Dépêches

gategroup Signs Long-term Contract with SWISS

Dépèche transmise le 19 novembre 2009 par PRNewswire

ZURICH, November 19 /PRNewswire/ -- gategroup, the leading independent provider of onboard products and services to the world's airlines, has extended business for its Gate Gourmet brand with Swiss International Airlines for three additional years until the end of 2015. The deal covers a business spend in excess of CHF 600 million.

The contract is a long-term extension of an existing agreement and includes service to the airline at Zurich, Geneva and Basel. SWISS operates approximately 20 long-haul and 200 short-haul flights daily from the three airports.

"gategroup and its member brands have strong momentum in the market, and we are proud to continue our relationship with SWISS in the home country for both of our companies," said gategroup CEO Guy Dubois. "SWISS is synonymous with high quality, efficient service and this agreement reflects positively on gategroup's capabilities and reliability as a partner," he added.

Philippe Op de Beeck, gategroup Senior Vice President and President Europe and Africa region, said, "Last year Gate Gourmet and SWISS started applying the 'Kaizen approach' of continuous improvement to those processes in which the companies interact with each other. This close collaboration with SWISS has strengthened our relationship and enables both companies to simultaneously increase quality and reduce cost."

The agreement covers Gate Gourmet's services in meal catering, supply provisioning, laundry, newspaper services, warehousing and maintenance of technical in-flight equipment.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About gategroup:

gategroup is the leading independent global provider of onboard services to companies that serve people on the move. gategroup comprises 11 member companies, including its core brand Gate Gourmet. The company's world-class capabilities are focused in catering and hospitality; provisioning; and onboard solutions. Shares of Zurich-based gategroup are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the symbol GATE. Please visit .

About SWISS:

Swiss International Air Lines serves 90 destinations in 42 countries all over the world from its Zurich hub and the further Swiss international airports of Basel and Geneva. SWISS is operating a 77-aircraft fleet. Switzerland's national airline embodies traditional Swiss values such as "personal service", "in-depth quality" and "typical Swiss hospitality" - we aim to make each and every customer feel at home on our flights.

CONTACT: John Bronson of gategroup Corporate Communications,+41-43-812-2048,