gluten-free Meal When Flying

[Kottemamman]

I was flying SAS from Sweden to the US recently. Two weeks in advance I ordered my special meal, vegetarian gluten-free (I eat meat, but as I am allergic to all fish&seafood I have to stick to the vegetarian meal when traveling). I asked specifically if this was a combination they couldn

[dancer4jc]

I hear ya

I flew to Italy on Delta, and the gluten-free dinner was "unavailable" despite being assured that it would be on the flight at check in, and for breakfast they brought Cornflakes. There was nothing edible on the whole flight!!!

[Mango04]

A good rule of thumb is always to assume that no airline (or anything/anyone else for that matter) will be able to accomodate your dietary needs. I too learned the hard way to always have my own food with me everywhere I go no matter what. Sorry it didn't work out....

[burdee]

A good rule of thumb is always to assume that no airline (or anything/anyone else for that matter) will be able to accomodate your dietary needs. I too learned the hard way to always have my own food with me everywhere I go no matter what. Sorry it didn't work out....

I totally agree. Neither of the airlines we use provide any special dietary consideration meals. Most of the flights don't provide any meal service. I've gone through calling and asking for special meals even before I learned I was celiac with 4 additional food allergies. I experienced lots of hits and misses with airline food. So after my diagnoses, I decided to just bring my own food. My husband and I always pack meal food in our 'carry on' backpacks. Since I'm gluten, dairy, soy, egg and cane sugar allergic, I bring canned sardines, rice cakes and dried fruit or peanut butter and banana (or peach) sandwiches on gluten free bread and LARA bars for snacks on 6-8 hour flights to Maui. Sometimes my husband will take 2 meals of whatever is served and just pick off anything that's safe (fruit, dry salads, napkins), since we essentially paid for the meals with our flight. I don't want to mess with airline food at all.

BURDEE

[Phyllis28]

On flights that serve food (very few anymore) I have had fairly good luck getting a gluten free meal. I have never tried to order a meal with multiple restrictions. I always, however carry enough of my own food for the flight just in case.

[kbtoyssni]

I usually fly American Airlines and they can do vegetarian OR gluten-free, not both. So I pick gluten-free, and hope for the best on the veggie part. They're generally pretty good, but they almost always include this four-grain cracker that contains barley, rye, and oats... At least it's wheat free??? It's individually wrapped so it's not like it's contaminated the rest of my dinner, but it makes me worry about their ability to provide a truly gluten-free meal.

[Stargirl*]

We fly with Emirates. Their meal service is very good and their gluten-free meals are really, truly gluten free. Oh and absolutely beautiful too. Yum, yum. They also do fruit platters and raw vege platters for the gluten-free vegetarian.

[SydneyGF]

I have flew Maylsian Airlines and on the first leg of the trip Sydney to London the gluten free meal was great, real gluten free food and the breakfast was just as good as their normal service. For such I long flight I was very pleased.

But then I hit the return trip back to Sydney and the meal was very different, the odd rice cake but nothing exciting and the dinner was boiled veggies and a warm piece of chicken. It like they changed the menu drasticly. During lunch everyone else got a huge bread roll sandwich and yougurt and for me they gave me 1 rice cake and 2 apples.

Next week I'm flying Qantas Sydney to San Francisco and hope their food is better.

Will always take extra snacks just in case

[hathor]

We fly with Emirates. Their meal service is very good and their gluten-free meals are really, truly gluten free. Oh and absolutely beautiful too. Yum, yum. They also do fruit platters and raw vege platters for the gluten-free vegetarian.

Thank you, thank you. This gives me hope! For my last vacation (to Europe, so there WERE meals ), I found I had to decide between vegetarian & gluten-free. I went with vegetarian & just ate extra veggie stuff I could have from my husband's & daughter's meals. I figured that with strict vegetarian (vegan) there would be something I could eat, while with gluten-free I could see the possibility there would be nothing (I can't tolerate casein or egg & don't want meat). Of course, I packed food as well to supplement.

But Emirates looks good & seems to fly all over. It is strange they don't go from any of the three airports in the DC area, though.

[Mango04]

Next week I'm flying Qantas Sydney to San Francisco and hope their food is better.

Will always take extra snacks just in case

Take lots of extra food with you when you fly Qantas. I flew with them a few years ago and ordered special meals, but on the plane they had no record of the fact that I had done so. Don't count on them being able to feed you....

[kml55]

flying is so frustrating, especially when it is a long flight...yes bringing my own food is what i opt for.

I think that CC is my biggest fear when flying and eating food in flight.

[Joanne11]

I flew British Airways this spring. I had to call to get the gluten free meal option it wasn't on the website, but I had good meals on the two long legs of the trip baltiomre to london and back, on the shorter flights I did not get a gluten free option london to rome and back. I also brought a lot of snacks along with me incase I didn't get a meal. But I have to say for airline food the gluten free meals weren't bad.

[lisalou]

I just returned from a trip to France and Switzerland on US Airways. Although the plane was pretty scary (ie: duct tape holding the tray tables together and everything from no water in the bathroom to a hole in the wall, yikes!), I did get my gluten-free meal both ways. Not that it was that fabulous, but eating anything besides dried fruit and gluten-free crackers was sounding pretty good. Both times I was offered a rice dish with chicken, with an edible gluten-free bun. I am also vegetarian, but decided to only do what I really must have, and just eat around the offending fowl.