BRAHIM’S: BOOST ALLOCATION FOR FOOD
Company says this is needed to improve Malaysia Airlines’ meal quality
BRAHIM’S Holdings Bhd is asking the government and Khazanah Nasional Bhd to consider increasing Malaysia Airlines’ inflight food allocation so that it could provide betterquality meals.
The national airline, which was in the limelight recently due to its multi-billion ringgit impairment setback to Khazanah, has also come under scrutiny over the quality of food served on board.
Malaysia Airlines has a 30 per cent stake in Brahim’s SATS Food Services Sdn Bhd (BSFS), which holds the national carrier’s inflight catering concession.
The remaining stake is held by Brahim’s SATS Investment Holdings Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Brahim’s.
Prior to the restructuring of Malaysia Airlines, Brahim’s held a 25-year concession to handle inflight catering until 2028.
After the restructuring, Brahim’s “new deal” will expire next year, with an option to extend for another five years. Technically, the concession is shortened by three years and is 25 per cent cheaper.
In an exclusive interview recently, Brahim’s executive chairman Datuk Seri Ibrahim Ahmad said: “Based on the experience of supplying more than 45,000 meals daily to more than 30 airlines for the last 16 years, I know food plays a very important role in getting people
As a catering company, we work with airlines to provide the best solution for food and other services. DATUK SERI IBRAHIM AHMAD
Brahim’s Holdings Bhd executive chairman
to fly with the airline.
“We understand that Malaysia Airlines is going through a tough time but we hope the government and Khazanah will consider raising the food allocation so that we can provide quality food to passengers and manage our costs better.
“Most of the airlines that we serve are paying three to five times more than what Malaysia Airlines is paying. What we are asking is an increase of between two and 2.5 times.”
Ibrahim hoped that Malaysia Airlines would address the issue and allocate resources to improve its “inflight experience”.
“As a catering company, we work with airlines to provide the best solution for food and other services. We feel the pain too and we need to clear the air on any misconception about food services.
“In any airline meal development, we have to go through a few testing sessions. As a caterer, we give the airlines what they want in accordance with the price they are willing to pay.
“In the case of Malaysia Airlines, we ended up absorbing some of the costs as we are bound by the prices signed under the new catering agreement in 2014.
“We are working to improve the meals but we hope that Malaysia Airlines will consider additional allocation or slightly higher pricing. We have ended up absorbing some of the costs as we are bound by the fixed pricing.”
BSFS has won multiple international awards for quality and service.
It also serves airlines such as Qatar Airways, All Nippon Airways, Emirates, EVA Air and Cathay Pacific. Its kitchen caters for an average of 270 flights and prepares 45,000 to 50,000 inflight meals daily.
The company is reputed to be the largest halal airline caterer in the world with an experienced team of 12 chefs, 164 cooks, 400 culinary staff members and more than 1,300 employees.