At World Travel Catering Expo, (WTCE) we’re always striving to enhance the show for all visitors. This week, we interviewed Melanie Berry, Chief Customer Officer, Vueling Airlines, and seasoned WTCE visitor, about her experiences and learnings from the show.
Founded in 2004, Vueling Airlines is a Spanish low-cost carrier based in Barcelona. Known for its affordable flights and extensive European network, Vueling offers a variety of travel options, from budget-friendly to premium experiences.
As Chief Customer Officer at Vueling, Melanie is responsible for overseeing customer experience and ensuring that all company interactions with customers drive satisfaction, loyalty, and business growth by aligning customer-centric strategies across departments.
For Melanie and Vueling Airlines, shows like WTCE are particularly important for both identifying new brands, as well as seeing new products from existing suppliers.
Why is WTCE so important to you?
From networking opportunities to uncovering key trends and insights, WTCE provides visitors with access to the latest advances in the onboard sector. Discussing WTCE, Melanie says, “If it’s within your field of expertise, it’s definitely a must-attend event because you can meet with so many suppliers and see so many new products.”
The product offering at WTCE is extensive, with new launches and innovations showcased from a huge variety of onboard sectors. These include food and beverage products, new amenity kits and wellbeing items as well as the very latest onboard technologies, offering attendees insight into pioneering developments that support and enhance the passenger experience.
Melanie highlights, “WTCE is a really good opportunity to see everything that’s new in the market and reconnect with people throughout the industry. I’ve been going to the event for so many years now, it’s the one time of the year where I see all of my old colleagues and industry peers. WTCE is also a good opportunity to listen to different people’s views on a variety of topics.”
WTCE provides visitors with the opportunity to learn about a huge range of upcoming trends from the onboard hospitality sector, with The Taste of Travel theatre scheduled to host a programme of insightful seminars presented by prominent industry speakers.
What approach do you take at the show?
Discussing what makes up most of Melanie’s time at the show, she explains, “I try and give myself some time to explore. However, through trial and error I’ve realised that the best thing to do is to review all of the different exhibitors ahead of time and arrange as many meetings as I possibly can, so that they have some time to dedicate to you.”
She adds, “Last year, I didn’t have the time to take part in many meetings, but my team definitely did, and they came back with lots of exciting ideas and new products, so it was great.”
With both new and returning exhibitors scheduled to take part, WTCE provides airlines with access to over 300 innovative brands with inspiring products for onboard hospitality, covering a range of areas within the passenger experience.
Melanie explained that her and the team visit both WTCE and its co-located show, AIX – which focuses on innovation in aircraft interiors. AIX showcases all aspects of the cabin, from lighting, seating, galley equipment, and LEDs, to cabin management systems, IFEC hardware, communications, for a 360-degree view of the sector.
WTCE and optimising the passenger experience
Melanie comments on the importance of WTCE in highlighting key trends and innovations in the onboard experience. Primarily, she emphasises the show’s role beyond just the catering realm and how it can even be beneficial in introducing new technologies that feed into the wider passenger experience.
She says, “Though I can’t speak for the whole industry, right now, it seems like everyone is working on digitalisation. It’s all about how we personalise the customer journey using digital tools and how we can embrace AI and build it into the into the passenger experience. I would say it’s the key focus moving forward.”
“With this in mind, I don’t see WTCE specifically as a catering show. We need new technologies to help us reduce waste, to help us manage it more effectively and to be able to deliver retail more efficiently. The digital tools are absolutely vital moving forward. It’s all about the measures we need to put in place to deliver all our sustainability goals and to achieve an accessible passenger experience. It’s becoming more and more important every day, and it’s definitely something that we need to be more aware of.”
As an industry priority, sustainability will act as a key pillar of WTCE 2025. Not only will the ‘Steps to Sustainability’ feature return – celebrating the accomplishments and innovations of companies that are leading the way in sustainability – but exhibitors from all across the region will be showcasing their sustainable onboard solutions.
Advice for other airlines
We asked Melanie what advice she would offer first-time airlines looking to attend the show. She says, “My advice on attending is to have a very well-planned diary. Make sure you arrange all of your meetings in advance. I’ve always found that I get a much better outcome if I have an agreed meeting set up. If they’ve been able to research a little bit or personalise the approach to the airline that they’re talking to.
“Also, plan as much as you can in advance and look at all of the keynotes and speeches. I try and plan everything including my meetings around the sessions that I’d like to attend.”
Summing up the show, Melanie says, “I would consider WTCE a must have, must do, must see event. Because I look after both aircraft interiors and WTCE, the fact that it’s one venue with everybody there, it’s especially valuable for me. There’s a film called, ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once’ and that’s definitely how I would describe WTCE.”
WTCE will run at the Hamburg Messe from 8-10 April, 2025. For more details and registration, please visit: https://www.worldtravelcateringexpo.com/en-gb.html