Offering two hot “high-quality, authentic Chinese” meals and a snack throughout the 11-hour flight, the airline currently operates two flights a week which it “hopes to be able to increase in the future.”

Alex Forbes, Alpha LSG chief executive, said: “A key element enabling us to secure this important contract is our ability to supply Beijing Capital Airlines with high-quality, authentic Chinese cuisine across both business and economy classes.

“Beijing Capital Airlines’s arrival into Heathrow is highly significant as it is the first airline of the HNA Group to operate into London’s Heathrow Airport, and we are delighted to have been selected to service them with their catering requirements.”