Emirates' Dnata to open five US catering facilities in 2019

First operation opens in Houston with a capacity to make 10,000 meals a day

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 21, 2019.

The pastry kitchen in Emirates Flight Catering.

(Photo by Reem Mohammed/The National)

Reporter: HANEED DAJANI
Section:  NA
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Dnata, the ground handling division of Dubai's Emirates Airline, has opened a catering facility at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the first of five planned operations in the US this year.

“Our expansion into Houston underlines our commitment to the United States, where we see excellent business opportunities for Dnata,” said Robin Padgett, divisional senior vice president for Dnata’s catering division, in a statement on Wednesday.

“In 2019, we will continue to enhance our operations in the country by investing in new facilities and growing our team with highly skilled, local catering professionals.”

The Houston facility is 4,738 square metres in area and offers a production capacity of more than 10,000 meals per day, and is expected to create 150 new jobs, Dnata said. Its first customer is the UK's British Airways, which operates two daily flights from Houston.

The four other catering facilities scheduled to open this year are at the airports of Boston, Los Angeles, Newark and San Francisco, Dnata said.

In 2018, the company expanded in the US catering market with the acquisition of 121 Inflight Catering. In addition to the Houston plant, Dnata already operates catering facilities at three US airports – New York’s JFK, Nashville and Orlando airports, serving commercial, VIP and private aviation companies, as well as fixed base operators and charter aircraft operators.

By the end of the year, Dnata will provide catering services at eight US airports.

The company is also expanding its catering operations in other parts of the world with the acquisition of Qantas Airways' catering division last year, new facilities in Canberra and Melbourne in Australia, and Dublin in Ireland.

This year, Dnata also aims to establish operations in Vancouver, Canada.