A Six Sigma Sandwich?

"We take these glasses to altitude and test them for turbulence."

That's not Chuck Yeager speaking, but the head of catering at Bombardier Flexjet, who wants to make sure the new fluted crystal won't rattle in the armrest recesses as the Learjet 45 overflies the next cold front. Drinks remain shaken, perhaps, but not stirred.

And they certainly won't be in plastic glasses anymore.

"We have just revamped the menu and catering for Flexjet customers, and it is meant to set a benchmark," Flexjet president Clifford Dickman told Show News. The goal was to set a consistent standard across the Flexjet network, so the customer really can believe the aircraft is his own private jet.

Now, when customers choose their inflight menus online, each item has a Bombardier reference number. And that number means a lot to the catering suppliers-they can match the number against a two-volume, four-inch-thick cookbook of recipes that Flexjet has concocted, tested and tasted to ensure the same dish is prepared the same way everywhere across the country.

The cutlery, china and microwave dishes came in for similar attention. All were tested in the air, and all are available with Bombardier numbers from chosen suppliers-and at known prices.

"We believe catering is a very important touch point with the customer," says Dickman. "Before this, there wasn't a consistent high standard."

The menu, he admits, is "fashionable." And so is the china and cutlery. There is a dedicated menu for kids, and a notation in the computer after just one mention will result in a cache of doggie biscuits for the faithful hound. "It's the attention to detail that matters," Dickman says.

Indeed, nothing was too small to escape the attention of the Six Sigma team that Flexjet unleashed on its catering. The results, Dickman says, are a reduction in suppliers from over 100 to 12; a savings in money from negotiating fleetwide supplies of better quality trays, stemware and crockery; and a happier band of customers that increasingly tell him they are sorry they had to land so soon.

At least that's what they would say if the VCR worked. So unreliable have those units proven to be that Dickman has had them replaced on every aircraft by four portable DVD players and a huge stock of movies that is replenished with latest releases every few weeks.
"Now we're getting very positive feedback," he said.

By John Morris