Low-cost European airline easyJet is one of the largest in the world, running 927 routes across 34 countries with over 300 aircrafts from more than 150 airports. With so many flights operating on a daily basis, it is vital that the airline’s in-flight infrastructure remains fit-for-purpose and compliant, particularly regarding its catering offering.
The Challenge
easyJet had an urgent requirement for 1,000 inflight thermal food carriers which store the food and drinks on offer to passengers that need to be kept at 2 to 8 degrees celsius to ensure they are safe for consumption.
Not only did the thermal carriers need to be compliant, they also had to be a suitable size to fit into the airline’s Atlas boxes that slide into the catering trolleys and carts that the crew use to serve passengers their in-flight meals and snacks.
The Solution
easyJet needed a supplier that could provide the bags quickly, and with a European manufacturing facility, this gave Versapak an advantage over their competitors and the ability to meet the requirements of the exceptionally short lead time.
Versapak had the ideal product in mind for easyJet, their Inflight Insulated Food Carrier, which is the perfect size, is insulated, and unlike other similar products, is manufactured with antimicrobial protection to prevent the spread of germs.
easyJet took a sample carrier and performed internal compliance testing to ensure that the bags would keep contents at 2 to 8 degrees celsius for up to 12 hours, for their outbound and inbound flights. The carrier passed with flying colours and was signed off by conformity.
The Inflight Insulated Food Carrier has external dimensions of 375 x 265 x 265mm, making it an ideal size to fit into the drawers of the airline’s carts. With high quality insulation and padding, contents are kept cool and protected; the robust materials used in the design make the bags very resistant to tearing or bursting and ensure a high quality, durable and weather-resistant finish.
At a time when sustainability is at the forefront of the agenda for organisations globally, the other benefit of these inflight thermal carriers is that they are reusable up to 2,000 times and come with a 5 year guarantee; so they are not only a more environmentally friendly solution, but a more cost-effective one too.
The Result
Once the bag had been approved, Versapak delivered the first 800 of the 1,000-carrier order within three weeks, with the final balance delivered just one week later. easyJet were extremely happy with the bags.
James Haylock, Standards Manager, Logistics and Equipment at easyJet said the following:
“Due to the urgency of this order, we approached Versapak because we knew they manufactured the thermal bags themselves in Europe and we simply did not have time for the longer lead times associated with suppliers who buy from the Far East. The Inflight Insulated Food Carrier was exactly what we needed; a top-quality product that was compliant and functional. We were very pleased with the solution offered and the speed at which the products were delivered so that we could keep delivering top class service to our passengers.”
For more information regarding our Inflight Thermal Carriers, click here.
