Gate Gourmet In Trouble
 

Heard that Gate-Gourmet is in trouble, can this have any consequences on BA operations???? :ooh:

No, but food lovers everywhere might be breathing a sigh of relief.

Used to work for Sky Chefs & judging by the state of plant, equipment, kitchens, salaries & everything else to do with in flight catering, I'm not surprised. There is lots of money but little profit in it. Take note that the quality of the food is entirely dependent on what the customers are willing to pay for & for me the final straw was attending a 'menu meeting' with a top three charter airline & being told that we had to provide per cover; 5 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein, 15 grams of starch etc. You get the picture.

This may be related, from the US arm. They have now asked for arbitration.


Overwhelming Majority Reject Concessions

June 3, 2005

On June 2, food service workers at airline catering company Gate Gourmet voted 3,860-240 to reject a contract proposal containing deep cuts in wages and benefits.

The company had threatened it would file for bankruptcy if the contract were rejected. Teamster members will consider a strike if Gate Gourmet tries to dissolve the contract in bankruptcy court.

Like the rest of the airline industry, Gate Gourmet has suffered serious financial losses since the attacks of September 11, 2001. But instead of trying to find sustainable solutions, Gate Gourmet's parent company, Texas Pacific Group (TPG), is spending millions on new acquisitions.

“Instead of investing money on restructuring to make the company viable again, they’re trying to squeeze every last penny from the workers. We’re not going to stand for it,” said Local 435 Secretary-Treasurer Steve Vairma.

Vairma serves on the negotiating team with representatives from UNITE-HERE, which also represents Gate Gourmet workers.

[from union website]

Parapunter....
I am not in aviation catering, and when you talk about 5 grams of this and 20 grams of that and 15 grams of the other, I can't exactly visualise this on the tray in front of me, but I do know one thing....in every business cost control is King otherwise you will be out of business soon. It does not mean that what you produce, whether it is widgets or white sausage is of poor quality. Simply that costs are controlled. Is that too simplistic.??
I well remember the BEA days (Ahhhhhhhhh de Haviland) when the difference between a First Class Breakfast and a Tourist one (Coach to you) was one Banger.! How things have changed.

You're dead right about that TD. And it's true that you can dine okay-iish on airplanes if you're willing to pay for the privilege. However, what I was aiming at was the general impression of a company's capitalisation as judged by the state of it's facilities. Sky Chefs Gatwick on Manor Royal was just about passable as a going concern, I always felt sorry for the fleet engineer having to cobble together two lorries into one just to keep em rolling. No, what I mean is that if one looks at say a Microsoft office & one sees shiny marble, free ice cream bins & all the trappings of a company making a few bob & sharing it around & then compare that with the average catering operation, it's plain to see that you're operating on a 1 maybe 2% margin & that don't leave much headroom when the bombs start going off.

BA will have to bail them out as clearly we would not be able to obtain the required number of trays from anyone else at this time.

Parapunter....

Is that why Waterside looks like a load of travellers passed through the night before.?? Or shall I beleive the BA version that it is designed to look "Rustic". I like my big corporations to have neatly manicured grass and fountains etc....don't you.?

I wouldn't know about that TD, I do know however, that airline catering is a prime target for airlines to drive down cost, hence no manicured lawns or glass atriums at landside kitchens. Add 20 year old knackered delivery vehicles & you complete the picture. I lose count of the number of delays we caused charter airlines because the body wouldn't lower or the legs wouldn't raise or the engine wouldn't start. When all's said & done, GG are broke & a lot of the others ain't doing much better:ok:

Some rather prescient words in this thread ...