Catering to your aircraft in Timaru.
A quiet apron, a cool coastal climate and a menu built on Canterbury lamb and Pacific seafood: that is NZTU. Our crew-run kitchen packs for your aircraft and hands over at the FBO or plane-side.
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.
A private jet menu for Timaru starts from the South Island pantry. Canterbury lamb is the anchor, with crayfish and blue cod when the boats have landed, and orchard fruit from the plains in season. These local specialities shape the inflight menu and keep private jet food on NZTU flights honest and regional.
Cold work comes first at Timaru: private jet platters of smoked salmon, local cheeses and charcuterie that hold in the drawer. Gourmet inflight meals are the hot side, lamb or seafood finished in the galley oven with the sauce in its own pot. Private jet snacks are small and sturdy: shortbread, fruit, nuts. All of it is local specialities from Canterbury Region, packed per seat.
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.
Timaru Airport sits on the Canterbury coastal plain, a quiet field where business jets and light turboprops park a few steps from the general aviation terminal. Private jet catering here follows the local pantry: Canterbury lamb, South Island seafood, orchard fruit. Inflight catering and in-flight catering for NZTU are cooked and packed for your galley, and the aviation catering and business aviation catering we run cover executive jet catering, diplomatic flight catering and cabin crew meals, ordered day or night.
A corporate party landing at TIU rarely wants a long menu. Business jet catering is short and local, corporate jet catering is organised by seat, and VIP flight catering adds protocol where needed. For charter flight catering and luxury inflight catering, our private jet chef writes a bespoke menu for the Canterbury season.
When a ministerial or diplomatic party calls at NZTU, the menu is cleared first. Government flight catering follows the guest list, head of state flight catering adds sealed packaging, VIP aviation catering keeps staff few, and state visit aircraft catering is delivered to the aircraft quietly.
Kosher, halal, vegan and gluten free requests at Timaru are handled as a procedure built around the local kitchen: lamb and seafood are common here, so we separate boards, utensils and sauces, and label special meals by seat number. Allergen free and kids meals follow the same route, written on the order and checked before packing.
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.
For a crew sitting out a turn at NZTU, we offer crew meals on request, billed as a normal line. Flight crew meals, pilot meals and cockpit meals are packed in crew meal boxes, with different meals for pilots when two captains need separate dishes. Crew catering is written for the rotation, hot or cold, and cabin crew meals follow the same pattern.
At NZTU the general aviation terminal is the handover point. FBO catering is delivered there on the slot, catering delivery to the FBO is coordinated with your handling agent, and ground handling catering plus handling agent catering are kept to one contact.
At Timaru most arrivals are light and midsize jets, so galley catering usually travels in on a cart and is loaded by hand at the door. When a larger aircraft calls, we plan airside catering delivery and aircraft provisioning around its door height and whether a high loader is needed, and confirm with your handling agent.
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.
NZTU is a regional airport on the Canterbury plains, used mainly by general aviation. Airport catering, FBO services and ground handling services are straightforward here, and the apron is quiet enough that handovers are easy.
Business aviation hub it is not, but TIU suits private parties heading for fishing, skiing and farm visits. Inflight catering and in-flight catering are our daily work; aviation catering and business aviation catering adapt to small crews, executive jet catering suits single-aircraft visits, diplomatic flight catering is rare, and cabin crew meals are ordered on request.
Food import in New Zealand is tightly controlled by biosecurity. Leftover fruit, meat and dairy from an international leg are typically declared and removed, so we supply fresh local food for the outbound flight.
Average rating from the cabin crew and pilots we cater for.
“An order of a charcuterie board and fresh bread for 10 people at Timaru Airport had to be organised around a tight boarding window. Our handling contact received the order details from The Galley Girls, including how the sandwiches had been grouped. The storage requirements stood out more than any sales pitch about aviation catering services. We could account for the salads before passing the boxes to the cabin team, without a lengthy unpacking exercise.”
“Keeping the galley organised at NZTU meant planning vegetable tartlets and a dessert selection for 6 guests with two separate meal services in mind. I want an aviation catering company to understand galley preparation, and this order gave us a useful starting point. The Galley Girls prepared the side dishes for assembly in the galley, with the accompanying elements easy to locate. We could finish the salads as each guest was ready, rather than laying everything out at once.”
“Working around a tight boarding window at TIU, I asked for roasted chicken and seasonal vegetables in portions appropriate for our 6 passengers. When comparing aviation catering companies, I would look closely at portion planning after this experience. We changed the quantities of canapés, and The Galley Girls reflected the request in the final packing list. The note about the starters was easy to spot, and we could brief the rest of the team quickly.”
How much does private jet catering cost depends on who is flying. A head-of-state or ministerial party wants named handling and discretion, which we plan with your protocol contact. Dishes, quantities and crew meals are itemised separately.
Lead time here is mostly about product, not paperwork: local seafood and lamb are easy, specialist diets take a little more care. Send the slot and we align the pack to it. Last-minute requests are accepted.
Biosecurity officers at NZ airports check inbound produce, honey, meat and fruit. Local ordering for NZTU sidesteps the issue, and we match container sizes to your galley's drawers and oven.
A night slot just means a different menu: lighter, easy to serve in low cabin light. Contact us any hour and we confirm the handover point.
Is catering part of a charter? Not at Timaru or anywhere: private jet charter pricing leaves out food. A two-service leg needs two clearly labelled packs so your crew can re-plate calmly.
Tail, pax and diets — a flight attendant takes it from there, day or night.
