell Collins understands the growing importance of single aisle aircraft in the overall airline marketplace. The iconic U.S. supplier of cockpit and cabin solutions to leading airlines worldwide has embraced the single aisle IFEC market and made the advantageous decision to focus heavily on research and development that will help them dominate this sector.

In the third quarter of 2010 Rockwell Collins was awarded contracts to install its dPAVES IFE system on Boeing 737’s belonging to Luxair Luxembourg Airlines, new A319’s for Tibet Airlines and was selected by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) to provide IFE systems for its much anticipated C919 aircraft. dPAVES IFE and other Rockwell Collins systems will be an official option to any of the six customers who will

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take delivery of the first 100 aircraft, expected to make their arrival in five to six years.

“Rockwell Collins is teaming with a number of companies to co-develop new technologies and products for our Air Transport product line,” reveals JD Pauly, director of single aisle cabin systems. “One example is our recently announced partnerships with Shanghai Aero MeasurementControlling Research Institute (SAMRI) and China Electronics Technology Avionics Co. Ltd (CETCA) to develop IFEC solutions for the COMAC C919.”

At the Aircraft Interiors Expo this year, Rockwell Collins will showcase an HD capable dPAVES system, enhanced Airshow 4200/4200D features and 3D interactive maps, a virtual surround sound feature (SRS) that will be available to all dPAVES customers and its ability to work with OEMs to codevelop IFEC solutions that optimize installation, integration and the passenger experience.

Lastly, though no cats are running free of their bags just yet, the IFEC provider will not confirm nor deny that has developed a new embedded system targeting the single aisle market.

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GALLEY INSERTS

| Four products from B/E Aerospace. The company will be

Magic in the

showing a new line of products at this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo.

Box

The world of galley inserts runs the gamut from esoteric products for business jets and fussy clients to full product lines, branded in families RICK LUNDSTROM BY

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uoyed by the improving financial fortunes of airlines, and the development and deliveries planned for two important aircraft, makers of galley inserts and accessories for airline use have much to be thankful for as the year begins.

At this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, several companies are planning to show the industry new products, or entire families of products designed not only for optimum

functionality but also an aesthetic appeal that is demanded by the airlines. It’s not gleaming products from a Williams & Sonoma store but, but the desire is transforming the galley insert box, and the lumbering airline trolley (see related story, page 29) into visually appealing accessories of the aircraft cabin.

Though much of the new product line at B/E Aerospace will be kept under wraps and shown to visitors by invitation only, Grant

Making magic B & w Engineering has been a source for airlines seeking food service when all the needed tools are not there what does an airline do when it wants to please passengers on short haul flights with hot or cold offerings but lacks one of the much-needed elements for food service – a galley?

Many carriers have turned to something that has become known as the Magic Box System. It’s a term that may not have originated in the board rooms and shop floor at B&w Engineering in Germany, but company executives such as hubert walter, managing director, certainly seem to take it as a compliment.

The Magic Box is actually the A-LogEqu System. Through a combination of tight sealing and multi-layered, proprietary insulation, the company has been able to manufacture a line of containers that keep hot food hot and cold food cold for many hours, without any power consumption or dry ice. That has allowed airlines to offer a range of products for buy-on-board and other possibilities, such as hot meals on short haul routes.

In March the A-LogEqu system had logged millions of unit flight hours among its users, said walter. The product line includes a dispenser drawer that can hold 13 liters of hot liquid for up to 24 hours; a storage drawer designed for easy opening and operation within the trolley; a high drawer with a removable lid; and a two runner smaller drawer for products such as caviar, ice cream and fresh seafood served on crushed ice.

The A-LogEqu containers provide another unique feature -- the ability to fit into ATLAS, as well as into KSSU trolleys and Standard Units for operators with a mix of sizes in their fleet.

At this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, visitors to the B & w stand will see two new products. Short-listed 26

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West vice president of marketing and interior systems at the company was able to drop some broad hints at what it has been

for a Crystal Cabin Award is the LogSys temperature and tamper tracking system. LogSys users can track temperature fluctuations, obtain hACCP documentation and learn whether or not doors in the trolley or container had been opened. Data from the LogSys is sent through an rFID signal and obtained though a handheld device.

The benefits are not only to the airline, but the caterer as well. “By using the LogSys possible mistakes during the catering process are minimized, the reliability of the caterer is increased and less last-minute re-catering will be necessary,” says the application for the Crystal Cabin Award from B&w. “Every working step together with the data about the person doing the work is saved to the module. In that way human mistakes can be detected and reduced.”

B&w has also expanded its line of storage material with a new “ColdBox” for customers who do not need the 24-hour performance of the A-LogEqu containers. The ColdBox is a lightweight polymer container with an intergrated Temperature Accumulator (TempAccu) lid. Like the A-LogEqu containers, one size fits into ATLAS and into KSSU equipment.

The new ColdBox, as well as the inner cases of the A-LogEqu containers and the other polymer items of the B&w range are made of new, anti-microbial polymers which B&w developed with polymer suppliers and a university.

The A-LogEqu family of galley products. B & W Engineering is introducing a new Cold Box to the group at this year’s AIX

developing as well as what airlines might see in its new espresso machine, range of ovens, chiller products and integrated trash compactor.

“What we see is a real trend in the industry and by our airline partners to really try to improve not only the functionality of the product in terms of cost of ownership and performance; but there has been a real drive to improve the aesthetic quality of the product, and that home, high-end kitchen feel, especially in the business class and first class areas,” he said.

That trend is fueled by several moves by the airlines. For front cabin service, airlines are asking for products that bring more flexibility into the meal service. The carriers have also made drinks and snacks readily available throughout a long flight.

West added that the galley area of the aircraft is becoming of a gathering place for passengers. Thus, he said, airlines are looking for a more appealing atmosphere.

“What you’ll see is a harmonization among the B/E product lines – to make them have a family and strong brand appearance,” said West. “We have invested a lot in ergonomics and user friendliness as well as developed a clean, modern, yet timeless appeal to the product.”

Much of B/E’s new insert line has been fueled by the development of the A350 for which the company is a supplier. B/E Aerospace will be making first deliveries of its galley insert products to the airframer this year. The A350 is scheduled to fly in early 2013.

Fresh from a major company reorganization and an important acquisition, the line of products from the Iacobucci Group will all be in one location at this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo. Among them will be a line of high-tech products for the private and VIP aircraft market that is he result of the company’s purchase of the German company Modular Galley Systems (MGS).

Multi-functional heating units, microwave ovens, cooking stations and accessories are part of the MGS line. www.pax-intl.com

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MGS and Iacobucci have developed a microwave oven for the VIP aircraft market.

Some of the products were first seen at last year’s National Business Aircraft Association event in Atlanta. The MGS multifunctional heating unit combines heat and steam induction that helps retain vitamins and attractive color in vegetables and was a winner of three Mercury Awards from the International Travel Catering Association.

The MGS line of inserts allows users to broil fish and meat, fry eggs and toast bread, and cook pasta and rice.

Another product as a result of the Iacobucci/MGS collaboration is a “inductive cooking station” that is designed for the VIP aircraft market. Made with a Ceran cooking surface the station is made with two standard hot plates and one extra-large wok plate. MGS and Iacobucci have made the station not only functional, but also visually appealing with all visible surfaces coated in stainless steel for looks and ease of cleaning.

A fume hood accessory keeps cooking smells within the galley area.

Graham Postlethwaite, sales manager at U.K.-based Aerolux says that visitors to the company’s stand at AIX will not only be able to see a full line of the company’s galley inserts, they will be able to experience something nearly as important to weary event goers – a proper cup of espresso consistently

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served with the popular Nespresso capsule.

It was a combination of Aerolux’s innovation and Swissair’s longtime emphasis on cabin service that placed the first espresso maker in an aircraft. The company’s list of customers now and in the past were a who’s who service oriented airlines, from skillets on Cathay Pacific Airways in the past to toasters and other specialized equipment in cabin service oriented airlines such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

“We have some very loyal customers who do good business with us, particularly in the Middle East,” said Postlethwaite. And what those customers and others have come to Aerolux for is the company’s ability to produce unique items in small quantities.

The company does all its work out its assembly plant in Blackpool approximately one hour from Manchester Airport.

Approximately 25 percent of Aerolux’s business is catering equipment for railroads.

Among the customers recently gained by Aerolux are West Coast Main Line Virgin

Trains, rail car builder Alstom and suppliers Kelox and Multirail. The company broke into the rail market in 1990 with a line of refrigerated display carts and sales carts.

“Keep it simple and Respect the Spec” was the company’s motto. However Postlethwaite says that Aerolux’s customers are also looking to the company for its innovation and its ability to think outside the box to develop products they could not find elsewhere.

“We have to do – for want of a better word – the idiosyncratic type of products,” Postlethwaite said. “Things that will be a little bit different, a little big quirky and that is a lot of our business in the airline industry.”

TROLLEY REPORT

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Michiel Maris, sales and marketing director (left) and David Boreel, marketing intelligence manager at DriessenZodiac Aerospace pose with a new Hybrite trolley.

Making the rounds BY

RICK LUNDSTROM

Driessen-Zodiac Aerospace rolls out the hybrite in grand fashion at several important shows he stylish brochure for Driessen’s new Hybrite line of trolleys features on its third page a quote by Charles Darwin on the importance of adaptation.

“It is the species most responsive to change that survives,” reads the line.

The company’s new line of Hybrite composite/aluminum trolleys is the species designed to adapt to the demands of airlines for lightweight products without the cost associated with a trolley made completely of hightech composites. It was rolled out first to the airline industry at this year’s International Travel Catering Association (ITCA) and later at Asian Aerospace in Hong Kong. In April, the Hybrite will be seen in its colorful designs at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg.

But behind the stylish looks and bold campaign to make the carts an important player in a competitive segment of the industry, is another message that Michiel Maris, sales and marking director at Driessen says the company has learned from listening to its customers.

“The aviation industry made it clear to us,” said Maris who put the Hybrite through its paces at this year's ITCA Exhibition.

“Don’t sell us carts that are twice as expensive as our other carts.”

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That request brought DriessenZodiac Aerospace back to the drawing board to develop the Hybrite with a half-composite, halfaluminum design weighing in at between 10 and 11.5 kilograms in the half size configuration and between 15 and 18 kilograms on the full size mode. The Hybrite can also be customized with several features, including a pull-out table, aluminum or composite panel facing.

A single-wheel or double-wheel castor system gives the trolley improved maneauverability. Cabin waste can be loaded either from the top or the front.

A number of eye-catching features can also be added. Printed placards and powder coating can be applied in scratch resistant finishes. Rounded corners, ergonomics and damage reducing designs are built into the Hybrite, which can be purchased in ATLAS and ACE standards.

A third design feature, a fully recyclable construction answers the airlines’ growing desire to reduce the environmental impact of their operations.

To answer the airlines’ desire for a less costly replacement, Maris said that depending on the features, the Hybrite line could cost up to 25 percent less than an all-com-

The Hybrite in half sizes

posite trolley line. Driessen said an airline’s return on investment could be achieved “in months, rather than years.”

Maris says that Driessen-Zodiac Aerospace sees an industry wide trolley replacement market at between 80,000 and 100,000 per year.

He estimated that a Hybrite trolley has an average lifespan of about 10 years.

To achieve the durability demanded by airlines, Driessen put the Hybrite through a rigorous testing regime that can be seen on the company’s website. To achieve certification by the European Air Safety Administration (EASA), the Hybrite was brake tested, dropped, washed for a three-year cycle while tested for weight bearing ability and fire resistance. Each of the moving parts was put through automated testing before meeting the standards of the EASA. In addition, the Hybrite also meets all the airworthiness standards for Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

TROLLEY REPORT

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roll a On Trolley companies have been reading industry moods and BY

RICK LUNDSTROM

designing an array of unique products to answer the needs of airlines for weight savings, aesthetic appeal and, of course, cost

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t is a rough-and-tumble environment in the world of aircraft trolleys these days; and a lot of the jostling and jockeying for position is taking place far from an airline cabin with restless passengers in the aisles.

In recent years, and in some cases what seems like recent months, new lines of trolleys have been developed and what seemed like great ideas have been modified for the realities of a rapidly changing airline market that is one year flush and the next year broke. The companies that will be called on to make the replace-

ment products for a demanding segment of the cabin service market are in tight competition.

Though much has changed, demand could be the one constant that should make the years to come interesting and vibrant for this segment of the industry. Trolleys in the past have been the lumbering workhorses of the airline cabin. Like any other laborer, a hardworking trolley that has been pushed, and crashed and washed too often has to one day call it quits. Life spans for the aluminum trolley have been eight years by some average estimates.

In the past, trolleys were reliable, but not pretty, and simple, but not elegant. In recent years, manufacturers have sought to change that image. Lines and edges have been softened and slate gray sides have given way to color and patterns.

But in addition to having wheels, a trolley also has a footprint – more specifically, an environmental footprint.

And for reasons both altruistic and good sound business policy, airlines seem to be thinking first, and perhaps second as well, about the weight when deciding which trolley to outfit a fleet. That has led to a greater emphasis on composite materials that hold the promise of cutting weight considerably, but at greater cost. Development and marketing of the next generation of trolleys is often done in partnership with other supply companies and composite units are touted with their ability to pay back the additional costs in fuel savings over the course of a few years.

Visitors to this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg will have the chance to see trolleys in their every incarnation over the three day event in April. Including among them Quantum Trolley from Norduyn which claimed a Crystal Cabin Award at last year’s AIX. The Montreal based company has partnered with LSG Sky Chefs to develop and market the Quantum line.

Since then, Patrick Phillips, director of business development at Norduyn has put the trolley through its paces in a series of tests last summer “with very positive feedback from crews.

“Production is running at full capacity, producing ATLAS half-size and full size trolleys with further models to be added to the series in 2011.”

