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Turkish Airlines expands the service of the Flying Chefs

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The enormous expansion of Turkish Airlines goes hand in hand with Turkish
Do&Co, a 50/50% joint venture of the Austrian luxury caterer Attila Dogudan, founded in 2007.
Attila Dogudan, founded in 2007.
Istanbul site now produces up to 140,000 hot meals a day. "Everything is fresh and
prepared by hand," explains Do&Co boss Attila Dogudan in an interview
with Connoisseur Circle. By comparison, at the founding location in Vienna, where Austrian Airlines is also supplied, the figure is up to 50,000 meals per day.

The idea of the Flying Chefs, which are served in the long-haul Business Class
cabins of Turkish Airlines, Gulf Air and Austrian Airlines
are a relic from the original days of Lauda Air. Due to
success, Turkish's Flying Chefs are now also being introduced on international
international routes of two hours or more, as well as on
selected domestic routes in Turkey. On long-haul routes the jets are
are already staffed with two chefs. The number of Flying Chefs required
of the Turkish airline will increase from 200 to around 700.
an investment in quality. Because satisfied passengers come back.
It is quite simply a building block in the success of this airline,"
says Dogudan.

While western airlines are reducing services to save money,
especially in Economy Class, the opposite is happening at Turkish.
"Airlines in the West, for example, see many frequencies as their asset. "That
true, but just flying often from A to B is not enough when
others invest in service and thus create an emotional bond.
create an emotional bond. Good food is the cheapest marketing tool for an airline.
airline, and every passenger benefits from it". Turkish should be seen as a
case study. The airline invests around four percent of its total costs in this service.
"Turkish doesn't spend much more than other airlines,
"Turkish doesn't spend much more than other airlines, but it does it right," explains Dogudan.
has never helped any airline. Passengers get annoyed and lose loyalty.
loyalty. I also don't know of any airline that has become more profitable by cutting
catering has made it more profitable in the end. Good service
service may not be as irrelevant as some airlines believe".
The emotional connection to the customer via the palate is underestimated,
Furthermore, the costs per guest are very low compared to other airline
airline are very low. "Who else invites guests into their business to
then end up looking after them badly?" says Dogudan, explaining his
philosophy.

The biggest mistake airlines make is in economy class, where most passengers
where most passengers fly and where spartan service is often the
is often the highest priority in catering. "It's no coincidence that those airlines
airlines that invest in service and catering are visibly more successful
success, also economically".

In view of Turkish's rapid growth, how is Do&Co dealing with this?
"We can still handle the aggressive growth of Turkish at our location in
Istanbul is still manageable. To some extent, we orient ourselves to their
aircraft orders and can therefore calculate our requirements in good time".
calculate our requirements in good time". We are growing, just as the customer is growing. In total
Turkish Do&Co employs over 2,000 people at nine locations in Turkey
Turkey, achieving a market share of 70 percent.
Apart from Turkish, the company supplies more than 60 airlines. In addition to
a large lounge at Istanbul Airport, a second lounge is now being
Istanbul airport, a second lounge is now being built due to the high demand.

Kurt Hofmann
Winter 2012

Turkish Airlines expands the service of the Flying Chefs

Kurt Hofmann

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