The food and drink contract across the Airbus estate has been awarded to the leading contract caterer Elior UK for 5 years. The contract will see Elior cater for some 14,000 staff and guests at 20 outlets across 5 sites: Broughton (near Chester), Filton (near Bristol), Newport, Portsmouth, and Stevenage.
Elior has made substantial investment to improve the look and feel of outlets and plans to introduce technological innovations designed to increase the number of meals served. These include a click-and-collect style system for meals, and loyalty cards for the artisan coffee shops Elior has introduced.
Due to the scale and complexity of the estate, the leading contract caterer has put together a dedicated team to deliver the Airbus offer – including a development chef and operations manager and marketing manager. The team sits under the overall control of the Airbus UK Contract Director for Elior, Debbie Clarke.
Clarke said: “As well as our technological capability, our culture for customer service, and our strong CSR credentials – one of the key factors that led to Elior being awarded the contract was our strong focus on fresh food.”
In the main Airbus restaurants, customers now enjoy a rotation of global dishes made on-site with fresh ingredients. While the new Elior-trademarked coffee shop brands the contract caterer has introduced – Barista & Baker, Green Parrot, and Arte – offer customers barista quality hot drinks and freshly prepared sandwiches, wraps, cakes and bakes.
In addition to day-to-day staff and guest feeding, Elior will also be responsible for catering for VIP events and corporate hospitality, as well as management of the estate’s merchandising outlets – Let’s Shop.
