Qatar Airways and gategroup have unveiled a new catering partnership to elevate inflight dining, structured through a Business Management Agreement that will see collaboration on passenger dining experiences, sourcing and procurement, healthy eating, as well as sustainability.

Qatar Airways’ commitment to global aviation excellence will be reinforced by gategroup’s expertise in menu design, culinary concepts and operational excellence.

Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, said: “This partnership with gategroup will amplify the Qatar Airways brand by delivering refined culinary experiences for our guests, inflight and on the ground in our world class lounges at Hamad International Airport.

“Gategroup brings an exciting new beginning to an already world class standard of catering by Qatar Airways. Collectively our innovation and operational excellence will set a new standard for Inflight dining.”

Christoph Schmitz, gategroup CEO, said: “We are genuinely honoured to walk this path alongside Qatar Airways. It is a journey of discovery, growth, and immense potential, and we firmly believe in the transformative power of collaboration, where two companies come together with shared visions and values to craft something truly outstanding.”

Gategroup’s Doha-based culinary team will contribute to the development of a dedicated culinary studio for Qatar Airways, that facilitates innovation, co-creation and efficient menu design.

The new culinary creations will focus on high quality ingredients, health and nutrition, incorporating local produce with a view to sustainable sourcing, authenticity and supporting local businesses.

The elevation of culinary quality will be underpinned by robust processes around menu development, efficiency in production and systematic monitoring of food quality, taste and appearance. Subscribe to the FINN weekly newsletter