Catering to your aircraft in Jinka.
Jinka runs on a plateau at 4,475 ft, with one apron and few flights, so every order at HABC is planned for the galley that lands. We pack what survives the leg and label it by seat.
We know the galley, the diet card and the 5 a.m. re-plate — because we lived them. So we built the caterer we always wished we could call.
Fourteen years on VIP and head-of-state cabins. Can plate for twelve in a G650 galley and still land it hot.
The one who reads every diet card twice. If it says no cross-contact, it means no cross-contact.
Answers at 5 a.m. when the leg moved overnight. Same-day swaps are her love language.
Jinka lies in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, the South Omo country of the Omo Valley, and the private jet menu here follows what that region eats. A private jet menu for HABC leans on local specialities: doro wat with injera, tibs, kitfo and shiro, built for the galley. The inflight menu keeps injera folded and sealed, wet dishes in their own pots and the berbere sauce apart, so private jet food arrives plated rather than slumped. Private jet platters of fruit from the Omo lowlands, gourmet inflight meals reheated in a small oven, and private jet snacks of roasted nuts and dried fruit fill out the order. Ethiopian coffee from the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region is packed whole-bean or brewed into a thermos.
Ask for Jinka and you are asking for the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region on a plate. Our private jet menu for BCO is built from local specialities that travel well: tibs and doro wat with sauce apart, injera rolled in cloth, spiced lentils for a vegan cabin. The inflight menu avoids anything that needs a grill. Private jet food from this table reaches the aircraft as private jet platters, gourmet inflight meals and private jet snacks such as roasted barley and honey-dried fruit, and the coffee ceremony set is packed for a slow ground wait.
Tail, pax, diets, timing. One message — no portal, no quote form. Answered at any hour, by a flight attendant.
Leak-proof boxes, marked by guest and restriction, with reheating times written on the lid.
Two minutes out of the drawer. Whatever you ordered for the crew comes in the same delivery, and one clean invoice follows.
Jinka Airport sits on a high plateau at 4,475 ft in the South Omo country, and private jet catering here is planned around thin ground support and a small apron. HABC, also filed as BCO, sees safari and delegation flights, so we pack for the galley you actually have: inflight catering that survives a long leg, in-flight catering for a full cabin, aviation catering that hands over at the aircraft. Executive jet catering and business aviation catering follow the same procedure, as does diplomatic flight catering when a delegation lands, and cabin crew meals are packed beside the guest trays.
Business jet catering at Jinka is a short brief: who flies, which type, what the galley holds. Corporate jet catering and VIP flight catering for a party bound for South Omo are built around a private jet chef and a bespoke menu. Charter flight catering and luxury inflight catering use the same boxes, with private jet charter clients briefed the same way.
Delegations reach BCO rarely, so a government flight order is planned early with the handling agent. Government flight catering, head of state flight catering, VIP aviation catering and state visit aircraft catering share one rule: nothing is cooked before protocol clears the menu.
At Jinka the kitchen advantage is the fasting cuisine: much Ethiopian cooking is already vegan, with shiro, misir and gomen. For kosher, halal, gluten free and allergen free requests we keep a separate board and sealed boxes. Kids meals and special meals are labelled by seat number, and injera, often made partly from wheat, is checked before any gluten free order is accepted.
A sheet per guest. Separate boards, separate boxes.
Sealed, certificate in the same box.
Their own menu, nothing to cut at altitude.
Vegan, low-carb, light — composed, never compromised.
A rotation through HABC means a wait on the ground, and crew meals are added on request, billed with the order. Pilot meals, flight crew meals and cockpit meals go in separate crew meal boxes. Crew catering for the cabin team is listed as cabin crew meals, and different meals for pilots are available when policy asks.
Your handling agent at BCO is the link for FBO catering. Catering delivery to the FBO, ground handling catering and handling agent catering all pass through the general aviation terminal, where we meet the aircraft.
Jinka is a small apron, and most aircraft here sit low enough that galley catering is carried up the stairs, with no high loader involved. For larger cabins, airside catering delivery is agreed with your handling agent before arrival, and aircraft provisioning follows the galley plan you send for the type. Heavy items go in crates, fragile items in rolled cloth.
Mention it when you orderCertified, inspected, with cold-chain records filed against your trip.
Whichever terminal you park at, handover is at the aircraft, on your slot.
Allergen sheet per guest, halal and kosher on request, sealed and labelled.
Itemised and trip-report ready, sent after the leg.
Jinka Airport is a small regional field in the South Omo zone, the gateway to the Omo Valley, and airport catering here follows that role. Few flights use it, so the apron stays quiet. It is no business aviation hub in the usual sense, which is why each order is planned before the aircraft arrives.
General aviation at BCO is occasional: lodge charters, delegations, the odd survey flight. For these we offer inflight catering and in-flight catering, aviation catering and business aviation catering, executive jet catering, diplomatic flight catering when needed, and cabin crew meals. Few FBO services exist, so we plan ahead.
Ethiopia regulates food imports through customs, and catering cooked locally and handed over at the aircraft avoids most questions. Ground handling services confirm what may leave the country on board.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“Between cabin checks at BCO, I coordinated mini sandwiches and individual desserts for 8 guests and explained our concerns about an evening cabin service. The Galley Girls talked through the quantities of canapés with us before confirmation, rather than leaving us to guess the portions. For our team, the strongest part of their vip inflight catering was how they handled final order confirmation. The quantities of breakfast portions matched our service plan, leaving us comfortable with the order before the final briefing.”
“We kept the passenger brief simple at Jinka Airport: prawn salad and small fruit plates for 5 guests, organised with a late menu amendment in mind. The order made private jet catering feel manageable because the portion planning had been considered beforehand. After a final adjustment to the breakfast portions, The Galley Girls gave us one revised order summary to work from. There was no need to reconstruct the sauces quantities from several messages during the final departure checks.”
“As the person coordinating herb chicken with a quinoa salad for 12 passengers at HABC, I needed an arrangement that considered a family lunch request. I appreciated the emphasis on catering handover throughout the private jet catering services arrangements. The Galley Girls gave us an update on the desserts before the handover, which helped us organise the cabin checks. The main courses went straight to the right colleague instead of circulating between several people during the turnaround.”
Pricing in Jinka tracks the plan: which dishes, how many seats, hot or chilled. For how much does private jet catering cost on a two-service leg, send the headcount and menu, and you receive a line-by-line quote.
A party of six becoming eight is not a problem at Jinka. Lead time depends on dishes like kitfo that need special care, and last-minute orders are handled the rest of the time.
A head of state flight or delegation faces the same customs checks as any other, plus protocol review. We pack in sealed, labelled boxes to keep inspection simple.
Can you bring food from home onto a flight from Jinka? You can, but customs and handling rules apply. For special meals, ordering from us avoids the question.
Is catering part of a charter here? Not at all. A long wait at Jinka calls for a separate crew order, planned around duty hours.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