In the past year, Norduyn has been taking the Quantum on the road, demonstrating at company stands in Long Beach for the International Flight Services Association Conference and Aircraft Interiors Expo, and at the ITCA Exhibition in Dubai.

“Our continuous efforts to bring innovative solutions to the market has positioned Norduyn as an indispensable provider of high quality lighter weight products to airlines and operators,” said Mathieu Boivin, president of Norduyn.

Norduyn’s Quantum Trolley is made entirely from composites

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Eco by name The Quantum Trolley won its Crystal Cabin award in the Greener Cabin Health & Safety category. At this year’s International Travel Catering Association event in Nice, Singapore-based Diethelm Keller Aviation brought its new generation of EcoLite® aluminum trolleys, that combines what sales and business development manager Joshua Chang says is the company’s desire to build a greener trolley the with the need to make a product that is affordable to the industry.

“Aluminum is a trusted material in the aviation industry,” said Chang, as he moved about the company’s stand at ITCA showing the various features and functions of the EcoLite®. The trolley has already found its way into the fleets of Swiss International, Air New Zealand and Eva Airways, among others.

Iacobucci will be bringing two prototypes of its new trolley to this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo.

The EcoLite® trolley from Diethelm Keller Aviation is in its second generation of operations, and is found on several airlines.

The EcoLite® weighs in empty at 15.5 to 16.7 kilograms in the full sized configuration and 9.8 to 10.7 kilograms in the half size. But additional construction features are touted as much as the trolley’s weight. Thicker sidewalls, hermetic door seals and insulation in the top and base panels create a seal that saves in costly dry ice, said Chang. The construction gives the EcoLite® a high strength to weight ratio which allows an airline to board fewer trolleys.

Airlines are also concerned about aesthetics and the perceptions of passengers as they pass by a galley on the way to seats. With the EcoLite®, Diethelm Keller has rounded the extrusion edges, flushed the pull handle and lock pan and added visual options such as prints and color possibilities.

With all these features, and more Chang said the EcoLite® can stand up to competition from the composites by keeping prices lower. “We wanted to innovate something, but we need to innovate such that it is commercially viable,” he said.

One of the new members of the team at Iacobucci HF Group is Riccardo Palmeri, who joined the company six months ago as the www.pax-intl.com

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group marketing director. The Italian company has gone through a rigorous reorganization bringing in the meal and beverage trolley division of Iacobucci SPA into the company’s main group and acquiring Modular Galley System (see related story page 26) a German high-tech company that manufactures microwave ovens. Visitors to this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo will get the first look at this newly organized entity with its products and services all in one places in the conference hall.

They will also see the newest line of trolleys made by a newly formed company called Iacobucci ATS Srl (Aircraft Trolley Systems).

“We are pushing the concept of innovation. As a main player in the industry, we must look at new ideas and materials to move our product forward,” said Palmeri. Evidence of that may be found in the company’s line of ATS trolleys that it developed with the help of Tencate Advanced Composites for some of the structure that Iacobucci says gives the line weight savings and high thermal performance. The two new lightweight prototypes, stressing ergonomic features, safety and durability will be shown at the Iacobucci stand at AIX. The new trolleys are not only meant for meal and beverage service. Iacobucci has also developed with the help of a company called AV Seal a product that is designed for use as a catering and duty free cart. The new cart is designed with a system of sealing and locking that eliminates the use of plastic tie seals that are now found

throughout the industry to track and detect tampering with expensive onboard items.

The duty free trolley is one of the areas where Iacobucci will be looking to potential customer feedback over the next year. Test trials will take place over the next 12 months with the hope of bringing a new product line to market in early 2012.

The trolleys featured at AIX are a new wrinkle for a longtime company. Iacobucci first began making trolleys for the airline industry in the early 1970s. Meal and beverage trolleys, folding trolleys, standard units and dozens of other Iacobucci products are flying on airlines around the world.

But, visitors to this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo will be seeing a new face on a longtime supplier, said Palmeri. “Six months ago, when we got the trolley business back in the group, we have invested seriously in new people, and processes and new material and technology,” he said.

The company has also invested in something that has become as important to the trolley industry as it has become in other areas of manufacturing: steady reliable collaborators to carry the projects through.

“It is a market that seems to be pushing forward very much,” said Palmeri. “But you have to find the right partner to make this big change. And sometimes this change takes a lot longer than you expected.”

Ireland’s Onboard Logistics cuts rail deal A simple system of red and green foot pedals that controls the movement and angles of trolley castors making them easier to move and less likely to careen about a cabin will soon be working to eliminate a big problem aboard tilting, fast moving trains throughout the United Kingdom.

At the end of April, a company called Sovereign On Line will be launching a Super hybrid trolley with a Castor Alignment System (CAS) developed by Onboard Logistics. Later this year, the trolleys and castors will go through testing on a European rail line.

The Dublin-based Onboard Logistics announced late last year that it completed a deal to have the two-pedal castor alignment system installed on products made by Sovereign, a U.K. company specializing in the manufacture and maintenance of trolleys for air and rail travel.

The system has been incorporated into Sovereign’s trolleys for the rail catering industry. Sovereign will be offering four types of Super hybrid trolleys: a trolley for water urn and in-cup service, a trolley for pump pots and filtered coffee; a trolley for mini-soluble vending at the seat and a trolley for espresso.

The castor alignment system lets the operator of the catering trolley guide the device (which is slightly larger than a ATLAS standard airline trolley) through the aisle of the train without hitting and damaging the side of the seats by giving the operator directional control. Another feature of the mechanism is the ability to align the castor wheels for easy entry and exit of an aircraft galley. Another feature useful for trains locks the castors furthest away from the operator allowing 360-degree movement while holding the heavy trolley in place when a high-speed train is tilting.

“You can pull the trolley out with your little finger as opposed to all this jerking and heavy pulling and back injuries,” said Tommy walsh an engineer at Onboard Logistics, who designed the castor system.

In addition to the CAS, the company makes the Flex-e-bag and Flex-eclip waste management systems designed to be used on airline trolleys. The Dublin based Onboard Logistics recently signed an agreement with the makers of the Aerocat trolley, marketed by gategroup, to make the trash management system part of its line.

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A Sovereign rail trolley featuring the Castor Alignment System from Onboard Logistics

| TROLLEY REPORT

Breakout year for Skytender?

This year Air-eltec and Skymax will bring a newer the final version of its concept for drink service promising ease of use and weight savings Though the idea has been around in one form or another for more than 30 years, a German company has developed the first certified fully automatic beverage system to serve is hoping that this time the airline industry can find a use for with a beverage dispenser that does not rely on cans, bottles, and legwork by flight attendants.

After three years development The Skytender “high-class for drinks” will be again be featured at this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo. The company will be showing visitors its combination of concentrate syrup containers and computer technology that holds with it the promise of a new way to dispense beverages.

Testing and certification was coming together for the company as this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo neared. After the Hamburg event, Oliver Kloth, managing director of Skymax, and Andreas Strauss, managing director of Air-eltec, the makers of the Skytender said the companies plan to conduct ground testing on the system and gain feedback from flight crews, with a goal to deliver the product to market by the beginning of next year.

“Nowadays all the different materials are available in the size and the quality and the weight that we need,” Strauss said.

With the Skytender system, hot drinks and cold drinks can be dispensed with the touch of a button through a system that makes use of a carbonator, water tanks, and concentrated syrup containers. Technology within the trolley tracks the use of syrup.

The nozzle system on the Skytender from Skymax

A standard pass with the Skytender can satisfy the drinks needs of approximately 220 thirsty passengers, said Kloth. The Skytender system has the capability to make more than 30 mixtures in one filling and can be modified from any lightweight trolley currently owned by the airline.

Where airlines save money is in storage and catering, said Kloth. With one cart able to satisfy the needs of many passengers, additional boarded drinks carts are not necessary. The concentrated syrup can be easily stored and handled, and fewer are needed trips up and down the aisles to satisfy passenger requests. For example, he said one liter of concentrated coffee syrup could produce 40 liters of coffee.

PASSENGER SAFETY NEWS

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Developments in aviation and cruise cabin safety BY

RICK LUNDSTROM

AmSafe, based in Phoenix, spent US$10 million developing and seatbelt airbag deployment device for commercial and business jets

Seatbelt airbag surpasses 35,000 in service It has been 10 years since AmSafe first developed a deployable airbag trigged by a seatbelt to help airlines meet FAA safety regulations for seats to withstand 16 Gs of force in some tricky aircraft environments.

Phoenix-based AmSafe spent tens of millions of dollars developing the airbag and seatbelt. Once the FAA rule requiring 16G compatibility went into affect in 2009, the company began receiving orders for the product. In November of last year, B/E Aerospace began offering side-facing divans equipped with the AmSafe seatbelt airbag for the business jet market.

But it’s the commercial application that put the product into the aircraft of more than 60 airlines.

“We continue to work actively with airlines, seat manufacturers and regulatory agencies to develop new enhancements to this lifesaving technology and look forward to a day when each and every passenger on commercial airlines is afforded the protection that this product offers,” said Terence Lyons, chief executive officer of AmSafe in the November announcement shortly after the company signed on with B/E Aerospace.

Where the seatbelt airbag can be commonly found is in areas of 36

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the cabin with lie-flat, pod style seating. It seatbelt airbag is a selfcontained modular restraint, which protects passengers from headinjury impact. Its construction also allows people to exit the aircraft after an accident. The airbag inflates in less than 90 milliseconds and safely deploys up and away from the occupant. Passengers young and old can escape easily.

With the installation of the AmSafe says that airlines are able to offer the safety, while at the same time avoiding the alternative approach of removing rows of seats, which would lead to millions of dollars per aircraft in lost revenue.

On the business jet installation, AmSafe seatbelt airbags were installed in side-facing divans.

“Current cabin interior arrangements for business jets do not allow full occupancy of side-facing divans for take-off and landing when a monument is installed facing forward of the divan,” said a release from AmSafe. “At least one seat position must remain vacant for the occupant head protection and body contact avoidance.”

The seatbelt airbag system is now standard equipment on 80 percent of new single engine general aviation aircraft and is available as an aftermarket option on others.

| DEPARTMENT

787 to have to new handheld lights When the 787 finally takes to the skies sometime this summer with All Nippon Airways, it will have among its standard equipment a handheld flashlight that until recently had changed little in the 30 years.

But as is often the case, development of a new aircraft spurs technological and product advancement throughout the industry.

The company that makes the flashlights was known for years as DME Corp. Astronics purchased the company in 2009 when its owner Luis Mola retired. In addition to the flashlights the company makes first aid kits, emergency locator beacons and survival kits for aircraft emergency rafts and light harnesses for aircraft slides. Another division of Astronics makes the Empower power to the seat system, while another division makes cabin emergency lighting.

Carl Hooper sales and marketing manager for the Aircraft Emergency and Survival Products division of Astronics in Fort Laud-

erdale, Florida said early in development of the 787, Boeing came to the company with a bulleted list of desires for its inflight flashlights. Boeing wanted several improvements, including the use of LED technology for a lighter weight product.

Hooper says the company has long held a nearly 90 percent market share for in-cabin flashlights, which are installed at a ratio of one for each flight attendant on the aircraft.

“LED’s are changing every year,” said Hooper. “They’re getting brighter and more reliable and we’ve incorporated that into our product.”

The division of Astronics went to work, and developed a smaller version of the light that can fit in the original wall mounts, positioned throughout the aircraft. The new light, dubbed the Air Lite 1E, came in approximately one pound lighter than its predecessor.

Depending on the aircraft, that could mean a savings of anywhere from $75 to $500 per

Approximately 2,000 Air Lite 1E flashlights are in service in airlines around the world.

year in fuel costs, Hooper has calculated.

Up to six of the flashlights can be found on single-aisle aircraft, however the A380 could have between 16 and 18 flashlights. With approval by Airbus as well, Hooper said the Air Lite 1E made its first appearance in the industry in the aisles of the A318 and A321.

So far, Hooper estimates that approximately 2,000 Air Lite 1Es are flying on aircraft around the world. “We are working with a lot of the airlines to try and convert the flashlights just because of the weight savings and technology,” said Hooper.

Visit us at Aircraft Interiors Expo Hamburg: Stand #6C12

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EPA testing aided with Celeste product Makers of a well-known treatment for potable water supplies in aircraft cabins are finding customers for a water tank cleaning system that helps them meet U.S. regulations for cleaning and inspection.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency oversees the use of local water supplies in airline cabins. A few years ago, the agency conducted months of testing on aircraft water supplies and passed on rigorous regulations, requiring the airlines to regularly test for the presence of bacteria, such as E coli as well as keep detailed records of their activities.

Even though much of the drinking water now consumed on aircraft is dispensed in bottles, airlines still mostly use cabin water when making coffee and tea.

One of the companies that has developed products to help airline meet the new regulations is Celeste Industries. The company’s Glyco-San® product is an EPA registered disinfectant. It is currently being used by Continental Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO), which is a maintenance company in the Asia Pacific Region.

Glyco-San® is a biodegradable, non-corrosive cleaner that removes scale and organic buildup in potable water tanks, lines and automatic coffee maker system. All are prone to scaling which can be a breeding ground for bacterial, said Dora Cheatham of Celeste Industries in Maryland.

The organic acids in Glyco-San® are designed to penetrate and dissolve multiple layers of scale in water.

Cheatham said one to two treatments of Glyco-San® per year can keep an aircraft’s water system clean and free of scale accumulation and in compliance with EPA standards.

Currently, all aircraft entering the United States at two or more points must be in compliance with the EPA regulations. The World Health Organization has been watching what the EPA has enacted and could create its own recommended testing regime. Though not binding, many countries look to the Organization for guidance.

“Eventually it (the regulations) is going to impact everyone,” Cheatham said.

