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MP15098

MAPS TRAVEL FOODS 1998

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Executive Summary

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The British public is making more and more use of eating away from home, in public venues. This varies from American-style burger outlets to Thai restaurants, from Chinese take-aways to Balti houses. As such, the UK public is exposed to a wider culture than ever before.

UK air travel has seen a passenger growth of 33 percent during 1996, whilst 14 percent has been experienced over the water from mainland UK. There has been a decline in the number of passengers choosing rail as their means of travel however. Both ferries and airlines are still predominantly used for leisure and holiday purposes. Travel providers are using joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions in their attempts to become national and even global operators, thus extending their power.

The UK travel market, for this report, consists of: aeroplanes and airports; trains and railway stations; ferries and ferry ports; and coaches and coach stations. However, ferry ports and coach stations have only secondary importance, in that their food offering is minimal and often localised. There is no real national chain structure in place. Thus, with regards to the key food travel areas, there are only a few food suppliers. The activities of these travel food suppliers are dictated by the travel providers they serve, who are in turn at the bidding of the end-user consumers and business personnel they serve.

The cost of airline meal provision in 1996 was £790 million. This is a 6 percent rise since 1992, in real market value terms. Most airline kitchen suppliers are located, not surprisingly, by the airports. Food is typically prepared using cook-chill processing and production methods. Some airlines operate their own catering facilities, for example, Lufthansa operates the largest air catering facility from 187 kitchens around the globe. However, many airlines use the services of specialist independent caterers. Airline catering typically accounts for between 4 percent and 5 percent of air revenues. Most airline menus are currently dictated by the airline’s country of origin. There is one key player within the airport market. Here, customers are offered a wide range of mostly branded food offerings.

Rail catering was valued at £45 million in 1996, despite a decline in passenger numbers. In the past, rail catering was almost exclusively in the hands of one supplier, but the new independent train companies are seeking their own identities. So, with onboard catering newly privatised and reshaped, the food suppliers have the opportunity to create new formats and a wider variety of foods for the UK travelling customer. Currently catering is offered in three forms: a restaurant car; a buffet; and a trolley service. Snacks form a large part of rail’s catering revenues. Over one thousand trains are supplied with food every day and in excess of eight million sandwiches alone are consumed.

Onboard ferry catering was valued at £275 million in 1996. The sector grew in real terms until 1994 before declining. The decline is a result of a combination of the launch of the Eurotunnel and the subsequent switch of customers from ferries altogether, plus the introduction of new fast ferries which remove the need for a food service onboard. Ferries have historically treated their catering operations differently compared to the other travel industry types. Ticket prices are often low for ferry travel, especially in the light of increasing competition from the Channel Tunnel, and, with so many ferry travel promotions, customers can find themselves journeying virtually for free. As a result, ferries look to their catering operations for a way to make real profits. For formal ferries and cruisers, ferry operators typically provide a full range of catering facilities, from waiter restaurants to quick buffets, from self-service restaurants to vending alternatives. For the recently introduced fast ferries, there is only enough time to offer a limited buffet service. However, for short trips, there is no real catering facility onboard. In order to capitalise on market trends, ferries are now introducing fast food options into certain services.

Food operations are minimal in the coach travel industry. Coach stations are often very localised, with confectionery-type shops and facilities rather than full-scale catering operations. Equally, there is no food service whatsoever on many coach routes and even the market leader travel provider simply provides a low-key snacks-type offering.

Text © 1998 MAPS

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Last updated by Duncan Nottage 4th February 1999