Travel Food Services (TFS), India’s leading travel food and retail company, won a heavily-contested bid and was awarded the contract to revamp the dining facilities at Goa’s Dabolim International Airport and raise them to international standards.
Tenders were floated by the airport serving the coastal state to select the best-in-class agencies in line with the Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) policy to appoint master concessionaire for retail and food and beverages (F&B) for select airports.
This was an attempt by the authority, functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, to upgrade the passenger experience of Goa Airport (and others across the country), among several other measures.
With the support of AAI, which is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India, TFS will bring major national and international brands to the airport in an attempt to make it a global destination of sorts.
They have already opened over 13 outlets at the airport, and by the end of December, all the F&B outlets will operational, including the food court.
AAI and TFS have further plans to revamp the whole airport with an extensive portfolio that includes bars like Good Times Bar, international brands like KFC, national brands like CCD and Chai Point, and owned bespoke concepts like Mario’s Kitchen, Cafeccino and Idli.com, among others.
This is consistent with the AAI’s and TFS’ joint ambition to transform travel experience at the airport.
Travellers, both domestic and international, can now look forward to a revamped Goa Airport with a plethora of F&B and retail options to choose from. TFS is working closely with AAI and plans to achieve such milestones on a regular basis, thereby revolutionising the travel food and retail sector in India.
K L Sharma, executive director, commercial, corporate headquarters, AAI, New Delhi, said, “Our mission is to upgrade and maintain the AAI-operated airports to international standards, and with the changing times, we are getting more structured and organised support systems to accentuate the user experience as well as business modalities. Thus, the master concessionaire concept of giving out spaces to one developer to completely do the makeover, ticks all the boxes of our requirements, specially after the success of similar models at various other airports, we are hopeful to see the drastic change in Goa Airport as well. Along with streamlining the operations and elevating the passenger experience, this will benefit us in enhancing the non-aeronautical revenue stream as well, therefore a win–win for all parties involved.”
Bhupesh Negi, airport director, Dabolim International Airport, said, “AAI is committed to improving the passenger’s experience at all the major airports in India, and Goa being one of the important destinations for travellers in India and abroad alike, it makes it very crucial for us to have committed partners to help us with the same. In an effort to elevate the 360-degree passenger experience at Goa Airport, we are happy to join hands with TFS,and look forward to opening more F&B outlets in the coming months. By the end of this year, we should see a totally revamped Dabolim Airport.”
Sunil Kapur, Chairman, Travel Food Services said, “We are glad to have such an exciting opportunity to ramp up passenger’s experience at Goa Airport; holiday capital of India. The continual support and confidence of AAI is paramount to our success in this venture. Excellent customer service is at the heart of TFS, and we are driven by the passion to transform travel food experiences across India. We are excited to commence our operations in Goa, and offer indulgences to travellers like never before.”
Starting this travel season, TFS will offer a variety of options for all passengers at Goa Airport.
