Etihad Airlines introduced new packaging concepts for their in-flight meals with the launch of the new A380. Packaging Automation (PA) guided them through the process of switching to heat sealing resulting in a high class, aesthetically pleasing in-flight meal.
The airlines faced the difficulty that by the time meals have left the kitchen and reached the passengers they no longer look as they should due to the movement of the aircraft.
So, a meal sealed in a tray is given some protection. This as the packaging is sturdier than other formats. These trays also aid transportation and storage reducing wastage due to damaged packs.
Previously, Etihad had no such experience of tray sealing so PA arranged a visit to their headquarters in the UK and demonstrate about the tray sealing machine. Several trials took place in PA’s sealing and test facility to check the compatibility of the tray as well as suitability for aircraft ovens.
The special castellated profiles were supplied to provide a venting system in the pack. This will allow the air to escape and not balloon when cooking. PA also worked with the lidding film supplier. This would facilitate easy opening once the meal was cooked. It is enabling the consumer to quickly and easily open the meal without risk of spillage.
Etihad installed a number of high-speed tray sealing machines giving a combined output of approximately 150 packs per minute.
The senior manager from Etihad Matthew Pegg commented, “We were completely new to tray sealing; PA made the process easy for us and provided excellent guidance and support with trays and film. I would highly recommend PA to anyone looking to start tray sealing”.
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