Biman Flight Catering Centre (BFCC) is expecting to exceed its profit target this year following growing demand for its food both in Biman and foreign carriers, a senior Biman official said.
The official said the demand for food prepared by BFCC is on the rise in international flights. In 2016, BFCC used to deliver 6,000-7,000 meals per day which has now reached on an average 10,000 meals per day. But it has the capacity to produce 14,000 meals per day.
BFCC expects to exceed its profit target of Tk 350 million set for 2018. In 2017, profit was Tk 290 million while it was Tk 150 million in 2016, a Biman source said.
BFCC provides food to average 23 flights of Biman and four foreign carriers. On an average, they have to deliver top up meals to about five airlines daily which amounts to average 100 meals per day, sources said.
Biman mainly makes profits from BFCC, poultry and dairy farms, training centre and cargo handling.
Biman general manager (public relations) Shakil Meraj told the FE that BFCC produces and delivers foods as per international standards as it has to deliver foods to all the VVIP flights and some foreign carriers. BFCC follows ISO 9001-2008, ISO 2200-2005, IATA Catering Quality Assurance, WFSG and AEA compliant.
It provides three types of meals - regular uplift, casual uplift and top up meal. At present, BFCC delivers regular uplift to Turkish Airlines, Dragon Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Cathay Pacific. It provides casual uplift to Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways.
Dragon Air, Emirates, Etihad, Malaysian Airlines, Qatar, Saudia, Thai and Turkish Airlines take top up meals, Mr Shakil said.
BFCC procure food ingredients from both local and international suppliers. But it follows a strict sanitisation process and other cooking steps to maintain quality and hygiene. These include sanitisation, cooking temperature maintenance, blast chilling after cooking, cold room, collection of items, and lab test on the flights.
There is a quality control programme and microbiological test for ensuring hygiene and food safety.
BFCC, the 27-year old commercial entity of Biman, cannot serve properly due to shortage of manpower. It has over 600 staffers which should be increased to at least 900, considering the present growth in daily demand, the source added.
