Volvo FL goes airside with Royal Blue

Premier in-flight cuisine suppliers, Royal Blue Executive Services, have taken delivery of a new Volvo FL 18-tonner to service their executive jet customers at Heathrow.

The new Volvo FL 4x2 rigid truck went on the road June 1st and is fitted with a specialised scissor-lift refrigerated body and a unique 360º camera system that allows the truck to safely manoeuvre around large and small aircraft alike - crucial when operating airside.

Simon Carey, Director of Logistics at Royal Blue explained: “The driver needs to have a sense of exactly where the truck is in three dimensions. Colliding with an aircraft wing or fuselage would be a very costly error.”

Simon Carey said, “The Volvo FL is perfect for this job. As well as servicing aircraft at Heathrow, the truck is trunking to Stansted and Birmingham airports too. It is a delight to drive with a superb gearbox and with 280 horsepower, it pulls like a train.”

He added, “All our trucks are special builds so we need vehicles that will go the distance. We already have an older model FL so we know it can do the work.”

Royal Blue keep their trucks working for as long as 17 years, so service back-up is paramount. “The service we’ve had from Volvo Truck and Bus Centre London, Hayes has been perfect. With expensive perishable loads and tight deadlines to meet, reliability is vital. That’s why we’ve gone for the Volvo FL,” said Simon.

From their dedicated catering premises in nearby Ashford, Middlesex, Royal Blue specialise in the middle east market providing food supplies for all types of aircraft from small private executive  jets, all the way up to Boeing 747s.