While airlines sometimes change catering contracts, the transition is usually fairly seamless as far as passengers are concerned. Well, that’s most definitely not the case at Malaysia Airlines at the moment…

Malaysia Airlines drops catering company, scrambles to find new one

As of September 1, 2023, Malaysia Airlines has ended its 26-year agreement with Brahim’s Food Services in Kuala Lumpur, which has historically been used as the carrier’s primary catering provider. The two companies reportedly couldn’t come to an agreement over some clauses in a new contract, leading Malaysia Airlines to dump the catering supplier.

While catering contracts do sometimes change over time, airlines usually find new suppliers before the existing contract ends, so that the impact on customers is minimal. Well, that’s not the case at Malaysia Airlines. For whatever reason, the airline didn’t plan this well, and the transition is proving to be a mess.

Malaysia Airlines has “initiated a robust business continuity plan to provide alternative food and beverage options while actively exploring a new service provider that aligns with our unwavering commitment to delivering premium customer experiences.” That’s right, the company is now working on finding a new supplier, after the previous contract was terminated. Ouch.

What does this mean for Malaysia Airlines passengers?

Why should passengers care about Malaysia Airlines’ catering changes? Malaysia Airlines is asking passengers to update their contact details, as the airline will notify customers in advance on flights impacted by this. Here are some of the major implications:

• Many passengers will be offered pre-packaged meals rather than fresh meals, depending on the class of service and duration of the flight
• Malaysia Airlines isn’t able to offer special meals or pre-booked meals during this transition
• The airline states that it hopes to introduce new inflight meals in the coming months, so this isn’t just a lapse of a few days
• Passengers are encouraged to bring their own meals during this transition
• There are reports of the airline serving economy meals in business class on some flights, and of flights being delayed due to poor coordination between the airline and the temporary catering providers

I love how the airline publishes frequently asked questions, but then doesn’t actually answer the questions that it asks itself. For example, the airline asks itself a great question about why the airline didn’t appoint a new catering company sooner, only to then not answer the question:

Why did Malaysia Airlines not proactively appoint a new in-flight caterer sooner?

To ensure minimal inconvenience to your comfort and overall journey, we have initiated a robust business continuity plan effective from 1 September 2023 to provide alternative food and beverage options while actively exploring a new service provider that aligns with our unwavering commitment to delivering premium customer experiences.

Please rest assured that our dedicated team is wholeheartedly focused on enhancing our offerings, and we genuinely appreciate your understanding and patience throughout this process.

Bottom line

Malaysia Airlines cut ties with its long term catering provider in Kuala Lumpur as of September 1, though failed to have a plan in place for the transition. While the airline states that things will get back to normal in the coming months, in the meantime catering on many flights is proving to be problematic.

Malaysia Airlines is loading pre-packaged meals on some flights, isn’t able to accommodate special meal requests, and just generally has much poorer catering quality than before.

While we’re not fully privy to what happened in the background, an airline should be able to do better than this.

What do you make of this Malaysia Airlines catering transition?