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Every day, over 700 airlines operate around 100,000 flights worldwide, serving about 9,400 passengers every minute. As these numbers grow, so do passenger expectations. Traveller’s today are more health, budget, and environment conscious, and particular about their food choices.

To meet rising passenger expectations, airlines frequently update their in-flight menus—a process that adds significant complexity and often results in stock shortages or inconsistent offerings. Without streamlined systems, manually pricing and configuring meals across routes, classes, and dietary preferences becomes time-consuming and error-prone, making it difficult to maintain efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Digital solutions like Anaplan are transforming how airlines approach this challenge. By enabling connected planning and real-time forecasting, these tools help airlines better manage inventory and pricing, minimize stockouts, and tailor meal options to individual preferences—empowering them to deliver a seamless and satisfying travel experience.

CHALLENGES

Airlines encounter significant challenges in configuring and pricing in-flight meals, driven by the need to serve a diverse global passenger base. With multiple flight routes, travel classes, and meal options, the combinatorial complexity escalates rapidly. Incorporating dietary requirements—such as allergens, religious preferences, and special meals—adds further layers of intricacy. 

Beyond these primary factors, planners must also navigate fluctuating food costs, supplier coordination, and regulatory compliance, all of which complicate the pricing process. Reliance on manual workflows often results in errors, inconsistent pricing, and ultimately, diminished passenger satisfaction. Addressing these challenges requires structured approaches and data-driven solutions that streamline operations while ensuring reliability and customer trust.

BENEFITS OF USING A DIGITAL MENU & PRICING CONFIGURATOR

With more passengers adopting vegan and health-focused diets, airlines face increasing complexity in meal planning and pricing. However, in the modern world of technology, there are digital tools which can aid the planners in this process. Below are some benefits of using such digital tools.

Enhanced Forecasting and Scenario Planning: Offers what-if analysis and scenario simulations to anticipate demand fluctuations, cost changes, and capacity constraints, improving planning accuracy.

Improved Customer Satisfaction: Supports personalized meal options that meet dietary preferences, allergens, and lifestyle choices, enhancing the passenger experience.

Better Cost Control and Profitability: Automates cost and margin calculations, helping airlines manage food costs and optimize pricing strategies for higher profitability.

Compliance and Risk Management: Ensures adherence to dietary, allergen, and safety regulations, reducing the risk of non-compliance and operational disruptions.

Faster, Data-Driven Decision Making: Enables planners and sales teams to quickly configure meals, adjust pricing, and respond to demand changes with real-time insights.

Scalability and Operational Efficiency: Acts as a centralized platform for meal data management, streamlining processes across routes and teams while supporting growth and network complexity.

THE WAY FORWARD

A digital menu and pricing configurator isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s an operational game-changer. And the best part? Its benefits go way beyond planners, helping sales, operations, and finance work smarter and faster. Oh wait… how could we forget the customers? After all, it’s their satisfaction that makes or breaks the experience! With competition heating up in the airline industry, those who invest in smarter tools like this are the ones who’ll stay ahead of the curve.

FINAL WORDS

In today’s fast-paced airline industry, staying competitive means more than just offering flights—it’s about delivering the right experience, at the right cost, every time. A digital menu and pricing configurator makes that possible by bringing efficiency, accuracy, and personalization to the forefront. If you’re ready to transform your operations and keep your customers smiling, let’s connect. Reach out to us and explore how smart planning solutions can take your airline to the next level.