Catering Outfit Says It's Exceeded All Expectations This Year

Catering consortium Aviation Services Network (ASN) says it has exceeded all expectations in the year since its founding, and recently added the milestone 300th airport FBO to its nationwide network. ASN aims to establish bring common standards for quality, technology, customer service and financial management to the business of in-flight catering, and counts more than 60 caterers as part of its network.

"We created ASN based on the requests of numerous corporate aircraft operators who wanted to streamline their catering departments, keep their overhead costs down and elevate the quality, presentation and packaging of the food served on board their aircraft," said Joe Celentano, who with his brother John own and manage the well-respected Rudy's Inflight Catering.  "ASN has taken the burden off of the clients' internal departments by outsourcing their catering. The fact that we're already serving several hundred FBOs and airports attests to the widespread industry acceptance of this new concept in catering."

ASN's client list includes corporate flight departments, private operators and fractional aircraft ownership companies, including Raytheon's Flight Options.

"As ASN continues to grow, we have seen a great deal of interest from other fractional providers and charter programs," Celentano said.

"Flight Options is committed to providing its owners and members with the highest level of service in the industry, in every aspect of their experience," said Tracy Chaplin, chief purchasing officer, Flight Options, LLC. "ASN has provided guidance and expertise through continuous improvement in our technological advancements in oversight, consistent delivery of high quality product with distinctive standards, and development of long-term supplier relationships with our catering network providers to provide a seamless execution."

Many of ASN's clients have taken advantage of their one-stop-shop capabilities to completely outsource their catering departments. Said Celentano, "We've become an extension of these companies based at our headquarters in Teterboro, NJ."

"Companies are seeing a savings in human resources, but more importantly, they are seeing a greater focus on owners who are getting exactly what they want. The owner experience has improved. A company's invoicing and remittance have improved dramatically. They are experiencing a financial savings and are seeing an elevation in service."

Celentano said Aviation Services Network has revolutionized the $100-million in-flight catering industry which has traditionally been made up of many mom-pop operators. "We realized that there was an eminent need for consistent service from high quality caterers, using an in-depth support system," he said.

"We couldn't pass up the opportunity to create an organized network of top-of-the line in-flight caterers. We have aligned ourselves with the finest aviation caterers to provide exceptional service and products, and through ASN we have established a minimum standard, quality control and packaging control for in-flight catering."

ASN has qualified 62 catering suppliers to be in the network, and is adding two to three affiliates each month.

"Becoming part of the ASN network has been the best business decision we made in years," said Paula Kraft, founder and president of Tastefully Yours, a business aviation caterer based in Atlanta for the past 33 years.

"ASN pays very fast. Our cash flow has been phenomenal. ASN has brought us additional business that we didn't have prior to joining the network. ASN's computer system has improved our order taking. It brought our organization out of what frequently can be chaos during peak periods.

"And as far as ASN's client are concerned who receive the catering, the number of mistakes, the number of late orders, and the number of things that never made it to the airport have decreased substantially."

Caterers associated with ASN undergo a rigorous auditing process to ensure quality and consistency of products. Each caterer must maintain specific facility conditions, licenses, insurance and liability policies and food safety certifications. ASN conducts random spot-check inspections for each caterer to ensure that a number of specific quality standards are being met.

"When ASN audited us, they literally went through our kitchen with a fine tooth comb," Kraft said. "I didn't mind putting my name with a network of caterers that know their business."

ASN's affiliate caterers are required to adhere to a stringent set of standards related to packaging, portion control, presentation and pricing, according to Celentano. "We don't stifle recipes and specialties from our caterers. In fact, we encourage caterers to highlight their strengths."

Aviation Services Network provides companies with centralized billing, invoice verification, menu planning and design, alignment with award-recognized caterers, and a rigorous affiliate caterer audit process. In addition, ASN provides packaging and portion consulting, customized web-based software, a locker replenishment program, and controlled cost through competitive pricing.

ASN employs a customized software program to process catering invoices from around the country. "This eliminates the obligation of business aviation professionals to handle day-to-day catering issues. They can concentrate on the core issue of safely transporting passengers," Celentano said.

ASN has established a regulated pricing structure in each market to minimize inconsistent and inflated spending, resulting in bottom line savings for customers. All prices are negotiated, agreed upon and audited right from the beginning in each market.

Aviation Services Network provides a nationwide stock locker amenity program with over 400 aircraft cabin amenity items for both onsite and offsite locker locations. ASN is prepared to assist with selection of on board amenities and snacks as well as a replenishment system to ensure item availability. In addition, ASN offers statistical data reports for usage and cost savings.

FMI: www.aviationservicesnetwork.com