Marriott Corp. to Sell Airline Catering Division

WASHINGTON — Hotel and food service company Marriott Corp. said today it has agreed to sell its airline catering division, Marriott In-Flite Services, to a group of private investors for an undisclosed price.

The group, Caterair International, is led by Daniel Altobello, a Marriott executive vice president, Frederic Malek, a Washington merchant banker and former Marriott executive, and several members of the division’s senior management, the Washington-based company said.

Marriott said it will have an undisclosed financial interest in the business, which had 1988 revenues of $800 million. It will continue to operate under the Marriott In-Flite Services name.

The company said proceeds of the sale, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, will be used to repay debt.

Marriott said assets involved in the sale include an airline catering kitchen owned by its Host International division. But it added that it “has no plans to sell Host.”

Later this summer, Marriott said, Host will move its headquarters from Santa Monica, Calif., to Marriott’s headquarters in suburban Washington.

Industry analysts say the airline catering division has suffered from thin profit margins and has been vulnerable to uncertainties in the airline business.