Aircraft Galley Equipment

What aircraft galley equipment includes

An aircraft galley does the same job as any kitchen: it stores food and drink, heats it, keeps it cold, serves it and brings the waste back. The way it does that job is different. Most of the food served in an aircraft cabin is prepared on the ground by a caterer, loaded into trolleys and containers, rolled aboard during the turnaround and heated or chilled in flight. The galley itself is a certified part of the aircraft, bolted to the cabin floor, and every kilogram in it is carried on every sector.

Aircraft galley equipment therefore falls into four groups:

• Trolleys, also called carts, in full and half sizes, for meals, drinks, duty-free goods and waste. See aircraft galley accessories.
• Standard containers and drawers stowed in compartments above the trolley bays.
• Galley inserts: ovens, beverage makers, water boilers, chillers and other powered units that slide into the galley structure. See aircraft galley components.
• The galley structure, often called the galley monument, with its trolley bays, worktops, stowages, electrical supply, potable water and waste water connections.

Built around standards

Because airlines, caterers and galley manufacturers all handle the same equipment, almost every interface in an aircraft galley is standardised.

Trolleys and containers

Two trolley standards dominate. ATLAS, named after the carriers that originated it (Alitalia, TAP, Lufthansa, Air France and Sabena), is used by about 80 % of airlines. KSSU is named after KLM, Swissair, SAS and UTA. Both trolleys are about 103 cm tall and about 30 cm wide, but a full-size KSSU trolley is about 85 cm deep against about 81 cm for ATLAS. Accessories for one standard do not fit the other, so an airline's trolleys, its caterers' equipment and its galleys have to agree.

Galley inserts

Ovens, beverage makers and refrigeration units are standardised through ARINC 810, which defines their physical interfaces: dimensions, installation, the electrical connector and cable, the potable water coupling and the waste water interface. ARINC 812 defines their data interface over a Controller Area Network bus. An insert is specified by its envelope, connections and data interface as much as by what it does.

Power

Aircraft electrical systems supply 115 V AC at 400 Hz. The higher frequency allows smaller, lighter alternators and transformers than 50 or 60 Hz equipment, at the cost of larger voltage drops, which the short distances on an aircraft make acceptable. Galley inserts are built for that supply and cannot be swapped for ground or marine appliances.

Certification and weight

Aircraft galley equipment is part of the aircraft's airworthiness. In the United States, FAA technical standard order TSO-C175 covers galley carts, containers and associated components and adopts SAE AS8056 as its minimum performance standard. On aeroplanes with 20 or more passenger seats, 14 CFR 25.853 sets flammability tests for galley structure, including the exposed surfaces of stowed carts and standard containers. 14 CFR 25.561 sets the emergency landing loads, including 9.0 g forward, that items of mass in the cabin must be restrained against. The regulatory detail is covered on the commercial aircraft galley equipment page.

Weight shapes everything else. It is the reason for 400 Hz power, lightweight trolleys, standard containers filled on the ground and the preference for heating prepared food rather than cooking from raw. It is also why aircraft galleys are designed as integrated structures by specialist manufacturers, with inserts, trolleys and services agreed together.

Aircraft galley equipment by application

• Commercial aircraft galley equipment: the certified galley of a transport-category aircraft, its structure, restraint and flammability rules.
• Airline galley equipment: the operational side, from caterer loading and trolley standards to short-haul and long-haul service.
• Aircraft galley components: galley inserts such as ovens, beverage makers, chillers and trash compactors, and how they are specified.
• Aircraft galley accessories: trolleys, standard containers, drawers, trays and waste equipment.

The aircraft galley equipment list sets out the full inventory of a working aircraft galley by function.

How aircraft galleys differ from marine galleys

This site is built around marine galley equipment, and the two are often confused because they share a name. They differ in almost every specification:

• Power: aircraft run on 115 V AC at 400 Hz; ships typically on 440 V at 60 Hz or 400 V at 50 Hz.
• Food production: aircraft mostly heat and chill food prepared on the ground; ships cook from raw for the length of a voyage.
• Equipment standards: aircraft use ATLAS or KSSU trolleys and ARINC 810 and 812 inserts; ships use commercial catering equipment in marine builds, often in gastronorm sizes.
• Certification: aircraft galley equipment is part of the aircraft's airworthiness; marine galley equipment is chosen for the vessel's supply, sanitation inspections and fire rules.

The equipment listed in our product catalogue is marine galley equipment and is not certified for installation in an aircraft. For the marine side, see marine galley equipment.

Enquiries for aircraft galley equipment

Aviation items are quoted against the information that identifies them. When you send an enquiry, include the aircraft type, the trolley standard (ATLAS or KSSU), the part number or manufacturer reference of each item, the required quantity and any operator or caterer specification. The aircraft galley equipment guide explains the standards in more depth.