Hepburn Bio Care moves into cruise market A United Kingdom based company with offices in the cruise capital of the world debuted its line of cleaning products for cruse, ferry and super yacht cabins at last year’s Marine Hotel Association event in Barcelona.

Hepburn Bio Care manufactures a line of several non-hazardous, no alcohol cleaning products that carry the designation Log 4 Norokill which can kill 99.99 percent of the flu-causing virus on contact and have a residual killing capacity of three hours. The chemicals are sold in highly concentrated forms and Craig Gundry, vice president of operations for North America at Hepburn said that a combination of four or five cleaners can and handle all the needs of cabin stewards.

And since the chemicals are non-hazardous they are easier on surfaces and railings within the ship.

“Since we have launched a year, now our products have been used on Silversea, MSC and are being considered by a few other cruise lines,” said Gundry, speaking to PAX International by phone from the company’s stand at this year’s Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami.

The company is based in Southampton and has opened a service office in Fort Lauderdale. Gundry said Hepburn Bio Care is in the midst of opening its European office in Dubrovnik.

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WHAT’S HOT! | AIX

VisiTouch Technology Company Name: Vision Systems Company Location: Brignais, France Description: Vision Systems launches its new in-flight enter-

tainment system, the VisiTouch. The system is integrated in the seatback and provides an easy-to-navigate touch screen.

It offers Audio and Video On Demand (AVOD) to an unlimited number of passengers, made possible by memory card integration in each screen. This technology, linked to the system heart VisiBox, avoids flow interruptions during flights. Beautifully styled, the VisiTouch offers the highest possibility of customization; color, applications and graphical user interface.

In-flight amenities Company Name: watermark Products Company Location: London, UK Description: watermark Products offers

Comic relief headrest covers Company Name: Orvec

International Limited Company Location: United Kingdom Description: Orvec recently supplied British

Airways with printed disposable Comic relief headrest covers, which were used to promote the airlines stand-up comedy flight. The comedy flight was entered into the Guinness Book of world records and helped raise money for Comic relief. The headrest covers are printed onto Polypropylene at Orvec’s factory in hull, East Yorkshire.

Air New Zealand a line of meal service and amenity items. Products include flatware, food trays, blankets, eye masks and more.

In collaboration with Air New Zealand and Design works, watermark presents an airline functional product, which reflects the airlines brand values.

In-flight headphones Company Name: Phitek Company Location: Auckland,

New Zealand Description: Phitek introduces comfort-

able, noise-canceling headphones for inflight entertainment. The headphones are compact, durable and comfortable for long-time wear and have an extended operational lifetime. The new mini headphones are available in a variety of models offering high-quality passenger comfort and sound. Visit Phitek at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2011 at stand number 6F10

Green amenity bag Company Name: Global Inflight Products Description: Global Inflight Products pres-

ents comfort to its ‘Green is possible’ line of products by using eco-friendly materials for onboard amenity kits. The new bags feature natural fibers, canvas or burlap, renewable and biodegradable materials while also offering durability. In addition, the bag is lightweight and convenient to use.

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Aviation footwear Company Name: SKYPrO Shoes Company Location: Lisbon, Portugal Description: SkyPro presents an assortment of innovative and trendy

footwear, with the utmost comfort in mind. The new insole made of poron with ambicork technology is anti-static, alarm free, temperature resistant, resilient and remains comfortable for long-time wear and use.

Yoga Therapy for Frequent Flyers Company Name: Yoga Tune Up Company Location: Studio City, California Description: Yoga Tune Up offers frequent

flyers the Yoga Tune Up Therapy Balls, to release stress and tension while flying. Therapy Balls are available for flight attendants, passengers and pilots and exercises can be done while seated. The Upper Body series targets neck and upper back pain, the Lower Body series focuses on lower back, hips and feet, and Total Body series features exercises for all main muscle groups.

Business class amenity design Company Name: FOrMIA Company Location: hong Kong Description: FOrMIA is excited

for the upcoming launch of Austrian Airlines’ new Care Kit for long haul Business Class flights in May. The new concept introduces a set of eight motifs captured inside the kit, making it a collector’s item. The series of motifs, hand-picked and arranged by Austrian Airlines, evokes live Austrian moments back in the early 20th century in a contemporary style

SnackSticks Company Name: w.K. Thomas Company Location: Surrey, U.K. Description: wK Thomas introduces a creative, fun, and innova-

tive SnackSticks. These ‘fool-proof chopsticks’ are easy-to-use and are great for use on any type of food. The rounded edges make grabbing food simpler than with traditional chopsticks

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DrawerPak in-flight Security Company Name: ITw Envopak Company Location: UK Description: ITw Envopak introduces

DrawerPak, security-enhanced trolley trays. Each individual tray is sealed offering a high level of security and theft prevention. Only drawers where the seal has been broken need to be counted. These innovative drawers reduce security losses, save time, fit directly into current trolley positions and the single-use seal can accommodate an airline log, serial number and barcode as required.

CHARITY REPORT

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Worthy Causes

Part Two

with the popularity and interest surrounding our first charity report featured in the last issue of PAX International, we have once again spotlighted some key players in the travel catering and cabin services industry to find out how they are giving back to their communities BY CHANTELLE BOYAL

Message in a bottle n June of last year, Southern Comfort, owned by Brown-Forman Corp. announced that it planned to raise and donate up to $250,000 to the Gulf Relief Foundation to help the fishing community and wetland preservation in the Plaquemines Parish. By November, they had reached their goal.

“The outpouring of support for Gulf communities has been heartwarming,” said Kerry Walsh Skelly, global managing director for Southern Comfort. “Southern Comfort is proud to have provided a mechanism for people around the country to help our neighbors in southeast Louisiana. Southern Comfort’s contribution to the Gulf Relief Foundation will make an ongoing difference to communities that will need help and support for many months to come.”

Southern Comfort initially donated $50,000 while raising the additional $200,000 through an initiative on Facebook and a donation per bottle sold campaign.

The Gulf Relief Fund was established in response to last April’s oil spill in the Gulf region. Funds were raised to support the well being of fishermen, wetlands and wildlife in Plaquemines Parish and St. Bernards Parish. Originally, 100 percent of the total donation was going to go toward helping the Plaquemines Parish area. However, it was decided that the funds would also be distributed to organizations in other communities in southeast Louisiana, as the need for assistance is great.

Learn more: www.SouthernComfort.com www.gulfaid.org

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digEcor.jpg: digEcor contributes annually to Clear Horizons Academy, a school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Hope on the horizon he team at digEcor strives to maintain a mentality and lifestyle of giving back.

Acknowledging that the company itself is entirely owned by a group of three charities, it’s not difficult to understand their eagerness to contribute. Each charity works to help individuals and families suffering from a variety of daily challenges. The combined effort reaches beyond domestic borders into countries around the globe.

In addition, digEcor employees also participate in the Clear Horizons Academy’s Annual Gala and Fundraiser. Clear Horizons Academy is a non-profit private school for children between the ages of 3 and 8 who suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The school focuses on helping children gain communication skills using relationshipbased learning.

The annual fundraiser allows the school to offer tuition and to expand its budget for operating costs. Proceeds from the gala go directly to the scholarship fund for underprivileged families.

Learn more: www.digecor.com, www.clearhorizonsacademy.org.

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Diversity makes the difference ockwell Collins has been recognized for their culturally diverse attitude and frequent community involvement.

DiversityInc magazine has named Rockwell Collins ‘Top Company for community development’ for the second year in a row. The company’s president and CEO Clay Jones accepted the award at the publication’s award event in Washington, DC in November 2010.

“Our community involvement extends across an array of diversity initiatives,” said Sue Nelson, director of Diversity for Rockwell Collins. “We’re honored to be recognized for our efforts, and we will continue our focus to create inclusive communities where we work and live.”

The company was honored for their efforts to form Diversity Focus, a Cedar Rapids non-profit organization whose goal is to increase diversity and cultural experience in eastern Iowa through education, programming and connecting people.

Their support of educational efforts through Engineering Experiences – its group of targeted programs to introduce at-risk students to science and engineering programs and careers were also recognized. Rockwell Collins’ has actively supported diversity resource groups and non-profit organizations and has worked to attract more diverse talent into the engineering and technology professions.

Learn more: rockwellcollins.com www.diversityinc.com

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IFE Services male staff took part in ‘Movember’ last year to raise Patrón continues

awareness for men’s

to be vigilant in

health by changing their

reducing, re-using

clean-shaven appearance.

and recycling while also supporting a variety of charitable organizations

Green initiatives atrón founder and owner, John Paul DeJoria, has been consistently supporting causes in communities worldwide and actively striving to improve his business in terms of going green. Among his charitable contributions, one such organization is The Smile Train, an international charity dedicated to helping millions of children around the world who suffer from cleft lip and palate by providing free surgery, free training for doctors and research to find a cure.

The fight against worldwide hunger is also a cause that Patrón Spirits has embraced. The company’s Ultimat Vodka brand is heavily involved in raising awareness and funds for Action Against Hunger, an international organization committed to eliminating world hunger.

In addition, the company has made a commitment to being environmentally friendly and responsible by using recycled glass and other recycled materials to produce and ship their products. Patrón bottles are made from recycled glass and shipping boxes are made from other recycled materials.

Learn more: Patrónspirits.com

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Giving back on a global scale or a second year, OnAir has taken a charitable initiative supporting three different charity organizations.

“OnAir will donate the proceeds saved through sending electronic greeting cards this year to three charity projects; two international ones, ‘ Autour de la Russie’ and ‘Aide & Action’ and one local one ‘Caritas’.

The company first got involved with Aide & Action in India last year by funding a project to help children of migrant workers have access to education. The ultimate objective of the project is to provide a long term, quality education to such children living in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram of Tamil Nadu districts. Aide & Action’s educational centers help the children catch up scholastically with their classmates in order to be accepted at a state school in their home village.

Recently, OnAir has added Autour de la Russie and Caritas to their charity roster. Autour de la Russie is an association based in France and directly assists an orphanage in a small provincial Russian town by providing funds for the vital needs of abandoned children. Caritas is a Swiss-based charity helping local populations in need.

OnAir’s charity project with Caritas involves funding social activities for isolated elderly people or people with illnesses who do not have access to everyday resources nor a family.

The company says that these specific charities attracted them because they were seeking a charity in their community to help those in need as well as international charities helping specific regions of the world with existing needs such as migrant population lacking access to a standard schooling program for its children, or an orphanage without funds to buy basic equipment such as cots, chairs, mattresses, clothes or food.

OnAir has received very successful and rewarding results since working with Aide & Action. Approximately 150 children who have not been able to attend school have been accepted to reintegration centers and have been registered to different schools; 300 children under 5 have been accepted to nursery school; Approximately 1,000 children who have never attended school have received an alternative education.

Learn more: www.onair.aero www.aide-et-action.org www.caritas-geneve.ch

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Moustaches grow awareness ast November, five of IFE Services’ staff rose to the challenge of growing an array of eye-catching moustaches in various styles in support of ‘Movember’. Organized by the Movember Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization, the fundraising event which is held once every year challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache.

“Movember is a fun way of raising much needed funds for a variety of diseases that affect men,” said Andy Reid, Movember organizer and IFE Services’ Movie Programming Manager. “The team really embraced the opportunity to help this very worthwhile charity and did a brave job of raising awareness of men’s health issues in the most visible way possible.”

Participants begin the challenge November 1 clean-shaven and then grew a moustache for the entire month. The moustache represents the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers and other illnesses that affect men.

The moustache-sporting men at IFE Services raised funds from friends, family and work colleagues for research into diseases such as prostate and testicular cancer.

Learn more: www.ifeservices.com www.movember.com

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A helping hand he management team at Plane Talking Products have had a long history of supporting charitable causes. One in particular has been the co-ordinatation with Virgin Atlantic to provide ‘shelterboxes’ to destinations around the world following a natural disaster. The shelterbox is a small plastic box containing a tent which can house 10 people in three separate compartments and includes all that is required to survive for a period of three months following a natural disaster.

Plane Talking Products has provided shelterboxes to places such as Haiti, Iraq, the east coast of India, Sudan and more recently Japan following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that shook the country on March 11th, 2011.

The company also co-ordinated eight marine specialists to refloat the many hundreds of fishing boats that had been washed inland following the tsunami in India, as well as delivering 47 tons of shelterboxes.

The management team at Plane Talking Products have also been involved in the design and production of Red Nose badges for over 20 years for Comic Relief. Last year, the Red Nose campaign raised approximately €80 million.

Additionally, for the last 25 years, they have hosted many annual charity events for good causes at their warePlane Talking Products takes a hands on house in the County approach with Comic Relief of Hampshire.

Learn more: www.planetalking.net www.comicrelief.com.

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CONFERENCE REVIEW

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ITCA

Australia-based buzz Products was the

ITCA ’11, Nice Delegates meet, greet and focus on year ahead

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n a mood that was described as everything from “relaxed” to “collegiate” visitors and exhibitors to this year’s International Travel Catering Association 2011 event February 15-17 in Nice, France carried on business and networking in typical style despite the lack of the physical presence on the trade floor of the industry’s two largest caterers and their many ancillary services.

During the three days, highlighted by brisk traffic on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 1,500 visitors had the chance to not only get out of the ever falling rain that loomed over the Mediterranean coastal city day and night, but to try their hand at wine tasting and identification and learn the finer points of perfume making. On the final day, winners were announced for the annual ITCA Mercury Awards (see story, page 76).

But mostly, the 130 exhibitors that in years past had operated in the shadows of the two large players, gategroup and LSG Sky Chefs, did their best to take advantage of the possibility of more time with potential airline customers, many of which are ending a year flush with profits and eyeing a 2011 that although plagued by high oil prices still shows promise.

