LSG Sky Chefs Expands In-Flight Cafe Onboard Meal Sales Concept Through Exclusive Partnership With Hard Rock Cafe

Menu Items from Popular, Global Restaurant Brand to Be Adapted as Part of Program; Branded Menus to Rotate Among Participating Airlines

IRVING, Texas, October 8, 2003

LSG Sky Chefs, the world's largest provider of quality in-flight catering, today announced that the company has signed an exclusive agreement with Hard Rock Cafe International to adapt menu items from Hard Rock Cafe, one of the most globally recognized music, entertainment and dining brands, for the LSG Sky Chefs In-flight Café onboard meal sales program.

Under the terms of the agreement, LSG Sky Chefs will adapt menu items from Hard Rock Cafe restaurants as part of its In-flight Cafe service, which offers high-quality meals for sale on domestic airline flights. The meals will be prepared in LSG Sky Chefs kitchens at various airports throughout the country.

"With the addition of this recognized and respected brand, we have significantly strengthened our In-flight Cafe portfolio of branded food partners," said Stephan Egli, global senior vice president of marketing for LSG Sky Chefs. "We wanted to enhance our brand offerings to position the In-flight Cafe program for continued growth, and to allow us to offer airlines and passengers - especially frequent travelers - a wider variety of meal options."

LSG Sky Chefs is working with Hard Rock Cafe to develop menu items to be added to In-flight Cafe menus within the next few months. The two companies also will collaborate on developing merchandising opportunities in conjunction with the LSG Sky Chefs In-flight Cafe program, incorporating Hard Rock Cafe's line of collectible and fashionable signature products.

"Hard Rock Cafe has always been at the forefront of the hottest trends, and we recognize that onboard meal sales is the wave of the future for air travel in the United States," said Steve Glum, senior director of marketing for Hard Rock Cafe International. "By combining our dedication to creating delicious, classic American food with LSG Sky Chefs' expertise in in-flight meal service, we are giving travelers the same quality they would expect at a Hard Rock Café restaurant while flying."

As LSG Sky Chefs continues to add popular brands to its roster of In-flight Cafe restaurant partners, which already includes Wolfgang Puck, T.G.I. Friday's, Einstein Bros, Vie De France, D'Amico & Sons and Fresh City, the process is in place to begin rotating these brands among participating airlines approximately every 90 days. During the time that a particular brand is served on an airline, the meal selections will change monthly or according to a schedule determined by the airline partner. For lunch and dinner, menu development will continue to focus on fresh salads and sandwiches, which are popular among travelers.

"The In-flight Cafe program continues to be well received by passengers, and the approach of rotating participating brands among our airline partners will help LSG Sky Chefs offer even more choices for those who are interested in purchasing quality meals in-flight," said Egli. "LSG Sky Chefs' role is to help airlines make the flying experience as convenient and comfortable as possible, and early indicators show that having high-quality meal options in-flight increases passenger satisfaction."

In-flight Cafe meals are currently priced at $7 for breakfast and $10 for lunch or dinner. All meals include a bottle of spring water.

Passengers have responded positively to the program. According to voluntary LSG Sky Chefs In-flight Cafe passenger satisfaction survey responses, which are included with each meal purchased:

* More than eight out of 10 (83 percent) passengers rated the meal quality as being good or very good;
* More than half (65 percent) indicated they will buy a meal again; and
* 87 percent of passengers rated the meals as a good value for the money.

LSG Sky Chefs developed the In-flight Cafe program to offer airline passengers the option to purchase high-quality meals inflight when no other meals are available. LSG Sky Chefs is the world's largest inflight service provider, including catering, procurement, equipment management and Total Inflight Service Management. LSG Sky Chefs caters 260 airlines from approximately 200 customer service centers in 46 countries. In 2002, the companies belonging to LSG Sky Chefs Group achieved consolidated revenues of EUR 3.1 billion.

Hard Rock Cafe, one of the most globally recognized music, entertainment and dining brands, has a network of more than 100 signature cafes in 40 countries and has the world's largest music memorabilia collection. Known for collectible and fashion merchandise, live concerts, Hard Rock Live performance venues, the Hard Rock Vault, hardrock.com, and Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos, Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based The Rank Group Plc (Nasdaq: RANKY).

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