Sky Chefs Closes Omaha, Neb., Facility
Posted on: Friday, 30 September 2005, 15:00 CDT
By Stacie Hamel, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Sep. 30--As airlines cut back on serving meals during flights, a company that provided some of those meals also is cutting back.
LSG Sky Chefs, a subsidiary of Lufthansa AG, will close its catering facility at Omaha's Eppley Airfield by Oct. 15, a spokeswoman said.
Under the terms of its ground lease with the Omaha Airport Authority, the company will pay rent through May and will raze its building, which is about 40 years old, authority board members were told Tuesday.
Four people work at the Eppley facility, according to Sky Chefs.
"The decision was made as a consequence of the very challenging economic environment for airline catering," said Roxanne Conrad, director of corporate communications. "There's an ongoing decline in the airline catering market, and we've had to adjust our capacities to decreased demand."
Sky Chefs' gross receipts at Eppley declined from nearly $2.9 million in 1997 to $828,358 in 2004, according to information presented to board members. Through August this year, the company had taken in $376,255. The authority's share of those receipts had dropped from more than $200,000 in 1997 to nearly $58,000 in 2004.
Don Smithey, the authority's executive director, said Rigel Airport Services, which provides food service in Eppley's terminal, would be able to meet any demand for catering on aircraft. Most airlines, though, now offer pretzels or other light snacks, he said.
"With the current financial condition of airlines, they've cut out many of the frills," Smithey said. "One of the frills is food service."
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DLAGY,
Source: Omaha World-Herald
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