£50m catering contract for BA lounges at T5

30 January 2008

British Airways has awarded the management of its new lounges at Heathrow Terminal 5 to Compass Group PLC. The contract includes foodservice, hospitality and the housekeeping of the £60 million lounges.

Compass has secured a five-year contract until 2012. This will see the leading caterer continue to provide food services for British Airways passengers at Terminals 1 and 4 until March 2008 when the airline will transfer its operations to Terminal 5, built at a cost of some £4.2bn. Compass will also provide a range of housekeeping services including cleaning, luggage handling, spa and arrival facilities.

Simon Soni, General Manager Catering Operations Inflight Services at British Airways, said: "We reviewed our foodservice and housekeeping operations as we wanted to appoint a single provider. Compass has demonstrated its ability to meet our exacting and demanding requirements over many years and has the expertise and resources to deliver a wider remit, which takes in our cleaning, housekeeping and luggage services."

Geoff Wilson, Operations Director for Compass Group with responsibility for the British Airways contract added: "We are delighted to have won a new contract with a global brand leader such as British Airways, and are excited to have the opportunity to develop further a partnership which started in 1982."

As part of the contract, Compass will provide hospitality services in British Airways' lounges. Facilities will include 94 showers, six infinity baths and pre-flight dining services for passengers on both short and long haul flights from Heathrow to most of the airline's destinations across the world. This will involve a team of 300 Compass employees.

Consideration has been given to free range, organic, fair-trade and sustainable products, with a strong emphasis on quality and provenance of ingredients. The Concorde Room will offer soft boiled eggs with marmite soldiers to accompany the traditional English breakfast. All-day dining choices include the new BA signature burger using Hereford beef, best of British cheeses and eggs benedict with Blackstone ham.
Afternoon teas will be served featuring a selection of natural leaf teas; freshly-made finger sandwiches featuring Aylesford smoked trout, Dorrington ham and Darlesford organic chicken; warm homemade cookies; tea bread; brandy snaps and mini fruit and plain scones with jam and clotted cream. The new state-of-the-art full kitchen at Heathrow has allowed Compass to enhance the current pre-flight dining offer to include seasonal British and other traditional favourite dishes, exquisite amuse bouches and pre-desserts.

Compass also provides pre-flight dining services for passengers at Terminal 5 and at seven airports in the United States and Canada, including JFK, Newark, Washington, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Toronto.