Airline’s jumbo kitchen soon ready

Press, 14 September 1976, Page 12

Airline’s jumbo kitchen soon ready

Air New Zealand shoultj have its in-flight kitchen extensions completed at Christchurch Airport early next year — ready to supply meals to Qantas 7478 jumbo jets.

Ever since Qantas began bringing its jumbo jets to Christchurch it has had to bring a double load of food on each flight to cater for passengers going back across the Tasman because of the local kitchen’s inability to cope.

Mr J. O’Neill, the cabin services supervisor at the kitchen, said that for many years his staff of about 45 had worked in very cramped conditions. Work on the first stage of the extensions, estimated to cost about $358,000, began last December and is ex pected to be completed bv May. It will give an extra 7000 sq. ft to the existing floor area. Included in the extensions is provision for enlarged washing-up and making-up rooms, a big bond store, extra refrigerators and storerooms, toilet facilities and a bigger staff mess-room. The extension wil! also cope with the change from DCBs to DC 10s. and the need to provide 116 more meals in the latter aircraft. When the 7478 comes in this will mean, providing it is full, a further 369 meals. Last year, to August 31. Ithe kitchen put out 61.000 I meals. This year so far the I total is 64,500 — a 19 per icent increase.

These meals are prepared from 80 menus and attempts are made to change them each week, so that regular passengers do not get the same basic meal. The kitchen spends an average of $20,000 a month on foodstuffs, most of which is bought locally.

To provision one full DCIO flight out of Christchurch with food costs almost $5OO. Mr O'Neill said one of the kitchen’s problems was when planes were delayed. “This can mean that where a breakfast is prepared it has to be changed for a lunch, or perhaps a dinner instead of a lunch. When you get only an hour’s notice of such a switch it calls for a lot of activity in the building.”

‘‘lf a meal is not used within four hours it has to be thrown out. Where full planeloads are concerned, this can be expensive."