Blog | January 23, 2021 Written by: Camber Media Team
A good cup of espresso can take you a long way. It can kick start a day and brew your ideas like no other drink out there. Unfortunately, if you happen to start your day with an airline espresso, you are pushing your daily karma to the test. So, why is airline coffee so bad and a great espresso, even in First Class, so rare? Let’s see.
The first and base ingredient of any espresso is water. The water in airplanes has almost the same bad rap as the espresso itself. Airplane water systems are not designed to provide the clean, fresh water that good coffees and espresso demand. Water is stored in stainless steel and piped through metal and rubber lines, picking up tastes along the way. Hygiene regulations are strict, but the water tastes metallic and sometimes like chemicals. A bigger problem lies in the basic physics of boiling water: water boils at 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) at sea level. The boiling temperature of water actually decreases as you go up in altitude. The perfect espresso requires 92 degrees Celsius water, which is higher than the boiling point in an airliner cabin and means that the water is often not hot enough to extract all those wonderful espresso flavours. To answer the question, the problem with airline coffee and espresso begins with the quality and temperature of the “almost” boiled water. Pressurized cabins and high altitudes affect brewing dynamics and the result is your regular bland, thin airplane coffee or espresso.
Setting aside the water issue, the espresso problem has roots in the very nature of standard airlines. Simply put, cost-effectiveness. For example, on long-haul flights, the coffee can sit in warming containers for long periods, dampening even the best coffee experience. Unless you’re sitting in First Class with one of the world’s best airlines, an airline is not there to give you a “one-of-a-kind” flight experience and your coffee or espresso experience will be disappointing. The airline is there to transport you. And there lies the ultimate answer to the espresso airline problem.
Here in Camber Aviation, we have some serious coffee lovers. There’s Stephan with his otherworldly love for Espresso “Doppio”, Tom and Hal with their “Short Black“ and Tina with her Long Macchiato. We have to mention the ultimate espresso fan, Paul, our test pilot with his famous Long Black “Americano”. Everyone in the team has their coffee favourites, but everyone enjoys their herbal tea mixtures, when the pressure is on and it’s time to be cool. But, it’s pretty easy to understand the passion for a good espresso that surrounds Camber.
We have tried every single option out there to get the great espresso in the corporate jets we are involved with. It was no easy quest. The countless tests, during the past two decades, finally led us to the ultimate espresso experience we now implement on our corporate jet completion projects – the so-called Iacobucci Solution. The only espresso maker that could meet our high standards was created by the Italian company, Iacobucci HF Aerospace, today a well-established brand in commercial aviation. All the Iacobucci HF machines utilize their patented heat exchanger technology instead of traditional water boilers. This innovative technology provides a non-stop brewing cycle allowing consecutive use, without waiting for the water reheating cycle. The result is an exceptional espresso or espresso based Lattes or Cappuccinos, easily matching some of the best you’ve had on the ground. Together, we craft tailored high quality and reliable solutions that always result in the best possible espresso jet experience, matching the best counterparts from Italian cafes and bars.
Next time you ask for an espresso on an airplane, look around before you do it. If you are sitting on a private or corporate jet, you are probably in for a treat. Otherwise, you are better off with herbal tea. Tina drinks it all the time and she is just one swell person.
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Head of State cabin completion management.
Heavy maintenance, technical compliance and redelivery management to OEM.
VIP Cabin completion management, green and completed aircraft acceptances, heavy maintenance and modification project.
Green aircraft and completed aircraft technical acceptance, cabin refurbishment, heavy maintenance oversight, aircraft survey and technical records review.
Tom Chatfield has over 35 years’ experience working with highly respected companies in the aviation industry. A trained avionics technician holding Transport Canada and EASA Aircraft Maintenance Engineer licences, with a MSc in Airline Transport Management from Cranfield University, Mr. Chatfield is characterised by his professionalism, technical insight and solutions-oriented approach.
In high school, Tom worked at a flying school to pay for his flying lessons. After gaining his pilot’s licence, he attended Canadore College before being hired by de Havilland Canada in 1986. Starting as a production flight test technician, he was fast-tracked into avionics engineering, later becoming de Havilland’s youngest international field service representative.
Tom joined Lufthansa’s partner, Contact Air, in 1992 to lead the Avionics Department and, later, to manage the Engineering and Maintenance Planning Teams. Recruited as Maintenance Manager in 2000 for DaimlerChrysler’s new corporate jet division, he led the team to achieve 100% dispatch reliability of its A319CJ during the first two years of daily trans-Atlantic business-class shuttle operations. Tom oversaw the maintenance, modification and AOG recovery of DaimlerChrysler’s global operation of Airbus, Global, Challenger, Falcon, Learjet and Cessna business jets.
A boutique leasing consultancy, Santos Dumont Aircraft Management, hired Tom in 2004 as VP Technical to develop processes and train specialists to support an impressive list of client airlines and leasing companies.
Qatar Airways’ offered an opportunity in 2009 to join the senior management team of its new business jet operation. Mr. Chatfield managed Qatar Executive’s technical operations, defining new aircraft specifications, overseeing completions and leading the team to receive Part 145, CAMO and Bombardier Service Center approvals.
In 2013, after 24 years of working abroad, Tom returned home to Canada to launch Camber Aviation Management with a trusted team of professionals to deliver technical advisory services and unique custom designed, world-class corporate and private aircraft to the high net worth, corporate and head of state clients worldwide.
Since January 2020, Mr. Chatfield is the CEO of Camber Aviation Management.