The In-flight catering services market is set to grow from its current market value of more than $17.8 billion to over $20 billion by 2026; as reported in the latest study by Global Market Insights, Inc.
According to Global Market Insights report, the strong airline industry across the Middle East region is among the key factors proliferating the in-flight catering services market outlook. In fact, air traffic across the UAE has grown by about 4 million between 2016 and 2018. Along with this growing air traffic, the region’s strong tourism sector would also play a major role in market expansion during the coming years. Additionally, the market is further slated to gain significant revenues from the Asia Pacific owing to the rising number of air travelers and the growing demand for commercial aircraft in the region.
The Europe in-flight catering services market will account for nearly 20% market share in 2026. In the year 2018, the region recorded a year-on-year growth of nearly 6% with respect to air traffic. This will further continue to grow over the coming years. The rising regional traffic and the existence of matured airline industry will further increase the growth of in-flight catering services market in Europe.
Briefly overviewed below are the top trends that are likely to foster the global in-flight catering services market growth over 2020-2026
- Growth of business class travel
Speaking of the seating class segment, business class is projected to provide a substantial contribution to the global in-flight catering service market growth over the coming years due to the number of people opting to travel through it.
The cost of a meal in business class is already included in the price of the ticket. While airlines contain very limited number of seats for business class travelers, the class generates a substantial revenue in the global airline industry landscape. Considering these development factors, the business class is poised to hold a market share of more than 20% in the global in-flight catering service industry by 2026.
- Rising trend of outsourcing in-flight catering services
With respect to the source segment, the outsource segment is likely to dominate the industry share through 2026. This can be ascribed to the increasing prominence of airlines outsourcing in-flight catering services to third-party vendors.
Another major factor responsible for airlines opting for outsourcing is to provide a better quality of food to travelers while at the same time reducing their catering expenditure.
- Increasing demand for bakery and confectionary items
The bakery and confectionary food type segment is expected to play a key role in the expansion of the market landscape owing to the growing inclination of the passengers towards confectionery and bakery items. In fact, the segment is expected to hold over one-fourth of the entire industry share by 2026.
Additionally, the introduction of healthier bakery and confectionary items is likely to impel growth of the segment further by providing consumers the ability to chose between conventional bakery products and their healthier versions.
ANA Catering Service Co. Ltd., LSG Group, Emirates Flight Catering, Servair, Gate Gourmet, Royal Holdings, Dnata, Newrest Catering, Goddard Catering Group, Journey Group PLC, DO & CO, Saudi Airlines catering, and SATS Ltd are some of the major players operating in the in-flight catering services market. In addition to this, key market players are also adopting strategies like opening of new facilities, partnerships and acquisitions.
The key industry players are further concentrating on opening new facilities to further enhance their geographical presence. Citing an example, Gate Gourmet launched a new airline catering facility in Madrid further enabling the company to cater to the growing demand in Spain.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