This year’s ITCA event organization was a departure from previous ones in ways both large and small. The traditional gala dinner and the morning line-up of speakers and programs were eliminated, and attendees gathered for of an end-of-day cocktail reception.

Lunches were free and coffee and water and wireless Internet were available throughout the time the trade floor was open.

The new format gave delegates the ability to carry out what ITCA President Stephen White said was the interaction that so many

winner of this year’s W.M. Seeman Award for best stand.

BY

RICK LUNDSTROM

seek each year.

“I think the biggest success has probably been the networking side of it,” White told PAX International, the last day of ITCA 2011.

“We cancelled the conference and I do not regret doing that at all.”

During the weeks and months that led to this year’s ITCA 2011, planners reached out to CEOs around the world, urging them to bring members and staff to Nice. Airlines, shipping and rail companies were told that by attending ITCA, they could get a full picture of what the industry had to offer, White said.

“Without sending them here, they cannot possibly have the correct knowledge when they send out to tender,” White stressed.

“It was a good, fast two days,” said Cedric Mancini regional manager for travel channel Europe and Nestlé. The company’s centrally located stand saw a steady stream of coffee seekers and stakeholders in the industry in search of quality time with one of the largest suppliers.

Mancini said the Nestlé travel channel division ended the year with 5 percent growth. “We believe this year, we make it to the next level,” he added.

Kevin Cox, sales manager of the snack supplier Brinker’s and member of the ITCA board was one of the people who felt the atmosphere at this year’s event was more relaxed than previous years. In addition, he said he thinks airlines are again looking at what they can do to enhance the offering for their customer base.

“They see they have to spend a little more to keep passengers satisfied,” he said.

This year’s winner of the W. M. Seeman Award for stand design came from faraway Australia. The winner, buzz creative product Approximately 150 companies exhibited at this year’s ITCA trade floor

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ITCA

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CONFERENCE REVIEW

Asian Pioneer Onboard Services brought a line of products to this year’s ITCA Conference. Here, managing director Pep Manich Grau shows a new coffee pot developed by the company

Juliana M. Lopez On Board Service Director AviancaTaca Airlines (third from left) was rewarded to superior networking, setting up appointments in advance with a new iPad from WESSCO International. Also picture, left to right are Nick and Bob Bregman, Ricardo Arredondo, Sharon Conway-Deherder and Petros Sakkis

agency brought with them a wide assortment of unique items that have found their way onto Qantas Airways. The selection focused on innovation and adding value to the customer experience, from bag tags with RFID readers offered on Qantas domestic flights to a wide range of products for children’s amenity kits.

“We feel there is a strong confidence overall in the industry,” said Leonard Hammersfeld, director at buzz.

Even though a strong catering presence was not part of this year’s ITCA event, caterer representatives were among the delegates. Senior management at LSG Sky Chefs spent a day at ITCA and White added that he has had useful feedback from caterers

such as Flying Food Group, Newrest and Servair.

In the months ahead, ITCA will working on some key goals and projects, said White. A task force from both ITCA and the International Flight Services Association (IFSA) met recently to discuss ways the two groups can work together. By June, White said the group would submit another report on what form additional cooperation would take. At the end of March, White said Association and industry representatives would use the services of a professional facilitator during a two-day session to “discuss and debate the future of what they would like to see the Association and the trade show to look like.”

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A rich partnership TAP’s inflight offering relies heavily on authentic cuisine and a well-known chef who takes a hands on approach to the airline’s food service BY RICK LUNDSTROM

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itor Sobral may be as familiar to the chefs and workers at the Catering de Portugal SA unit in Lisbon as he is to the employees and chefs at his restaurant in country’s capital city.

For the past eight years, Sobral, one of Portugal’s most famous chefs or one of his colleagues have made a weekly trek to the unit, known most often as Cateringpor (see related story), for a spot check on the progress and success of his many menu creations for TAP Portugal. He learns what works and what doesn’t among the thousands of Executive Class and Economy Class meals produced each day at the unit.

Sobral’s menu creation are but one, albeit very important, aspect that TAP Portugal has done to enhance the offering for passengers on the airline, which last year topped the 9 million mark for the first time. A sparkling, high-tech, lounge stocked generously with freshly prepared products from Cateringpor was opened in December of 2008 at Lisbon Airport. A Panasonic on-demand inflight entertainment system has been rolled out fleet wide and a revamped, award-winning inflight magazine in Portuguese and English offers a stylish look at the airline’s home country, often educating passengers on aspects of the airline’s operations, among them the food service.

“Our goal is to have homemade cuisine on board,” said Sobral. “To use lots of aromatic herbs and olive oils.”

The Executive lounge at Lisbon Airport was opened in 2008

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Both ingredients can be found in abundance on TAP Portugal menus. What can also be found is a wide selection of domestic wines and robust tasting Ports that have made the country a favorite from historic figures such as Winston Churchill to film stars like John Malkovich, who is featured in a recent issue of the infight magazine and is part owner of one of the most popular restaurants in Lisbon.

TAP has also worked with top-flight chefs from Brazil. In 2007, the airline teamed with Danio Braga, the country’s 2006 Gastronomy Personality of the Year.

Sobral and Isabel Alves, TAP’s head of inflight product talked about some of the airline’s food service strategies above the din of evening diners at Sobral’s Tasca da Esquina (The Corner Tavern) restaurant in the capital city. On this particular stop, the pair was in the process of making several changes to the TAP menu. Sobral was developing a new line of appetizers. And the airline had decided, by surveying passengers to remove a staple Portuguese entrée, pork from future menus.

But pork was still part of Executive Class menu from Lisbon recently. The service to Newark started with an Amuse Bouche of Chick Pea Mousse with Spices and Sun Dried Tomato, Potato Salad with Onion and Coriander Vinaigrette. The salad course had the choice of several toppings: Parma Ham, Smoked Halibut, Green Asparagus, Dried Black Olives and Melon.

The Soup course (a staple in Portuguese

cuisine) was Cream of Potato with Poached Egg and Mint.

Main Courses were: Roast Pork with Mushrooms, Stone Bass Confit with Sparkling Wine and Leek Risotto and Fusilli with Sautéed Fresh Tuna.

Dessert was the choice of Azorean and Terra Raia Cheese and Apricot Compote, or traditional suspiros, a Portuguese dessert with Mango.

Economy Class offered passengers an appetizer of Chicken Mousse with Toasted Almonds; a main course of Roasted Veal with Artichoke Purée or Rigatonni with Cauliflower, Spinach, Goat’s Cheese and Rosemary. Dessert was an Apple Crème Brulée.

Passengers fortunate enough to fly TAP’s Executive Class have the chance to step into a new 500 square meter passenger lounge that incorporates elements rarely seen in similar lounges around Europe. In addition to the standard offerings that cater to business travelers, a spacious upper deck section features entertainment with a multimedia relaxation area with several large screen televisions. Guests in the lounge can pick their entertainment and listen on headphones. In the terminal, Executive Class passengers have access to fast-track customer access and priority processing in security.

The lounge has become something of a destination of its own. Alves say that oftentimes, passengers will arrive up to three hours before a flight to enjoy the atmosphere.

“We serve real food in the lounge,” she said. “Nothing is industrially made and no crackers. We have real sandwiches, Portuguese cheese and finger-food which change throughout the day.”

Soup service is an important part of TAP inflight menus.

Photo by Dario Zallis

Chef Vitor Sobral and TAP head of inflight product Isabel Alves outside Sobral’s restaurant Tasca da Esquina in Lisbon

Expansion this year The year 2011 holds the promise of being a breakout year for TAP. By this summer, the carrier will be adding two new international routes from Lisbon to Miami and to Porto Alegre, Brazil. The latter route is an addition

to TAP’s extensive service into Brazil, which carries more than 1.4 million passengers per year between the two countries and lands TAP aircraft at nine Brazilian gateway airports. In 2010, TAP saw a 25 percent increase in traffic to Brazil.

TAP ends 2010 with healthy profit TAP S.A., holding company for TAP Portugal announced in early March a financial year that saw the carrier end 2010 with a profit of €62.3 million on sales of €2.22 billion.

Increased sales in the carrier’s Brazilian and Angolan markets made a “huge contribution” to the successful, year, said TAP in a March 3 release of its 2010 financials.

During 2010, TAP carried 9.087 million passengers, a 7.7 percent increase from the previous year. Load factors increased from 68.5 percent in 2009 to 74.5 percent.

TAP boarded its 9 millionth passenger near the end of 2010 on a flight from Lisbon to Funchal. The carrier said that nearly 58 percent of the passengers leaving Lisbon Airport are aboard TAP aircraft.

The teeming city of Porto Alegre, Brazil is home to 10 million people. With the additional route, TAP will now extend its flight offerings on to Buenos Aires and Montevideu, Uruguay.

Brazil is part of a two front niche for the airline. While its routes to Brazil are lucrative (more than 55 percent of the airline’s sales in 2009) its routes to former Portuguese holdings like Angola and Mozambique in Africa amounted to 30 percent of its sales in the same year.

The airline has other plans for 2011. Within Europe, TAP plans to launch six new European destinations: Athens, Vienna, Düsseldorf, Bordeaux, Manchester and Dubrovnik.

Within Africa, TAP opened three new destinations: Accra(Ghana), Bamacko(Mali) and S, Vicente(Cape Verde).

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Luís de Sousa, general manager of Cateringpor

Lion’s share of Lisbon

and Natasha Planas Dias, head of food safety and quality assurance.

TAP and LSG Sky Chefs have lock on Portuguese capital’s airline catering market BY RICK LUNDSTROM t may not be the only game in town, but nearly every airline operating service out of Lisbon looks to Catering de Portugal SA, (known as Cateringpor), for its food service needs.

Since its opening, the medium-sized unit has become the established leader in the Lisbon market. It has secured the spot in part by nurturing a healthy partnership with one of the country’s most well known chefs, Vitor Sobral (see related story) for the flag carrier TAP, and harnessed the vast operational network through its affiliation with the world’s largest airline caterer for support and quality control.

Cateringpor is owned 51 percent by TAP Portugal and 49 percent by LSG Sky Chefs.

The 15,000-square meter unit was opened in 1993 and built to average approximately 25,000 meals per day. But last summer, production reached its peak capacity of 35,000 meals per day for the dozen airline customers that rely on its service.

Cateringpor also supplies food and beverages for three-quarters of the lounges at Lisbon Airport and has an integral role to play in outfitting the TAP Executive lounge that opened in 2008.

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Since its opening, Cateringpor has been in round the clock operations with three shifts for its workforce of approximately 700 employees with two unions. The unit is built in three floors with the bottom floor devoted to production.

Luís de Sousa, general manager at Cateringpor, has been with the company since the unit opened in 1993. Currently, he said the unit enjoys a 95 percent market share in Lisbon. Gate Gourmet operates a unit in Lisbon, and another unit LSKY caters to the small jet market.

That market share meant annual sales of approximately €35 million last year as Cateringpor sent meals far and wide on aircraft flying for the airlines moneymaking routes from Brazil to Mozambique.

Cateringpor plays a part in a bit of airline catering history as well. It has the distinction of being the first investment outside the United States by what was then Dallasbased Sky Chefs. Shortly after the venture was completed, Sky Chefs joined with LSG Lufthansa Services to form the world’s largest airline catering operation.

LSG Sky Chefs is responsible for the operation of the unit and quality control and

Cateringpor operates 24 hours a day for a dozen customers at Lisbon

HACCP along with a lean operation strategies program from the head office in Frankfurt.

And even though it has access to the network and the resources of LSG Sky Chefs, Cateringpor keeps a close watch on its local production and stays very close to a traditional airline-catering model.

“Ninety-percent of the meals we put onboard are produced in this kitchen,” said Sousa. “We don’t use frozen meals, except to certain customers in certain times of the year.

“We produce in house to have this flexibility to answer to the needs of our customers.”

Cateringpor is also watching its environmental footprint and safety procedures.

The caterer is working to achieve its ISO 14001 environmental certificate and the ISO 22000:2005 safety certificate. They are also working with TAP to make some significant environmental steps, such as replacing aluminum foil products with cardboard and looking to rid the TAP cabin of plastics.

CRUISE NEWS ocated at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, Captain Morgan on the Rocks is an new bar created by Diageo Global Travel & Middle East (GTME) in collaboration with sister cruise lines Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Lines.

Owned by Holland America Line, Half Moon Cay is a 2,400-acre private island that provides an exclusive Caribbean island experience for cruise guests.

Inspired by an episode from the history of the real-life privateer Captain Henry Morgan who sailed the waters more than 350 years ago, the bar is a 101-foot long twin decked, three-masted schooner that is “washed up” on the private island’s sand-swept beach.

With a total capacity of 326, the bar’s design is trimmed with nautical and historic references, including rum casks for seats, cannon barrels for bar stools and palm leaf-styled ceiling fans. The mid-deck features another bar that is surrounded by cannons that release mists of water to keep guests cool in the Bahamian sun.

The crafted wooden walls, decks, surfaces and fittings also include a series of branding concepts, including logos, messaging and images that are burnt into the wood, telling the story of the famous captain.

Captain Morgan on the Rocks also offers outdoor seating on two awning-covered, themed decks. The open upper deck of Captain Morgan’s Bar offers sweeping vistas of the turquoise waters ringed by the mile-long, white sand beach and the lush tropical vegetation, as well as the migratory bird sanctuary present on the island.

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Diageo, Holland America and Carnival open Captain Morgan on the Rocks

P&O Cruises introduces the Chef’s Table on maiden voyage et in the elegant, bottle-lined Wine Room within the Pacific Pearl’s chic Waterfront Restaurant, P&O Cruises’ new Chef’s Table will feature a carefully designed seven-course degustation menu paired with Australian wines.

The exclusive dinner will be offered up to three times on every Pacific Pearl cruise, with 14 passengers able to reserve a seat.

