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Forget flight food, bring your ownBy Nick Easen for CNN  With high oil prices something has to give and that could be in-flight food. QUICKVOTEBUSINESS TRAVELLER
RESOURCES
OTHER NEWSYOUR SAY
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England (CNN) -- Few have benefited from the wildcat strike that recently crippled British Airways and its in-flight meal operation at Heathrow -- including the airline, passengers and the catering firm. But for one London-based company, which provides meals to mainly executive and first class passengers to take on the plane, business is booming. "In the wake of the British Airways crisis, the airline sector of our business has gone up by 400 percent," founder of Silhouette Chefs, Caroline Creyf, told CNN. "We have had a lot more interest from regular people, as well as executives. Airlines, especially British Airways, have also been extremely helpful." Silhouette Chefs, which delivers personalized dietary lifestyle meals to business people in London, has been offering "Jet Set" meals for a month and a half at a cost of $170. Call 48 hours in advance and the company delivers in-flight food to your check-in counter at London airport terminals at a pre-agreed time. The balanced meals, which are based on the Zone Diet, come with their own bag and ice pack to keep the food cool. Stowed away in the overhead compartment, the meals are being used mainly by trans-Atlantic travelers. Airlines and flight staff are even heating up food provided by Silhouette Chefs when a hot meal is requested and bought on board by the passenger. "With high fuel prices, airlines are cutting costs. One area that has been cut is in-flight catering. They cannot throw out the seats or air staff, so food is one of the only things they can compromise on," says Creyf. "Airlines are working on tight budgets per person, and using fillers for their food such as fat and salt, which can make you feel bloated. At least with food you bring on board you know what you are getting." During the recent dispute between British Airways (BA) and Gate Gourmet, travelers were given food vouchers to purchase meals for the flight -- inadvertently giving them the option to choose more healthy options from the terminal's food outlets. (Full Story) "I'm terrified they will settle the dispute," one trans-Atlantic traveler told the Financial Times newspaper. "If that happened, BA would give me an in-flight meal, instead of food vouchers to exchange for wholesome sandwiches. I cannot bear the glutinous gravy." Since British Airways sold its catering operation in 1997 to Gate Gourmet, the airline has pressed for cheaper contracts for in-flight meals. On the back of four consecutive years of loss in the UK, Gate Gourmet has employed tactics to try and cut costs, proposing pay and job cuts for its workforce. Employees at Gate Gourmet and about 1,000 staff at BA staged a walkout earlier this month in protest at planned changes to pay and conditions. Virgin Atlantic also dropped Gate Gourmet in March of this year, adding to the caterer's troubles. Gate Gourmet is the world's second-largest provider of airline food. 
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