Private Flight adds to its online catering system

With the new search functionality, anyone placing orders via Private Flight will be able to quickly match menu items to requests, creating a new level of efficiency in the order placement process, it said. A search for ‘chicken’, for example, will return all menu items containing chicken, and allow easy addition of any item to the flight menu. Furthermore it says that should a particular request not be available on the menu, the new functionality also makes it easier for cabin crew to place off-menu orders.

While the expanded management reporting tools will allow company managers and accountants to get a detailed analysis of catering costs. Real-time cost reports can be accessed and downloaded, and these charges can be categorised by flight, trips (multi-flight groupings as determined by the client), aircraft, cuisine provider, or even by orderer. Naturally reports can be produced by week, month or financial year, allowing both ‘snapshot’ and full-year analyses. By comparing same-set reports, such as flight reports for a regularly-scheduled flight or trip, managers can easily analyse trends over time allowing users the ability for comparative analysis.

These new features are the first of a planned series of system enhancements due to be rolled out over the next year, however the company remains tight lipped over the additional features to come.
Richard Pryor the company’s chief executive said: “One of the key benefits of the Private Flight system has always been the way it provides our clients with transparency across their catering spend, leading directly to long-term reductions in catering costs. With these new enhancements to our managerial reporting suite of tools, our clients can now understand, in expenditure terms, precisely where the issues, opportunities, threats and model performances lie within their operation.

“Operators of managed aircraft can also clearly demonstrate this to owners, which shows an even greater level of dedication in a competitive world. And with our new intuitive search functionality, finding an unusual menu item is no longer the “needle in a haystack” proposition it once was – ordering personnel have the information they need, literally at their fingertips, to either quickly locate possible matches, or to make a special request on behalf of their passenger,” he said.