Sture Myrmell, vice president of hotel operations at Carnival Australia, which operates P&O Cruises, said the concept was designed to showcase the high quality of P&O Cruises’ food and wine and create a special experience for passengers.

Priced at $75 a head including wine, the three-hour Chef’s Table experience starts with pre-dinner cocktails, canapés and an introduction by the ship’s executive chef. Diners will then enjoy a tour of ship’s main kitchen before enjoying their dinner, with the chef introducing and explaining all seven courses.

Pacific Pearl’s Wine Room was created during the ship’s multi-million dollar refurbishment prior to joining P&O Cruises’ fleet in December. Launched in Auckland, Pacific Pearl arrived in Sydney for her maiden season of cruising from Australia on Thursday, February 3.

Plans have been made to extend The Chefs’ Table concept to Pacific Jewel, which also features a Wine Room, later this year.

Food and wine offerings on P&O Cruises have been completely revamped over the past two years, with all ships now offering fresh, gourmet cuisine that reflects Australian tastes along with a wine list featuring only Australian and New Zealand labels. Three of the cruise line’s fleet now also offers a ‘Salt Grill by Luke Mangan’ restaurant among their dining options.

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CRUISE NEWS Mixed signals in Baltic cruise numbers fter 10 years with an average of double digit passenger increases, Network Cruise Baltic, which promotes cruising in 10 northern European countries noted a decrease in both ship calls and passengers last year.

The group released its 2010 Market Review recently. The 40 ship operators that plied the Baltic waters in 2010 made (coincidentally) 2,010 calls and carried 3.1 million passengers. A total of 68 cruise ships worked the region.

“The number of passengers to the region in 2011 is expected to grow substantially with a growth rate of around 12 percent,” said rundown of the results, released February 7.

“Despite a small decrease in passengers overall, 2010 was a great season, which went really smoothly with excellent feedback from cruise lines, guests and suppliers alike,” said Bo Larsen, director of Cruise Baltic. “Several destinations mainly in the small and medium segment, even saw explosive growth rates…Rostock in particular.”

Larsen said the region has reached a point where growth cannot be expected year after year. Nonetheless, Cruise Baltic is estimating that it will see 3.5 million passengers this year, due to an extended season that will start in early April and continue to the end of October, five weeks longer than the 2010 season.

Top five destinations in the 10-country Cruise Baltic region are Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Talinn and Helsinki.

In March, at the Annual Seatrade Convention in Miami, Cruise Baltic announced two new partners to join the group, The Port of Klaipeda in Lithuania, and the Port of Sassnitz in Germany. The group’s director, Bo Larsen a lot unveiled plans by Cruise Baltic to attract smaller cruise lines, such as the SeaDream Yacht Club with its 112passenger mega-yachts. The line has committed to continue its itineraries in the region through 2012. Also recently calling in the Baltic is the Spanish line Happy Cruises that has repositioned its ship The Gemini to the Baltic, starting in May

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Silversea Partners with Slow Food Promozione n a new partnership agreement, Silversea Cruises will work closely with Slow Food Promozione, an arm of Slow Food Italy.

The collaboration will focus on highlighting the Italian heritage of La Terrazza, a specialty restaurant featured aboard the all-suite, ultraluxury ships Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper and Silver Spirit.

"We believe this partnership will enhance our guests' dining experience," said Rudi Scholdis, Silversea's director of culinary development. "At the same time, we take pride in supporting Slow Food's mission to link pleasure and food with awareness and responsibility."

The joint initiative will also entail a program of special Slow Food culinary voyages designed to showcase products of excellent gastronomic quality, help guests rediscover the joys of eating, and understand the importance of caring where their food comes from, who makes it and how it's made.

Founded in Italy in 1986, Slow Food has become an international organization dedicated to promoting greater enjoyment of food through a better understanding of its taste, quality and production. It seeks to defend biodiversity in the food supply, spread the education of taste, and link producers of excellent foods to consumers through events and initiatives.

Silversea and Slow Food will jointly work at sourcing food products from around the world that meet the standards of Slow Food.

Starting this summer, with voyages to Europe and the Mediterranean, Silversea's La Terrazza will be the first and only restaurant at sea to display the Presidio Slow Food logo next to foods that comply with the philosophy of Slow Food, including products made by producers that are part of the Terra Madre project, a global network of food communities committed to responsible and sustainable food production.

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Viking Line shakes with Havana Club month ix ships in the Viking Line fleet were the floating home of a Cuban themed campaign launched by Pernod Ricard for its Havana Club Rum. The promotion started January 16 and ended last week. During the event, the ships’ dance floors pulsated with Latin rhythm as 130 dancers entertained passengers and cigar markers from Cuba plied their trade.

Pernod Ricard also brought aboard top bartenders, including entertainment mixologist Ivars Rutkovskis and others gave classes on how to make a Havana Club mojito. Passengers could compete against each other to create the fastest and tastiest mojito.

“The Dance Revolución campaign has been a huge success for bars and tax free shops onboard Viking Line Ships,” said Christian Løn, area-marketing manager for Pernod Ricard Travel Retail Europe. “Our Nordic consumers were very enthusiastic about trying Havana Club Cuban cocktails and embracing the Cuban atmosphere.”

During the two-week campaign, Løn said Viking line served more than 3,000 mojitos.

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UNIFORMS

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From the ground up PAX International delves into the task of outfitting busy crewmembers onboard airliners and cruise ships alike, because a sharp-looking, happy and comfortable crew can directly translate into relaxed, comfortable and happy guests BY MARYANN SIMSON Sole of the matter Any person working a job that involves hours of standing on end is likely to report sore, aching feet. Moreover, professionals working in the aviation business, particularly those men and women who cross the jetway and take to the skies for a living, have altitude and other variables to consider when selecting the perfect shoe for their sometimes lengthy and demanding shifts.

In 2008, a perceptive Portuguese comfort footwear chain based in Lisbon took a chance and developed a line of footwear made specifically to accommodate the unique needs of male and female flight crew. The idea, says Ricardo Oliveira, CCO of the young company now called SKYPRO Shoes, came when one of the original comfort shoe stores located near Lisbon International Airport began receiv-

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ing visits from TAP Portugal crew seeking a comfortable work shoe.

“We saw the impact that footwear can have on peoples lives,” Oliveira tells PAX International. “We were amazed when we realized there was no other footwear brand in the world that was thinking about aviation-specific footwear needs.”

SKYPRO’s first airline presentation took place that same year at the offices of TAP and resulted in a contract to supply the airline with footwear as well as all other leather goods for cabin and ground crew. The lessons learned in the first few months of the partnership helped SKYPRO research and develop the product line into what is now a wide range of footwear and leather products, combining top quality materials in a stylish design to enhance comfort, durability, hygiene and safety. According to Oliveira, temperature

| UNIFORMS control and breathability are key to comfort and health and can only be properly attained with traditional leather.

Rising quickly into the industry spotlight, SKYPRO exhibited at the International Travel Catering Association in Cologne in 2010 and repeated its participation in 2011 with an even larger, more eyecatching booth. “We had the chance to develop several contacts in the stand that were followed afterwards with a very big interest in our products,” Oliveira reveals. “The evaluation is positive, especially because we are talking about a trade show that is strongly directed towards food products. Several companies were looking for the SKYPRO stand, which means we already have good brand awareness.”

Overall, SKYPRO’s range of products now includes belts, handbags, traveling trolleys and peak caps in addition stylish professional footwear. Several contracts have been signed with new customers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. At ITCA Nice in February, the company introduced an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal insert that is extremely resilient to compression, only losing a maximum of 2.5 percent of its original cushioning height (a major problem, says Oliveira) after up to 100,000 steps.

Moving forward, SKYPRO has partnered with researchers at Aveiro’s University in Portugal to develop footwear for market niches of a similar nature. Says Oliveira, “We are preparing ourselves to present to cruise lines and rail companies, a footwear proposal directed to their needs.”

Custom threads Founded in 1987, CTI Group Worldwide Services got its start when founder and CEO Robert Upchurch began recruiting entertainers to

work aboard cruise ships.

Today the company does much more than just that. With its main headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and satellite offices in China, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, CTI Group now specializes in everything from recruitment to corporate travel services, money transfer services and outfitting hospitality staff in attractive and comfortable work-wear.

“Due to our close business associations with various cruise lines, it was a natural progression of CTI Group to expand its UNO,” says Upchurch, referring to the company’s line of garments for housekeeping, garments for deck and engine crew and linens. “UNO is a compliment to all the services that CTI offers, it is an ever-expanding line.”

Well-known clients of CTI Group include Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Oceania Cruise Line, Hard Rock Cafes and the massive Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. Most recently, contracts have been signed between GTI Group and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Sandals Resorts throughout the Caribbean islands.

Upchurch stresses that for these innovative and high-profile customers, bespoke solutions are key, helping them not only project their unique brand identities, but also to ensure the comfort and efficiency of their massive workforces. CTI works diligently to stay on top of changing trends.

“Dry Fit is a new buzzword,” he reveals. “Even the weave of the fabric comes into consideration when selecting uniforms made to order. A warp thread could provide added strength, or an open weave may provide a needed cooling factor. Construction is customized to meet the demands of an active crew. No detail is too small to be considered.”

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New fabrics being developed continue to lighten the weight of CTI Groups garments and allow for easier stain removal as well as longer life cycles. Taking advantage of synthetic blends also makes sense price-wise as the notoriously unstable price of cotton pushes upwards. Another way to keep costs low for cruise lines is to take advantage of CTI Group’s “made to order” option and factory direct shipping, which cuts out middlemen and can save them up to 30 percent.

Steeped in tradition In the United Kingdom there is rich naval history and seafaring is deeply ingrained in local lore and legend. In fact, historical records show that the Royal British Navy can be traced back through time to the ninth century AD. And while not quite as well established as that, Miller Rayner, a uniform supplier based Southampton, U.K. has been supplying uniforms for sea captains and officers for more than century and a half.

“Back in 1911 we used to do White Star, so we did the Titanic and the Olympic,” explains Rob McLaren, director of sales at Miller Rayner. “In fact there is a Titanic exhibit right now in London that is featuring a jacket that came from the ship. Back then we were called Miller & Sons and you can still read that on the jacket’s buttons.”

Miller Rayner focuses primarily on the European cruise and ferry market. The company has supplied its classic fashions to P&O Cruises for more than 80 years.

Miller Rayner provides facets of Cunard Line crew attire and has most recently won a contract with the Isle of Man Steam Packet ferry service, which is the oldest continually operating passenger shipping company in the world, having began operations in 1830. The contract, says McLaren, will see Miller Rayner supplying the historic ferry boat operator with full uniforms for everyone from “the old man down to the deck boy,” or the captain and everyone else onboard.

Over the years, Miller Rayner has evolved with the times as much as was necessary to stay relevant without losing its hard-won reputation for honoring the rank and responsibility of the men who operate great passenger, naval and merchant vessels. Enhanced safety requirements throughout the industry, rather than fashion trends, have been the most significant cause of innovative new developments in both onboard and shipside apparel.

“We have recently been looking at selfilluminating, high visibility jackets for the marine, as well as the airline (ground support) industries with battery packs built in. We have also had requests recently for camouflage or fatigue-like uniforms and even Kevlar because of piracy issues,” McLaren says, adding that the jackets and other garments ordered for captains and first officers have not changed since 1936.

“So until somebody in government or in the Royal Navy changes what they want an officer to look like, they are going to remain the same. Classic, timeless design.”

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BACARDI WINNERS

RCI bartender, Carnival chef take top honors in Bacardi Cruise Competition

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n March 14, the recently renovated Forge restaurant and wine bar in South Beach, Miami, played host to the glitzy and exclusive awards presentation event that marked the end of the most successful Bacardi Cruise Competition to date.

Simon Blancoe of Royal Caribbean International was awarded the Bartender of the Year title for his cleverly named creation ‘O Bloody Hell’, made with Grey Goose L’Orange, blood orange purée, Cointreau Orange Liqueur, juice, simple syrup and a topping of ginger ale. Served long, the winning cocktail

is ideal as a light and refreshing poolside beverage on a hot Caribbean cruise.

“I had a few drinks up my sleeve,” said a glowing Biancoe when asked in a post-win interview whether he had created this drink on a whim. “I have quite a few more in store as well. I can’t believe it. I just came into Miami not long ago. I got off the plane and came almost directly to the event. I really was not expecting to win anything, but it is a wonderful feeling.”

Going home with the distinction of Chef of the Year was Anuroop Konikkara of Carnival Cruise Lines who created the visually

RCI bartender, Carnival chef take top honors in Bacardi Cruise Competition

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appealing and equally delicious Pillars of Glory, sure to catch on quickly as a favorite appetizer in the cruise line’s a la carte dining rooms. Made using 10 milliliters of Bacardi Limón flavored Rum and Bénédictine reduction, the dish features three crunchy wonton pillars of various height stuffed with crab meat, shallots, red and green pepper, and cucumber seasoned with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

The evening gathering, attended by a who’s who of the local cruse industry, began with a walk down the red carpet leading guests into a foyer where a reception line of

BACARDI WINNERS

Bacardi girls dressed in flamboyant red garb welcomed them with glittering smiles and sparkling wine.

Past the front entrance, with nametags and flutes of citrus-infused bubbles in tow, sharply dressed guests entered the beautiful and intimate courtyard in the center of the historic restaurant and cellar. There they were able to taste signature Bacardi creations, sample some appetizers from the Forge’s acclaimed Chef Dewey LaSasso, and mingle with the lucky finalists who were able attend.

Before long the music changed and the attention of the esteemed guests was drawn to the center of the courtyard, where many had noticed upon arrival that there hung, above their heads, a large ring with ropes trailing down to the terrace. Dressed as the iconic Bacardi Bats, albeit more feminine, came two gymnasts who easily scaled the ropes up to the ring and entertained the group with difficult maneuvers and poses.

