SAUDIA launched its new service on its flight from Jeddah to Los Angeles on May 28, 2015 and the service will be available on all SAUDIA flights between the Kingdom and the US city in the first stage.
Chefs will be available in the First Class cabin of each flight to take meal orders from First Class guests. They will also interact with guests in the First, Business and Economy Class guests and get their feedback to further improve services.
Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Fahad, VP Public Relations, spoke about the significance of having a chef on board SAUDIA flights. “This is part of the airline’s efforts to provide world-class services to passengers, especially First and Business Class guests.” He said the airline made improvement in services after conducting detailed studies on passenger requirements, especially those of frequent flyers and businessmen and businesswomen.
Mr. Al-Fahad said: “SAUDIA is happy to introduce the new chef on board service. We’ll expand this service in phases after looking into feedback of passengers.”
The chef on board will bring a different experience for premium passengers. If they need a vegetarian meal or something special for dessert, the inflight chef will make it happen. Using his culinary training and skills, meals will be expertly produced and plated for a marvelous dining experience.
Having a chef onboard will allow guests to have greater flexibility with regard to their meal preferences as well as the timing of their meals.
All chefs are fully qualified and have a minimum of five years experience working with reputable restaurants and hotels around the world. SAUDIA has already recruited talented chefs from Saudi Arabia, Australia, India, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, South Africa, and Turkey.
“Our chefs have received additional customer service training and have obtained necessary skills to satisfy SAUDIA guests on board its flights,” said a senior official from Saudi Airlines Catering Company. He disclosed plans to expand the service from January 2016 making it available on more flights to America, Europe and South East Asia, especially on flights that take not less than seven hours.
Chef Luke, the chief cook and trainer at SACC, was present on the flight to Los Angeles. He served breakfast to First Class passengers and presented to them a variety of meals including delicious dessert recipes.
There were 303 passengers on board the flight in addition to a 17-member crew including the chef.