LSG Sky Chefs signs Franchise agreement in Kathmandu

 

KATHMANDU, Nepal, April 1, 2004 - LSG Sky Chefs, the world's largest provider of quality in-flight catering, today announced that it has signed a franchise agreement with Soaltee Hotel Limited, Nepal.

Under the agreement, Soaltee Crowne Plaza, the country's premier deluxe hotel, will operate Nepal's only in-flight catering facility un-der the LSG Sky Chefs brand name.

The new LSG Sky Chefs customer service center is located near Kathmandu's Trib-huvan International Airport and caters to international airlines such as the national carrier Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation, Qatar Airways, Austrian Airlines and First Choice Airlines as well as VIP flights and all chartered flights.

"We thank Soaltee Crowne Plaza for this opportunity and look forward to bringing our culinary expertise and experience to this new, continuously-growing marketplace," said HK Cheung, Executive Vice President LSG Sky Chefs Asia/Pacific region. "This franchise agreement is the first of its kind for our company and serves as a model to be implemented in other parts of the world," he added.

"This new operation upgrades our facilities to first-class world standards and I am proud that our nation can now boast about such a facility, which also impacts our tourism industry," commented Siddharta SJB Rana, Chairman Soaltee Hotel Limited.

LSG Sky Chefs is the world's largest provider of integrated in-flight solutions, including cater-ing, procurement, equipment management and Total Inflight Service Management. LSG Sky Chefs caters 270 airlines from more than 200 customer service centers in 48 countries. LSG Sky Chefs produces around 313 million airline meals a year. In 2003, the companies belong-ing to LSG Sky Chefs Group achieved consolidated revenues of 2.7 Euro billion.

Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu is owned by Soaltee Hotel Limited, which plays an essen-tial role in Nepal's travel and tourism industry. It is traded on the Nepal Stock exchange and is one the country's blue chip companies.