As guests made their way inside for the awards portion of the evening, they found their senses delighted one again by extravagant decorations, music, newly wardrobed Bacardi Girls working various stations featuring perfectly prepared samples of the five drinks finalists and the top five culinary creations. On either side of the yet empty stage next to grand plush sofas, stood long, low cocktail tables. Upon closer inspection, guests were surprised to find beneath their glass surfaces, each table housed yet another costumed girl, lying still at times and moving gently at others.

Everything happened rather quickly when it came time to announce the awards.

Zachary Sulkes, regional manager of Bacardi

Travel Retail Americas took the stage saying a few words of gratitude to Chef Dewey LaSasso for helping to prepare all the food, drinks and ambience enjoyed through the evening and during January’s VIP judging event where the winners were selected. He recognized his own team as well as the cruise lines for their exceptional promotion of the competition, which resulted in an impressive 77 percent increase in submissions over 2009.

Luis Ortega of Celebration Cruises was singled out and applauded for the impressive 160 submissions contributed by his cruise line, which is currently comprised of but a single vessel. Also recognized was Caroline Pritchard, executive director of the Marine Hotel Association (MHA).

Pritchard’s contribution to the cruise line food and beverage industry through her notfor-profit association’s scholarships, conferences, trade shows and workshops is far reaching and has shaped the industry for more than 25 years.

With flash bulbs illuminating the stage, Sulkes and Bacardi Global Brand Ambassador Mark Plumeridge handed giant $5,000 checks to Blanco and Konikkara. Both men will also have the opportunity to attend a five-day intensive High Performance Leadership course of study for cruise industry professionals at Florida International University (FIU) School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, courtesy of the MHA. The eight category finalists who were not selected as Bartender or Chef of the Year went home with a $500 check each - and a renewed determination to create something magical next year.

BARTENDER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS Name: Sanja Vukotic Cruise/Ferry Line: Celebrity Cruises Recipe Name: Creole Mojito Category: BACARDI® Rums and flavoured rums Name: Simon Blacoe *WINNER* Cruise/Ferry Line: Royal Caribbean International Recipe Name: O Bloody Hell Category: GREY GOOSE® vodka and flavoured vodkas Name: Michal Miller Cruise/Ferry Line: Cunard Line Recipe Name: English Breakfast Spiced Tea Category: BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin Name: Muhamad Muttaqien Cruise/Ferry Line: Azamara Cruises Recipe Name: All Night Long Category: DEWAR’S® Blended Scotch Whiskies Name: Mart Jürikivi Cruise/Ferry Line: Tallink Recipe Name: Hot Apple Boat Category: Signature Cocktail – Ginger CHEF OF THE YEAR FINALISTS Name: Joe Xavier Cruise/Ferry Line: P&O Cruises UK Recipe Name: Lemon Hearts with Strawberry Coulis Category: Dessert Brand Used: BACARDI® O Flavoured Rum Name: Suman Dodla Cruise/Ferry Line: Royal Caribbean International Recipe Name: Baker’s Chicken with Choux Sauce Category: Main Course (meat, poultry, fish) Brand Used: BACARDI® Gold Rum Name: Antonio Cortese Cruise/Ferry Line: Princess Cruises Recipe Name: Red Snapper Mojito Category: Heart Healthy Brand Used: BACARDI® Superior Rum Name: Abelardo Alvarez Cruise/Ferry Line: Princess Cruises Recipe Name: Deep-Fried Sushi with Bacardi Wasabi Emulsion Category: Vegetarian Brand Used: BACARDI® Superior Rum Name: Anupoop Konikkara *WINNER* Cruise/Ferry Line: Carnival Cruise Lines Recipe Name: Pillars of Glory Category: Appetizer Brand Used: BACARDI®LIMÓN Flavoured Rum

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PreGel AMErICA’s new Key Accounts division lets cruise lines order dessert by design Hands-on training programs and onboard demonstrations are just part of the value that the Key Accounts division brings to PreGel AMERICA’s high-volume customers

reGel AMERICA is a member of the Marine Hotel Association and an important fixture in the dessert realm of the American foodservice industry. Like parent company PreGel headquartered in Reggio Emilia, Italy, PreGel AMERICA was established in 2002 to develop, manufacture and distribute authentic Italian ingredients, toppings and fillings used in specialty desserts.

Now in its third year of operation, the Key Accounts Division of PreGel AMERICA continues to help the company’s largest customers develop custom solutions through intimate collaboration. The small, dedicated Key Accounts team is made up of three company veterans who devote their time to learning about the specific needs of high-volume clients like quick-service restaurants, supermarkets, food manufacturers and cruise lines.

They then work diligently using research and development, custom products and training programs, to find solutions that fit those needs.

“Providing a specialized and personalized service was something that we recognized was extremely important to these segments,” explains Key Accounts Manager and former East Coast Sales Manager Anna Pata. “Developing a Key Accounts Division was something that we knew would result in a winning strategy for everyone involved.”

Key Accounts representatives Sandy Courtney (East Coast) and Chris Lozier (West Coast) currently round out the tightly knit team that is supported by several other departments throughout the U.S. branch of the company. While similar divisions do exist in several of PreGel’s other global segments, Pata says that the U.S. team is likely the most developed, even utilizing international company segments as a resource when accounts require it. And although Key Accounts clients make up just a tiny percentage of PreGel’s overall customer base, they are responsible for consuming roughly 40 percent of its output: making them a valuable commodity.

“We have had our technical product specialists and chefs present specific solutions to our cruise ships docked in all parts of the world,” says Pata, providing an example of how her team regularly exceeds customer expectations. “One of the interesting things we have done is show (the cruise lines) how our dessert ingredients can be used in savory presentations. For example, our pure pistachio paste makes a delicious vinaigrette.”

Four major cruise lines can be found among the customers of PreGel AMERICA’s Key Accounts division. Many more cruise and ferry operators turn to the global supplier for dessert-related products, but those accounts are handled by head office in Italy or by other subsidiaries found in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Brazil. According to Pata, maintaining successful relations in cruise supply requires some special effort on the part of suppliers, keeping everyone sharp and focused.

“Perhaps, one of the largest challenges is understanding the exact product quantities that the ships require for each voyage, and more specifically, the particular demands of their clientele – which varies with every excursion,” she divulges. “Variety and accessibility are important. Our global presence and numerous products help us meet these demands.”

More in recent years than ever before, passengers have begun

P

“Developing a Key Accounts Division was something that we knew would result in a winning strategy for everyone involved.”

Anna Pata, Key Accounts Manager for PreGel AMERICA

Gelato is currently seeing a surge in popularity thanks to consumer experimentation

making demands of their own. Today’s cruise line passenger is worldlier. He or she still likes the comforts of home but wants the option to taste the exotic, or watch their waistline, by experimenting with new cuisines and food concepts.

“Gelato and frozen yogurt are definitely hot items right now,” says Pata. “Consumers’ tastes are becoming more global and as they expand their repertoire of food selections, gelato is one dessert item that is emerging. The uniqueness of its presentation, the temperature that it is served at and the variety of flavors play on many of the senses and create an exhilarating food experience.”

Gelato contains less butter, fat and calories than ice cream and other desserts, making for a relatively guilt-free indulgence that people of all ages can enjoy. The traditional method of making the treat however, is long and arduous. The labor–intensive process requires pasteurizing egg yolks for the base and then flawlessly balancing the remaining ingredients (milk or water, sugar and other flavorings) to create the ideal flavor profile and consistency.

This method, says Pata, is no longer feasible for many foodservice outlets and the volumes they require, and so PreGel has created two different powered bases that contain the precise emulsifiers and stabilizers needed to make consistent gelato while foregoing some of the more timeconsuming steps of traditional preparation.

“Quality should never be sacrificed for efficiency and that is exactly what we created our products for,” she explains. “We maintain the quality that dessert businesses require, but we make it easy on them with products that provide quick, consistent and healthy solutions.” www.pax-intl.com

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From seemingly a clean slate, planners, suppliers and cruise lines sketch out the part of the food service component the passenger never sees BY RICK LUNDSTROM hen Daniel Laine sits down with one of his cruise line customers, who look to him for his expertise on ship galley design and his knowledge to the vast number of products available for the marine food service market, he says the process of making a working galley starts with the equivalent of a “white paper” where everyone at the table projects their ideas and needs into a prototype design.

It’s a different process every time, says Laine, who is head of DL Services, a company he formed in 2005, based in BasseGoulaine, France, to see to the niche market of ship galley design and supply. But the questions never seem to end and each answer or decision brings with it a new set of challenges. In the end, what inevitably emerges is a galley section and accompanying service rooms and wash areas awash in gleaming stainless steel.

“If I were a chef, I would understand (a chef) better,” Laine laughs. “But I would not know what equipment to buy.”

There seems to be no shortage of willing sellers. The meticulously arranged database on the DL Services website www.dl-services.com can take the user to tens of thousands of products, parts listings, and manufacturers covering every aspect of cruise line and ferry food service. The site was the product of feedback by Laine’s cruise line customers and it receives heavy usage by the cruise line industry.

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However, DL Services’ website is probably visited little by the people who the cruise lines, and, by extension, the companies that sell to them rely on heavily, and that is the passengers. For years, cruise lines have been modifying ship layouts and catering to a passenger that is demanding greater choice and more flexible dining. Cruise lines have responded, but one of the challenges is making an infrastructure that can cater to those demands.

Behind the scenes at dining rooms, specialty restaurants and anywhere else food and beverage is dispensed is a complex maze of galleys, pot washing stations, sculleries and waste management systems that are integrated in many ways, but are unique in others. Chefs may at one moment be serving steak and at another moment serving sushi or pasta. A single scullery may handle incoming dishes and food waste from multiple restaurants.

Demands on galley space can vary, said Laine, and restaurant location is critical to an efficient operation behind the scenes.

Buffet service requires less space in the galley to accommodate wait staff. When the blank paper is filled, it is passed on to architects on the new builds to design the dining rooms, bars and Lido decks.

“We can sit together, and it’s really a common project,” he says. “We are around the table and everyone has their own idea at the end of the day.”

In this hothouse of condensed activity, there is also the need for efficiency particu-

larly in activities that use the limited resources upon which each ship relies. And that need has had companies like the marine division of Meiko working year and year out to improve the efficiency of their products.

“They are looking for very space-efficient solutions plus, of course, efficient use of resources, which are very expensive,” said Jürgen-Iver Sell, head of the marine division of the wash ware manufacturer. The company’s products are found on 80 cruise ships. Recently, Meiko was called on to outfit Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas with 129 washers on the former and 133 on the latter. Other customers for Meiko products are Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic as well as ships from Celebrity Cruises and Aida Line.

In addition to washing equipment, Meiko supplies vacuum food waste disposal systems that send food waste to garbage rooms where it is pressed, dried and incinerated.

Water and electrical power must be used to maximum efficiency to save on precious fuel. Each cubic meter of conditioned air carries with it a cost. That cost is increased if there is unnecessary heat or steam or humidity in the galleys and sculleries. To meet these demands for energy savings, Meiko’s new line of washer engineers and designers have improved on the M-iQ line of washers to reduce the temperature of the wash cycle to 35 degrees Celsius and eliminate the steam and humidity released. The modifications

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CRUISE LINE GALLEYS

have resulted in a direct savings on water and energy by 30 to 40 percent.

The M-iQ system was introduced to the United States in February of this year at the National Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers Show in Orlando

A Dream Ship When Costa Cruises launched its 2,828-passenger Costa Deliziosa last May, passengers were treated to an Italian appointed extravaganza that featured 11 bars, four restaurants and an exquisite club restaurant called the Deliziosa.

Its ambience stressed old world Italy in many ways, but behind the scenes Executive Chef Ettore Bocchia and his team had other plans as well. The Michelin-starred Bocchia is a master in “molecular gastronomy” and the dish that he planned, for the Buffet Muscaines, Albatros and Samsara restaurants need high-tech equipment.

Ettore Bocchia has been tweaking temperatures and exploring what the experimentation does to instill a lighter feel to food

that is rich, by Italian standards (which means very rich). Bocchia calls it “molecular cuisine” and serves it at his Mistral fine dining restaurant at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy.

To achieve the effects of molecular cuisine, food is frozen with liquid nitrogen.

Among the molecular menu items is a buffalo mozzarella gelato where the cheese is chilled with liquid nitrogen to retain its flavor, while taking on the consistency of ice cream. The gelato is placed on top of gazpacho. In another instance, a fish is wrapped in leek leaves. While the fish retains its taste, it loses the oils that are found in a more traditional recipe.

To help the chef in the galley, Costa rolled in 22 OptimaMeister units made by MKN. Other equipment was needed, and Costa selected three HansDampf units, also made

by MKN. Cruise lines represent approximately 5 percent of business by MKN. In addition to high-tech cooking equipment, the company makes a selection of specialty products that

find their way onto cruise lines, from solid top ranges, baking ovens, deep fat fryers and pasta cookers.

“We have been supplying products for the cruise industry for more than 20 years,” said Stephan Kammel, vice president of global marine at MKN. “And we have a global marketing department with its own sales, technical and design support.”

The Costa-selected OptimaMeister is designed for harsh conditions on the high seas. The products are coated with 3-millimeters of high-grade steel allowing them to be safe and hygienic while the Deliziosa is at sea.

“Ships require different hygienic standards,” said Kammel. “MKN modifies its innovative professional cooking technology to these special requirements; for example with seamless hygienic inserts with pot security for ranges and oven door latches or flanged feed and special voltage.”

MKN products are also alongside Meiko products on the two large Royal Caribbean ships the Allure of the Seas and the Oasis of the Seas.

