Yet again, WTCE went all too fast, and after a few days to rest, reflect and rehabilitate our weary feet, we decided to capture our five biggest takeaways from the industry’s leading onboard catering and hospitality event.
1. Air travel is back in business
In a stark contrast to 2022, when exhibitors were still cautious about the re-emerging market, it was clear to see that air travel is back in a big way in 2023.
With a high visitor footfall spread across the three days, and a range of exhibitors spanning inflight catering, textiles and uniforms, crockery, food service and galley equipment, amenity products and more, there was a real buzz about the event, and a feeling that things are definitely on the right path.
2. There’s a big appetite for insight
As the saying goes, knowledge is power, and visitors at this year’s WTCE had it all at their fingertips.
From the expert speakers and chef demonstrations at the Taste of Travel Theatre, including a panel moderated by En Route’s MD, Nick Wiley, about ‘Winning Tactics for Boosting the Passenger Journey’, to the What’s New Onboard feature showcase, and even En Route’s own data-driven report, launched exclusively at WTCE, there was real evidence of exhibitors showcasing products and services borne from passenger insight and intelligence.
You can download our report, Passenger Experience 2023: Embracing Challenges and Harnessing Trends in Airline Onboard Hospitality here >
3. Innovation is key
With new flavour profiles, products and capabilities around every corner, it was so encouraging to speak with airline solutions for a new type of consumer; one who is more capable digitally, more educated in the provenance of their consumables, and more willing to prioritise quality goods in a move to become more sustainable.
We took the opportunity to launch our new ambient meal range. Borne through comprehensive regional consumer trend research, and combining preferred flavour profiles, our long-lasting range features a breadth of cuisines that includes traditional British, Indian, Italian and Thai.
You can see more about the new ambient meal range here >
4. Teamwork makes the dream work
There is always so much hard work going on behind the scenes in the months leading up to WTCE and we couldn’t pass the opportunity to say a huge thank you to the entire team for all their hard work, dedication and team spirit, which all went towards making this our best WTCE yet.
And to top it off, our Taste of Spain Serrano Ham & Iberico Cheese Sandwich was named Best Onboard Snack (Economy) at the Onboard Hospitality Awards on the first night – a very deserved accolade and a great way to celebrate the fantastic achievements of the wider En Route team!
5. We’re already looking forward to 2024!
We returned back to our respective offices, in Windsor, Brisbane, Houston and Dubai, energised, and extremely excited to get started on the preparations for next year.
Hamburg, we’ll see you in May 2024!
