Heathrow has partnered with leading US provider Grab to launch a food and drink pre-order service.

Hosted within the Heathrow app, passengers will now be able to enjoy fantastic food before they fly.  The service trial has launched with at least one restaurant per terminal, with a view to extending to all restaurants across the airport in coming months. Putting delicious food at passengers’ fingertips, the app allows users to pre-order, check turnaround time and collect from a dedicated collection point when they arrive.

The UK’s only hub airport has partnered with Grab, which currently serves 20 airports in the US, to launch the service, the first airport in the country to do so. TRG Concessions is first to trial the service, with restaurants including Giraffe, Wondertree, Comptoir Libanais and The Curator all offering dishes for pre-order.

By downloading the Heathrow Airport Guide app, passengers arriving at the airport can select the dish of their choice, customise their order and pay, before collecting within the turnaround time ahead of their flight. Each restaurant signed up to the service will have a dedicated point for orders to come through to a tablet, which also allows staff to communicate directly with the customer.

During the initial trial, Grab will communicate the launch to its existing US customers travelling to Heathrow, with the options also available to passengers already using the dedicated Grab app.

Ben Crowley, Heathrow’s Head of Food and Beverage said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Grab to offer a new, innovative service to Heathrow passengers. This enhances the takeaway offer our restaurants provide and allows passengers to enjoy the fantastic range of dining options at 30,000 feet. This is the latest move in our service proposition as we continue to put passenger experience at the heart of our airport operations.”

Jeff Livney, Chief Experience Officer at Grab said: “We are excited to partner with London Heathrow Airport and its award-winning food & beverage program with our expansion into the U.K. We share Heathrow’s commitment to ‘making every journey better’ and look forward to providing a seamless takeaway experience for busy Heathrow travellers on the go.”

Nick Ayerst, Managing Director at TRG Concessions said: “TRG Concessions has an on-going commitment to providing guests with customisable, high quality food in a timely fashion. Partnering with Grab and Heathrow allows us to incorporate industry leading technology and innovation into our food service operations. We believe this partnership will lead to improved customer convenience, satisfaction and increased guest participation in our sites.”