Washing for freshness With more than 30,000 units at restaurants, grocery and retail and intuitional operations around the world, Power Soak Systems, based in Kansas City attended the Marine Hotel Association for the first time last year, with the hope of finding new customers in the cruise lines seeking both effectively sanitized products and labor saving devices.

Power Soak equipment is automated and can operate continuously taking galley staff away from the sink with more time to concentrate on other tasks “Basically, the equipment in the continuous pot and pan washing system reallocated 50 percent of the labor that would normally be used in that area,” said Bob McNamara, vice president of institutional sales at Power Soak Systems, Inc. “That would lend The Produce Soak System for washing and sanitizing fresh fruits and vegetables about a year ago.

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itself to not only giving them better results but also…to reallocate do other things besides washing pots and pans.”

Approximately a year ago Power Soak introduced a produce washing system that is designed to clean and extend the product life of the produce and can effectively dislodge bacteria. Combined with antimicrobial products, McNamara said, “ensures sanitizing that produce prior to being served to the customer.”

McNamara said the Power Soak can be particularly effective for porous products such as cantaloupe, “because the outside of a cantaloupe is like a sponge and it collects this bacteria, and when you draw a knife through it you pull bacteria right through the product.”

The Power Soak can is designed to effectively clean two types raw agricultural or processed produce in about 60 seconds to a minute and a half. In addition to pots and pans and produce, the company also manufactures a silverware washing system along the same concept.

CRUISE SHIP LAUNCHES

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Guests on the Disney Dream dine in a different room every night, but with the same tablemates and servers

Dining Disney style means entertainment, fun and several unique options BY

RICK LUNDSTROM

ne of the first major launches of a cruise ship this year came in January of this year with the sailing of the Disney Dream now on itineraries throughout the Caribbean out of Port Canaveral.

And though there is as much color and childlike fun as a cruise line can fit into 130,000 tons, a quick overview of the Disney Dream finds plenty of sustenance for the foodie. And if a passenger is fortunate, he or she can rub shoulders with the protégé of a two-Michelin Starred chef or gaze longingly at a bottle of Château Cheval Blanc that retails for $25,000. Never mind that its rests comfortably in a vault within a restaurant named after a cartoon chef called Remy.

But the dining program at Disney’s largest cruise ship boasts a number of firsts that the line takes pride in. It was the first line to implement a rotation-dining concept that allows guests to move each night to a different themed restaurant while keeping the same servers and tablemates.

It also offers something seen less and less in a cruise: a freebie. Guests have 24-hour access to complementary soda, coffee, tea and water.

The three main dining rooms are the Animators Palate, the Royal Palace and the Enchanted Garden. In the Animator’s Palate, guests enter in a clever mockup of an animator’s studio with pencil and paintbrush

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on the

Dream

motifs and plenty of Disney and Disney/Pixar film pictures on the walls. After they are seated, the room transforms into a undersea design featuring characters from the Disney Pixar film Finding Nemo.

For dinner, chefs have prepared a fresh fare of smoked salmon tartar, stir-fry vegetables and lemon-thyme chicken, and veal.

California and Pacific Rim wines are served.

Next night may find the guests at the Royal Palace with a classic lineup of Disney films such as Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty featured as decoration. Lobster, jumbo shrimp, Dijon rack of lamb and beef tenderloin lobster medallions are part of the service. Old World wines are poured.

The Enchanted Garden is more casual in approach but the décor is distinctly Versailles. White trellises, spring-green arches and a terraced fountain with a Cherubic Mickey Mouse are part of the display.

Breakfast and lunch are both buffet style is served in the Enchanted Garden. Dinner is plated, featuring New York strip steak, pan-seared sea bass and lobster ravioli.

Desserts are a selection of gelatos during the day and truffles and hand made confections during the night.

French and Italian fare are featured in the Disney Dream specialty restaurants. For Remy, the line worked with Chef Arnaud Lallement from l’Assiett Champenoise, a Michelin two-star restaurant just outside Reims, France. Executive Chef for Remy is Patrick Albert.

As expected, dinner at Remy is lavish and long. Interesting flavors from smoked bison with fennel salad and blood oranges is on

the menu. In addition there is lobster with vanilla, bisque and lobster roe foam, wild loup de mer; Australian Wagyu; and tomato tart with Parmesan espuma; coastal turbot with vin jaune sauce and gnocchi and young pigeon pie with foie gras, spinach and tomato.

Dessert in Remy is vanilla-poached pear or dark chocolate praline with cocoa sherbet and post-prandial coffee service features French press and grand crème.

The other specialty restaurant, Palo serves northern Italy cuisine and classic reserve wines. The service is more casual with six selections of pizza. There is also fresh pasta such as wild mushroom risotto, liter penne with fresh tomato and basil sauce and grilled shrimp. Seafood meals have an Italian touch. Turbot is pan seared with porcini, pancetta and fennel with walnut butter. Classic beef tenderloin is served with Barolo wine or Gorgonzola sauce.

Desserts are classic and tasty with tiramisu, chocolate soufflé and an orange soda float with vanilla gelato.

Wrapping up the dining offering on the Disney Dream are three casual restaurants.

Cabanas offers pizza and pasta, grilled specialties, stir-fry, soups and fresh salads. It also has sushi chef.

Flo’s Café has a design after popular characters in the Disney/Pixar film Cars.

Pizza, grilled favorites, burgers and chicken tenders are on the menu.

The final offering is on Deck 11 where passengers can feast on Eye Scream frozen treats while gazing on characters from Monster Inc. An array of soft serve ice cream and toppings are offered.

COMPANY PROFILE

| Pina Colada (shown here), Strawberry Daiquiri and

Delivering health and vitality since the 80’s Cruise ship guests have been quenching their

Margarita flavours make up approximately 80 percent of frozen cocktail mix sales for Nestlé Professional Vitality

thirsts with Vitality's fruit juices and cold drinks for almost 30 years. Nestlé Professional Vitality’s Bill Fennell shares how new technology, great taste and old-fashioned customer service have kept his company afloat and steaming ahead for so many years BY MARYANN SIMSON

I

n 1982 there were no mega-ships like Oasis or Allure. In fact, in the early part of that decade there was not yet a Royal Caribbean International, nor was there a Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises was divided between Sitmar and Princess. There was, however, a Holland America Line and a man named Bill Fennel who called on them to see if they would be interested in a dispensed, concentrated frozen juice program which would allow for a consistent product, the right equipment and an ongoing global service program for their three ships. They were.

Today much has changed for Fennell as well as for Vitality Foodservice Inc. In December of 2009 Vitality Foodservice was acquired by Nestlé Professional, becoming Nestlé Professional Vitality, whose more than 300 products can now be enjoyed on an estimated 95 percent of the world’s cruise ships and ferry boats.

“It was an acquisition that fit well with Nestlé’s hot beverage platform. They were and are very successful as far as coffees, hot chocolates, cocoas are concerned and we represented a popular cold beverage line so between the two of us we European juice preferences differ slightly and there is a demand for slightly heavier or more concentrated versions of what the North American clientele prefer, says Bill Fennell of Nestlé Professional Vitality

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have a complete beverage offering,” Fennell explains. “Another part of the great fit between Nestlé and Vitality was a mutual culture of health and well-being in both of our product lines. We want our products to be good for you in addition to tasting good.”

Of the many Nestlé Vitality products that cruise passengers enjoy on holiday in the Caribbean, Fennell says that the POG or Passion Orange Guava juice blend compels the most returning vacationers to email the company in search of places to buy it on land. In Europe, preferences differ slightly and there is a prevalent demand for slightly heavier or more concentrated versions of what the North American clientele demand.

“We have a strong base of European customers,” Fennell reveals. “They prefer their coffee a little heavier and they like nectars such as peach nectar in addition to the regular juices that we offer. We provide far more of the Citrus-Peach product in Europe than we do when ships are in the Americas.”

One trend that Fennell and his team have noticed across the board is the growing consumer awareness of health and wellness.

Using national trade shows as a barometer to measure and predict where and how far the trend will go, Nestlé Professional Vitality has determined that it is not only worth a dedicated response, but has already developed a line of fruit-flavoured Vitamin Waters to cater to this sector. Many cruise lines are either already using the waters or are in the process of onboard testing and according to Fennell; the market is looking quite favourable.

“People are trending towards a lot of new flavors such as ginger (known for therapeutic properties) based drinks and things that are more health-oriented including these vitamin enriched waters,” he says. “Which again goes along with our concept of offering products that people can feel good about.”

Health and ‘vitality’ may be critical to many cruise line guests these

days, but it certainly is not a pressing concern for them all. The fact remains that a cruise is a vacation and there will always be a guest demographic that wants nothing more than to unwind and let loose during his or her hard-earned escape from the grind of everyday. According to Fennell there is (and probably always will be) an incredibly strong and consistent demand for blended frozen drinks: virgin and otherwise.

Nestlé Professional Vitality offers a selection of products specially designed to aid in the execution of these traditionally laborintensive drinks and increase the efficiency of the bartender charged in doing so. High volume ice shavers provided by the company are capable of making up to four drinks at a time and do so without deviation.

“Literally the bartender just has to pour a shot of rum and push a button and it will make a Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada or similar drink time after time,” says Fennell, adding that Nestle Professional Vitality also does its best to find new and effective solutions to reduce environmental impact; something the cruise line industry has taken criticism for in the past. “We have maintained a pure- pak casing for the cruise industry in order to eliminate plastics and other non-recyclable elements. All of the packaging that we use for the cruise industry is organic and recyclable or can be incinerated at sea with little to no effect on the environment.”

The basic elements of nutritional, high quality products, the correct equipment for the application, and the ability to provide service in ports worldwide are still the fundamentals of the Nestlé Professional Vitality cruise ship program - proving the old adage that he more things change, the more they stay the same.

WINE REPORT

| “Chile has really grown up. It is no longer a country filled with cheap and cheerful wines. There are impressive wines that in a blind tasting will stack up well against the very best in their category. If you don’t believe me, seek out any of the wines recommended below and include it in a blind tasting lineup of top wines in their respective categories from anywhere around the world — the results may surprise you.”

Peter Richards gives visitors to this year’s ITCA exhibition a lesson on wine properties and leads them through some blind tastings

2020 Vision

It doesn’t take long find fans among wine experts for the strategy and variety of wines now being produced and exported from Chile RICK LUNDSTROM BY

A

s Peter Richards poured wine for a small gathering in the corner at this year’s International Travel Catering Association (ITCA) in Nice, he talked about the pleasant climate and the long growing season in Chile that has made such fine tasting, moderately priced wines as the Sauvignon Blanc from Viña Leyda Garuma from the Leyda River valley that the group was then enjoying.

“It has been a period of rediscovery for Chile,” Richards, a Master of Wine and host of television and radio shows on the BBC and founder of the Winchester Wine School told the group. “Chile has been discovering itself again, and it is making really lovely wines.”

At roughly the same time, half a world way, Jennie Cho Lee was also predicting a new period of growth and awareness of Chilean wines and their potential, following a stint as a judge of Chilean wines earlier this year.

“Chile’s wine industry has a good grasp of the international wine market and its role as an exporter within it,” said Lee a Master of Wine, who is also a consultant for Singapore Airlines, critic, author and journalist. “Their unique strength in the Asian market, in particular, Korea, China and Hong Kong, is their great value. Red wines at every price point and level – from icon wines to everyday wines.”

And even though Chilean wines are seemingly mentioned with the exuberance of a recent discovery, the history of their production is hardly new. By the 1830s, more than 19 million vines had been 70

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planted in Chile. Grapes from Italy and France began yielding their first vintages by 1850 and more than 40,000 vines in one region of Chile alone were producing 70 different varieties of grapes.

Despite nearly two centuries of toil, Chilean growers themselves seem to be meticulously plotting a dramatic entry into the world wine markets with a bold strategic plan aimed at taking their industry to new heights by the year 2020. And even setbacks such as earthquakes do not seem to be deterring growers or planners. Wines of Chile, an organization of 85 member wineries representing 85 percent of the country’s exporters, has moved ahead and project an annual growth rate of 9.2 percent per year and an export goal of US$3 billion by 2020.

Influence is growing in other directions as well, for example, the recent announcement that Brown-Forman Corporation agreed in March to sell one of its longtime holdings, Fetzer Vineyards to Chilean wine producer Viña Concha Y Toro S.A. for the princely sum of US$238 million.

“You do not live on the Ring of Fire (earthquake zone) without being both resilient and positive,” Richards tells PAX International.

“The magnitude of the earthquake was enormous and yet the country bounced back straight away. Wine was lost, infrastructure damaged, very severely in some cases, and workers lost their houses.

But the supply has not been interrupted – it is service as usual from Chile.”

An excerpt from

The Best of Chile

PRINTED JANUARY 2011

Jennie Cho of Wine is a consultant for Singapore Airlines

Also among the goals in the Wines of Chile group strategy is to further promote Chilean tourism. The Wines of Chile Strategic Plan 2020 included programs for increasing awareness of Chile as a wine tourism destination.

Other important goals the 2020 growth plan is to encourage innovation, diversity and quality. The industry has formed the Vinnova and Tecnovid technical consortium for research and development projects. Twenty-four initial projects explored viticulture, enology, environment and marketing.

The next phase will explore genetic resources, sustainability, terroir and consumer preferences.

And from the 14 diverse growing regions in the country is a consolidated strategic plan to move the Sauvignon Blacks, Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, Syrahs and the national variety Carmonere into world prominence. According to Wines from Chile, growers are committed to environmental sustainability from the vineyard to the glass to keep the region rich and diverse.

Both wine experts found much to offer airlines in the way of Chilean varietals.

“I found numerous wines that would work well in the air,” said Lee. “Fruity Merlot based wines are terrific and many of the Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs were very fruit-forward but with enough substance and refreshing character to be taken seriously.”

Richards agreed, saying that he has found suitable airline service wines from the coastal Sauvignon Blancs to the tasty Syrah’s and Carmenere varietals.

