Catering to your aircraft in Rundu.
A light-jet stop on the Kavango river with a short turnaround. We prepare the meals in advance, box them by seat, and deliver to the aircraft so the crew only has to re-plate.
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.
Rundu private jet menu work starts with the river. The Kavango carries tilapia, tigerfish and catfish, and an inflight menu for Rundu can feature grilled bream with lemon butter packed so the sauce stays apart. Private jet food from this part of Kavango East also means mahangu, the pearl millet porridge eaten across northern Namibia, and dried and braaied game sausages such as kudu or springbok boerewors. Local specialities travel better when each component is boxed on its own: the fish chilled, the porridge in a sealed pot, the relish in a small tub. Fresh produce from the Kavango East Region, including mangoes in season, gives the cold courses a sweet note, and the crew meals are cooked from the same kitchen run so pilots eat what the cabin eats if they ask for it.
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.
Most aircraft that call at Rundu (NDU) are heading to the Kavango and Zambezi lodges, not staying. That shapes private jet catering here: small cabins, one galley oven at most, and a passenger list that often asks for local food rather than a city menu. We write inflight catering for that rhythm, with in-flight catering options that eat well after a long bush transfer. Aviation catering is cooked and packed for the galley you have, and business aviation catering or executive jet catering orders reach the apron through your handling agent. Diplomatic flight catering is planned with the protocol side, and cabin crew meals can be added to the same order on request.
At Rundu, corporate jet catering and business jet catering are shaped by the galley, which is often just a drawer and a small oven. VIP flight catering and charter flight catering are packed to suit it, and luxury inflight catering uses what the Kavango East Region does well. A private jet chef can build a bespoke menu once you give us the tail and the headcount.
For state visit aircraft catering into Rundu, the menu is approved first and cooked second. Government flight catering and head of state flight catering are traced from kitchen to aircraft, and VIP aviation catering is handed over without anything left on show.
At Rundu the allergen question is rarely gluten or dairy; it is peanuts and groundnut in relishes, and shared grills where fish and game touch the same fire. Kosher, halal, vegan, gluten free, allergen free and kids meals are handled as special meals, each cooked on its own board and sealed in its own box. Halal meat is sourced separately from the braai range, and vegan plates avoid the butter and animal fat the local cooking leans on. Cards carry the seat number, never a name.
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.
When the aircraft turns round at Rundu, crew meals are the order that gets forgotten. Ask for flight crew meals and pilot meals with the passenger menu, and we pack crew catering in separate crew meal boxes marked CREW. Cockpit meals can be different meals for pilots if the operator policy asks for it, and cabin crew meals ride in their own box.
FBO catering at Rundu is handed over where the aircraft stops. Catering delivery to the FBO is arranged through your handling agent, who opens the gate for the vehicle. The general aviation terminal is small, so ground handling catering is a short route from van to door, and handling agent catering is agreed before the slot.
Rundu sees mostly light and midsize jets, so galley catering is carried to the aircraft rather than lifted. For a larger cabin, airside catering delivery is agreed with the handling agent before the slot, and aircraft provisioning is planned around the door height and the galley fitted on that tail. If a high loader is needed, say so with the type when you order.
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.
Rundu Airport serves the Kavango East Region from a runway at 3,627 ft, and airport catering here is planned around a small terminal. It is a general aviation field more than a commercial hub, with basic FBO services and limited ground handling services on the apron, so whatever you need on board should be ordered ahead.
Business aviation hub is too grand a phrase for Rundu, yet inflight catering for lodge flights and in-flight catering for delegation legs keep the apron busy in the dry season. Aviation catering and business aviation catering are routine, and executive jet catering, diplomatic flight catering and cabin crew meals can sit in the same order as the crew meals. Ground handling services stay light, so the plan is agreed before the slot.
Namibia controls the import of fresh meat, dairy and plant products, and food for aircraft is checked at the terminal. Your handling agent and the ground handling services on the field will ask for the order in advance, which is why we source locally where we can: customs should not be the reason a menu changes on the day.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“Food presentation mattered to our 7 guests, but a changing departure schedule also had to be considered when organising a cheese board and savoury canapés at FYRU. The Galley Girls labelled the desserts in line with our brief, so the cabin team could identify the relevant portions quickly. Keeping the side dishes identifiable helped the colleague taking over service understand the order without another long explanation. For in flight catering, that attention to crew briefing made the order noticeably easier to manage.”
“Choosing poached fish with steamed rice for 12 people at NDU was straightforward; the challenge was making it work with a small galley worktop. The Galley Girls talked through the quantities of main courses with us before confirmation, rather than leaving us to guess the portions. There was enough information about the salads to brief the crew without making assumptions about what had been ordered. This experience of inflight catering services gave us a useful reference for managing cabin service sequence on another departure.”
“Having 9 guests request fresh fruit and breakfast pastries at Rundu Airport meant planning the portions carefully while accounting for a short ground stop. With several people involved, The Galley Girls kept the starters and delivery arrangements together in a concise order update. I want an inflight catering company to understand meal organisation, and this order gave us a useful starting point. The main courses went straight to the right colleague instead of circulating between several people during the turnaround.”
Namibian food-import rules move the bill more than the plate does. A tilapia salad built on Kavango produce stays simple, while imported cheese or out-of-season berries add handling and cost. Give us the tail and the seat count and the quote is built from that menu.
If you fly in and out of Rundu on one trip, write the way home into the same brief: both legs share one menu plan and one invoice. Return-leg orders are easy to add, and last-minute orders are handled when the plan changes.
Namibia restricts fresh animal and plant products arriving by air, and the terminal checks food headed for the aircraft. Local cooking from Kavango East sidesteps most of that, so the customs conversation stays short.
Delegation and government flights often carry a home menu, and customs will want to inspect it on arrival. Food cooked locally and ordered through the handling agent is the lower-risk route, and we pack it for the galley you have.
No. Catering is not part of the charter: you order it separately and it is invoiced on its own. With a repositioning leg into Rundu and an empty cabin, the order may be only crew meals, written around that sector.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
