In-flight Catering Service Market Analysis, Size, and Share by 2028

The In Flight Catering Service Market size is expected to reach US$ 16.31 billion by 2028, from US$ 9.60 billion in 2022; registering at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2022 to 2028.

The aviation sector across the world has experienced significant demand for food and beverages for its on-board in the long haul, medium haul, and short haul flights. The demand for in flight catering services is growing from all classes, namely economy, premium economy, business, and first class. Business class and first class tickets are costlier than economy and premium economy classes. The passengers in business class and first class have the advantage of opting for enhanced services. In recent years, several airlines have introduced just-in-time-production and dine on demand services for first class and business class. Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, American Airlines, and Austrian Airlines are a few airlines that have introduced impressive on-board dinning and catering services for business class and first-class passengers. Owing to the increasing number of passengers traveling in premium economy classes in any airline, the introduction of just-in-time-production and dine on demand services to the premium economy class passengers will offer a prominent future for the in flight catering service market. The introduction of these services to the economy and premium economy classes of any airlines would positively impact customer attraction and would facilitate the airlines to earn substantial revenue from premium economy class passengers. Additionally, dine on demand allows the passengers to customize their foods, which would reflect a positive impression on the airlines services, thereby, increasing the market share of the airline. Thus, ‘dine on demand’ services for premium economy class passengers is a potential opportunity for the airlines to increase their revenue generation stream, thereby contributing to the in flight catering service market growth.

The pace of expansion of commercial aviation across the world is significant in the recent times. The airlines in the developed countries and developing nations are ordering increased number of narrow body aircraft, wide body aircraft, and business jets and regional jets to meet the constantly rising air travel demand. Owing to the continuously rising disposable income of the population in developing and developed regions across the globe, the demand for air travel is also increasing at similar pace. Commercial air traffic is anticipated to maintain a constant growth rate over the years, despite challenges such as rising aviation fuel costs, technical faults causing accidents, and others. However, the barriers are succeeded by the the increase in the number of passengers across the globe. The low cost carriers (LCC) in the developed and developing economies are turning the revolution by offering low fare business models, which is attracting the upper middle class and middle-class society of developing nations. Thus, the rise in air passengers across the world is increasing the demand for in flight catering services, thereby contributing to the growth of the in flight catering service market.

Regional Analysis of In flight Catering Service Market

The European aviation sector is one of the largest aviation sectors across the world because most countries have a wider range of airlines and aircraft fleets. A few major airlines in Europe are Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Finnair, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines, and Aeroflot. The airlines cater to short-haul, medium-haul, and long flights, which offers the European population to avail air transportation easily to commute. Apart from these airlines, the European airspace is covered by several low cost carriers, and the number of low cost carriers is growing rapidly. This factor is also facilitating the Europeans to opt for air travel. These factors are driving the in flight catering service market growth in Europe.

Market Insights – In flight Catering Service Market

Flight Type-Based Insights

Based on flight type, the in flight catering service market size is segmented into full service carriers and low cost carriers. The full service carrier segment accounted for a larger market share in 2021. A legacy or full service carrier (FSC) is an airline that focuses on providing a wide range of pre-flight and onboard services, including different service classes and connecting flights. Since most FSCs operate a hub-and-spoke model, this group of airlines are usually referred to as hub-and-spoke airlines. A full service carrier is typically characterized by a high fares, special corporate deals to their premium customers as a part of their loyalty programs, value-added service inclusions with the airfare, alliances with other legacy carriers for enabling seamless travel experience for their customers, and multi-class cabins. These factors propelling the in flight catering services market growth from the segment.

The in flight catering service market players operating across the globe are developing advanced and efficient products.

• In March 2022, Newrest started offering its in flight catering services with Air Transat across Europe.
• In November 2022, China Airlines announced the introduction of plant-based foods in its in flight catering services.

The in flight catering service market size is segmented into five major regions—North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East & Africa, and South America. In 2021, North America led the market with a substantial revenue share, followed by Europe. Further, Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest CAGR in the in flight catering service market from 2022 to 2028.

DO & CO Aktiengesellschaft, Emirates Flight Catering, SATS Ltd., Gategroup, Newrest Group, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Flying Food Group LLC, Saudi Airlines Catering, ANA Catering Service Co. Ltd., and Egyptair In-flight Services are a few key in flight catering service market players operating across the globe.

Published Report - In-flight Catering Service Report Scope