“The best Chilean wines tread a very fine line between New World exuberance and Old World elegance and finesse,” he said.

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JENNIE CHO LEE MW

■ 2008 Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay: Corton Charlemagne-like depth and intensity, filled with toasted hazelnut flavours. An impressive wine with wonderful complexity and length. 93 points ■ 2009 Cono Sur 20 Barrels Sauvignon Blanc: An intense crisp Sauvignon Blanc filled with vibrant passion fruit and herbal characters. Seductive nose, great palate and long finish. 90 points ■ 2007 Tabali Payen Syrah: A beautifully complex expression of spices and dark berry fruit all seamlessly woven with a fabulous texture. Balances elegance with concentration and depth. 95 points ■ 2003 Almaviva: A generous, seductive wine with silky tannins and lovely flavours.

Bottle age has given it grace and elegance, but it is still extremely youthful – wait another three to five years to enjoy it at its peak. 95 points ■ 2007 Vinedo Chadwick: Hauntingly clear Cabernet Sauvignon varietal expression and clarity of flavours from Alto Maipo. Impressive depth and generosity of flavours that are distinctively Chilean but also reminiscent of top Bordeaux. Long, lingering finish. 95 points ■ 2007 Don Melchor: A firm velvety textured wine with gentle flavours. Don’t expect punch and thick concentration, this Cabernet Sauvignon-based red is subtle, almost gentle, classy, with a long finish. 94 points ■ 2007 Montes Purple Angel Carmenere: Delightful aromas of dark exotic fruits and spices jump out from the glass. It’s the harmony and balance that are most impressive – the ripe plummy Carmenere gets a lift from a touch of Petit Verdot in the blend. 93 points ■ 2006 Neyen Cabernet Sauvignon-Carmenere blend: Attractive, enticing bouquet leads to a textured, graciously woven combination of flavours. Velvety and sumptuous on the palate with a long finish. 92 points ■ 2008 Gravas del Maipo Syrah: This newly launched icon wine from Concha Y Toro is gorgeous -- filled with complex spicy flavours with great density and length. A serious Syrah with a long finish -- has great cellaring potential. 93 points

Lee a Master

www.pax-intl.com

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WINE REPORT

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CHANTELLE BOYAL D&F Marketing scoops representation of Colorado Foods’ French wine in a can BY

D&F Marketing will work with Colorado foods to offer airlines the option to package a wine of their choice in the lightweight aluminum can

&F Marketing Inc. and Colorado Foods have announced that they have entered into a new partnership to market ‘Friends Just Wine’ genuine French wine in a can to the airline industry, effective March 1st, 2011.

“In addition to the benefits of the wine and container, we will be able to package specific wines selected by the individual airline to compliment their onboard service and able to rotate their selections to meet their customer request,” Jody Jones, VP of operations for D&F Marketing said. “We represent many brands from juices to sparkling water, but this is our first in the alcohol sector. We currently have business with American, Continental, Delta, United, US Airways, Virgin America, Jet Blue, Lufthansa, British Airways and more domestic and international carriers.”

One of the first tasks for the new partners is to offer an additional option to the airlines to use a selected wine from a favorite vineyard that can be packaged in the aluminum can exclusively for that airline.

“After speaking with several companies in

D

this field, we knew immediately that D&F was the perfect fit for us. They are professionals and know the industry as well as market trends,” commented Joe Peleg, CEO of Colorado Foods.

“They have a vision and know how to think outside of the box. They are a strong and solid company that has built excellent relations with leading airlines in the industry.”

Colorado Foods adds that their ultimate goal through this partnership is that travelers will be able to enjoy ‘Friends Just Wine’ on all their flights. The new partners also added that they are in the process of meeting with various airlines to discuss program specifics.

“I only had three main targets in the beginning,” Peleg reveals about his business. “The first was to make a high-quality, great tasting French table wine, the second was to have a very attractive price and the last is to have an attractive design that makes people who see it want to grab it.”

D&F Marketing Inc. is a well-known sales and marketing company in the airline business having worked in the industry since 1988 and also known among caterers and distributors.

WHAT’S HOT! | MHA

Fabric tote as a cart alternative Company Name: wESSCO International Company Location: New York Description: As a lightweight alternative to

bulky trolley carts, wESSCO International offers staff a hand/shoulder bag for room cleaning products and amenity refills. The custom heavy-weight durable fabric tote has many inner pockets for convenient carrying. It can be done with custom logos and a variety of colors and sizes.

Airless Dispenser

vessels that are made of environmentally friendly natural fiber-composite. The containers consist of 50 percent pine wood fiber and 50 percent polypropelene. The material compound makes its structure solid, humidity resistant and hygienic. The products are dishwasher safe and can be recycled.

All-natural ice cream

Group

Company Name:

Company Location: Miami,

Purbeck Ice Cream

FL

Company Location: Dorset Description: Purbeck Ice

presents the Ecosource Airless Dispenser; the first dispenser of preservative-free cosmetics. Ecologically friendly, the dispenser holder and refill bag are made from recyclable plastic. The product provides a controlled dispensed measure and the airless technology avoids any risk of oxidation or bacterial contamination, allowing liquid to remain fresh and clean at all times. Available contents are soap, hair and body gel, conditioner and hand and body lotion.

The white wine of rome Company Name: Banfi Vinters Company Location: Long Island, NY Description: Discover the white wine of

rome, Fontana Candida. It’s dry and soft with exotic fruit and a touch of ripe pear and green almonds to finish. The grapes are harvested during September and October and are immediately taken to the cellars, gently pressed and vinified in temperature-controlled stainless steel. It is ideal as an aperitif or with Caesar salads, avocado based starters, fish, veal, chicken and Thai and Indian food.

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Company Name: Kupilka Company Location: Finland Description: Kupilka presents outdoor eating and drinking

Company Name: T-Y

Description: T-Y Group

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Natural Fibre-composite eating and drinking vessels

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March/April 2011

Cream presents new flavors for 2011 such as tiramisu, banofee ripple (a delicious combination of banana ice cream and toffee) and Joe’s cider sorbet. All Purbeck ice cream products are produced on the Dorset farm with local fresh milk, thick double cream and natural ingredients. The ice cream is gluten-free, nut-free and doesn’t contain eggs.

Mineral water Company Name: Acqua Minerale San Benedetto Company Location: Italy Description: Acqua Minerale San Benedetto offers

a variety of non-alcoholic drink products including mineral water, tea, carbonated drinks, still drinks and sports drinks. The drinks are available in a wide range of formats such as plastic bottle, glass bottle and cans. Also available is healthy mineral waterbased and juice drinks for toddlers and kids, offered in a small plastic bottle with an easy-to-drink nozzle.

Visit them at stand number 319-321 at the Marine hotel Association trade show and conference 2011.

New egg products Company Name:

Gut Springenheide Company Location: Germany Description: Gut Springenheide intro-

Kerrygold Irish butter Company Name: Kerrygold Catering Company Location: Germany Description: Kerrygold Catering foil-

wrapped pure Irish butter portions are available now. It is available worldwide under IDB Deutschland, providing ship chandlers through ports including Baltic, Mediterranean and North America. Also available is chilled-foil wrapped butter portions and mini portions. The mild Irish climate enables cows to graze in open meadows with fresh, rich grass, providing very creamy milk.

duces a variety of new flavors of its eggbased products including crème brulee matcha made from classic crème brulee and matcha tea added and crepe pears made from chocolate crepes filled with caramelized pears. In addition, they also offer mini omelets, frittatas and tortillas with a variety of flavors and fillings.

Mint-flavored water Company Name: Metromint Company Location: San Francisco, California Description: Metromint introduces a line of all-natu-

ral purified water infused with real mint and a variety of flavors providing energy and hydration. Flavors include peppermint, spearmint, chocolatemint, orangemint, lemonmint, cherrymint and goodberrymint. Also new is Metroelectro, a micronutrient water that provides purified water and electrolytes that carry energy through the body, antioxidants that prevent cellular damage and zinc to boost the immune system

All-natural real fruit juice Company Name: XANGO Company Location: Lehi, Utah Description: XANGO provides a refreshing all-

natural fruit juice product, which contains mangosteen, fruit in its whole fruit form. The pulp and rind in the juice provides many antioxidants and nutrients. The juice is made with no artificial sugars or sweeteners and contains nine grams of total carbohydrates and six grams of sugar.

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Winners of this year’s selection of Mercury Awards pose for pictures February 17 in Nice, France.

Airlines, caterers, suppliers take home Mercury mementos n an presentation hosted by International Travel Catering Association (ITCA) board member Kevin Cox the afternoon of February 17, two airlines, two caterers and two suppliers were recognized for the their entries in this year’s Mercury Awards.

The Mercury Awards have long been part of the yearly ITCA

I

Category Onboard Service

Winner Asiana Airlines

Food and Beverage

Emirates Flight Catering

Light Equipment Heavy Equipment

W.K. Thomas Sri Lankan Catering

Skills Development

DHL

Systems and Processes

Air Canada

Sustainability Award

Sri Lankan Catering

event, this year held February 15-17 in Nice, France.

The following is a list of winning entries in each category. Additional details and instructions for entering next year’s Mercury Awards can be found at the ITCA website, www.itcanet.com. ITCA notes that this year no winner was picked in the Inspirations category this year.

Entry Premium service for children through designated cabin attendants who supply entertainment, baked products and toys.

Healthy Meal offerings with low- and no-fat products, some cooked in special oils with natural ingredients.

Snackstick chopstick replacements designed for ease of use and space and weight savings.

Sterilization through an autoclave system that heats airline food waste to 121C for 25 minutes. The sterilized product is converted to animal feed. So far, the caterer says it has saved US$105,000 in incineration costs.

A Colleague Training Academy for employees to learn new skills for the company’s recent entry into the airline catering market. Employees go through a nine-day academy program stressing security, safety, health and environment.

A Globe Information System that provides cabin crew with operational and customer information that has prevented overloading of food for its Onboard Café service. It has been successful in “removing the complexity and frustration of using multiple legacy systems and paper documents.”

See: Heavy Equipment

CIAIE 2011 welcomes new exhibitors he China International Aircraft Interiors and Design Expo will welcome new and traditional exhibitors October 21-23 in Xian.

New exhibitors include: Thales, specializing in defense, security, aerospace and transportation; Goodrich Corporation, which supplies systems and services to the aerospace

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March/April 2011

and defense industry; Measurement Specialties, designer and manufacturer of sensors and sensor-based systems which measure pressure/force, position, vibration, temperature, humidity, and fluid properties; Vector, providing tools, software components and engineering services for the networking of electronic systems; and Avic, involved in developing and

manufacturing large and medium-sized aircraft in China, and under the leadership of AVIC Aircraft Company Limited.

CIAIE plans to feature areas such as aircraft infrastructure, flight/passenger safety, passenger commodity/consumable and information and entertainment. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and People’s Government of Shanxi province will be host organizations for CIAIE.

ASSOCIATION NEWS

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UPCOMING EVENTS 2011 Aircraft Interiors Expo, April 5-7, hamburg. For more information, contact reed Exhibitions at 44 20 8271 2134 or e-mail rxinfo@reedexpo.co.uk Cruise3sixty, April 14-18, Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, contact Gail Collins at (949) 457-1545, extension 110 or gcollins@mjpa.com Marine Hotel Association 26th Annual Conference and Trade Show, April 14-16, Grand Lakes resort, Orlando. For more information, contact the association at (415) 332-1903.

APEX TV Market, May 9-10 hotel Melia Avenida America, Madrid. For more information, contact APEX at (212)297-2177, e-mail info@apex.aero.

International Flight Services Conference and Exhibition, September 12-14, Airline Passenger Experience Association, September 11-15, Aircraft Interiors Expo/Americas, Sepember 12-14, All are at the washington State Convention Center, Seattle. For more information Contact IFSA at (404) 252-3663, email ifsa@kellencompany.com for APEX call (212)2972177, e-mail info@apex.aero, for Aircraft Interiors Expo call 44 (0)208 910 7126 or e-mail michele.footitt@reedexpo.co.uk

ADVERTISER'S INDEX BOSE Corporation............................. 13 AMKO International............................ 6 AVID Inflight Products ..................... 49 B&W Engineering ............................. 25 Bacardi Global Travel Retail ........... 69 Bayart Innovations ........................... 31 BestPartner Food.............................. 27 Brand Stand Ltd. ................................. 3 Castello Monte Vibiano.................... 52 Celeste Industries............................. 38 Certified Angus Beef ........................ 51 Clearwater Seafood ......................... 39 Cuisine Solutions .............................. 71 Diethelm Keller Aviation .................. 47 digEcor, Inc. ....................................... 11 Dreissen Aerospace.................... 40,41 First Concept International ............. 56 Formia Amenities .............................. 23 Friends Just Wine............................. 55 Global Inflight Products ................... 72 IDB Deutschland............................... 78 IFPL...................................................... 36 Johnny Walker Double Black ......... 73

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Kettel One Vodka .............................. 80 Linstol.................................................. 21 LSG Sky Chefs ................................... 79 Meiko ................................................. 54 MillerCoors ........................................ 57 MPPiTEC............................................. 28 Nautspill Pty Ltd. ............................... 53 NestlĂŠ Professional Vitality............. 65 Norduyn ............................................. 15 Onboard Logistics............................. 33 PreGel AMERICA .............................. 63 Rockwell Collins ................................. 5 Select-A-Vision .................................. 7 Servair ................................................. 2 Shmidt Seafood................................. 77 SKYPRO Shoes .................................. 16 SkyTender .......................................... 29 TESCO Equipment ............................. 17 Varda Chocolatier ............................. 43 Watermark ......................................... 9 WESSCO International..................... 67 White Toque....................................... 61 WK Thomas ...................................... 12

March/April 2011