For airline F&B and catering managers
Every airline catering manager knows the pressure of the tray line. A narrow window. A fixed number of hands. A non-negotiable departure time.
When a condiment pack does not open cleanly, requires two hands, or has to be wiped before placement — it does not sound like much. But multiply that by 300 trays, twice a day, across a fleet, and you are looking at a meaningful inefficiency that nobody is formally measuring.
The fix is not more staff. It is a different approach to what goes on the tray.
The immediate solution
Audit your current portion packs for three things: opening resistance, fill consistency and leak history.
Here is how to do it in under 30 minutes:
This 30-minute audit will tell you whether your current condiment supplier is adding to your tray line pressure or eliminating it.
The condiment pack is typically the smallest item on the tray. It is also one of the last items placed. By the time it reaches the tray line, everything else is already positioned. If the pack requires extra handling — a wipe, a second attempt to open, a replacement because of a leak — it disrupts the flow of the entire line.
Most catering managers absorb this cost invisibly. It does not show up as a line item. It shows up as slightly longer setup times, slightly more stressed staff, and occasionally — a passenger complaint that traces back to a condiment that arrived on the tray already leaking.
The solution is not operational — it is sourcing. The right portion pack supplier eliminates the problem before it reaches the tray line.
Four things matter above everything else:
When evaluating a portion pack supplier, most airline procurement teams focus on price, certification and sample quality. These are important. But there is one question that separates a supplier who will perform over years from one who performs only at the sample stage:
"How do you guarantee that batch 500 is identical to the sample we approved?"
The answer to this question is what separates an automated, documented manufacturing process from a manually operated one. Ask for batch records. Ask for the quality control process. Ask how deviations are detected and reported.
A supplier who can answer this question confidently — with documentation — is a supplier whose product will behave identically on tray 1 and tray 300,000.
About SR's Foods
SR's Foods has supplied airline catering continuously since 1984. Current airline clients include Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Air India, Cathay Pacific, Oman Air and AlJazeera Airways.
Every batch is documented. Full quality records — fill weights, viscosity, Brix, micro testing and allergen declarations — are available for every production run. HACCP certified. FSSAI approved.
Work with our airline supply team
No generic catalogue. A specific recommendation built around your menu, your passenger demographics and your tray line requirements.
Talk to our portion pack specialist →We respond within 24 hours · info@srspickles.com · +91 99355 35802
