Airlines And Gluten Free Meals

[lesleyag]

I am curious to find out other people's experiences with airline special meals. Have you used them? Have they actually been served to you? Or as has happened to me on several occasions not made it to the plane despite checking in advance to be sure it would be!

Thanks for any input you might have

[missy'smom]

I ordered and got a gluten-free meal on JAL. It was safe and the meal leaving the US bound for Japan was tastier than the meal from Japan bound for the U.S. Coming from the U.S., I even got a very tasty piece of gluten-free banana bread that appeared to have been specially made. Both ways, I called a few days ahead of departure to confirm meals.

[NJKen]

  lesleyag said:

I am curious to find out other people's experiences with airline special meals. Have you used them? Have they actually been served to you? Or as has happened to me on several occasions not made it to the plane despite checking in advance to be sure it would be!

Continental Airlines has done well for me. Whenever I've ordered a gluten-free meal they have had it on the flight. Domestic flights that do not cross the continent, however, do not have regular meal service, and they do not have gluten-free "snacks" available when they serve sandwiches to others.

The gluten-free meals on Continental are usually very bland--almost always chicken breast with a little bit of tomato-based sauce. My wife usually orders vegetarian, and more often than not gets an Indian (south Asian) entree. That's fine, because she likes Indian food, and so do I, but what I don't understand is why Continental doesn't sometimes provide the Indian entrees for gluten-free passengers. Most Indian meals are made without glutenous ingredients.

[Phyllis28]

I have had pretty good luck with gluten free meals on airlines. I have had only on instance where the meal did not arrive. I have read in other posts that you should check with the flight attendant when you get on the plane so the meal is not given to someone else.

I always bring enough food to get through the flight just in case the meal does not show up or the meal is questionable.

[MaryJones2]

It's really hit or miss. Sometimes they have the meal but don't have my name or seat number. Other times they just don't have it. Rarely do they have the meal and know who it belongs to without asking... It really doesn't seem to matter which airline - I get a gluten-free meal about 1 out of 3 trips. The quality varies greatly depending on the originating airport but they are generally bland. Most of the time it's some kind of fish or chicken dish with rice, steamed vegetables and a mystery sauce. Sometimes you get gluten-free bread. I find the stuff I bring along much more palatable

My recommendation is to assume you're getting nothing and you'll always be pleasantly surprised!

[kbtoyssni]

I've had mostly good luck with American Airlines. I always confirm my meal will be on the plane when I check in and also when I get to the gate, and I've never had a problem with my meal not being there. They do, however, have a habit of including a four grain cracker with the meal - and three of the grains are gluten grains! Of course, it's individually packaged so it hasn't contaminated the rest of the meal, but it does make me nervous about how gluten-free their meals really are. I wish they had ingredients with them. I've never gotten sick from them. Coming back from England to the USA, the meals are gluten-free under English law, so there's often <200ppm wheat starch in the food. If you're very sensitive, you may not want to eat it.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I've had very mixed experiences--some terrific, some horrible, like when 3 airlines in a row (all connecting flights on one trip from Zagreb to Pittsburgh, some on different airlines) insisted that nobody told them I needed a gluten-free meal (even though everything had been confirmed in advance), so there was nothing for me to eat--AND security in Zagreb confiscated the food I tried to bring on the plane, even though it conformed to all the rules.

[kenlove]

I've also had mixed experiences with airlines. The flight attendant on Continental felt sorry for me since the gluten-free meal was so small she dumped 2 bagels on top of my salad -- good thing I wasn't hungry.

JAL going one way forgot the meal and the other way the only thing i could eat was the rice.

On American I usually just order a fruit plate.

Ken

  lesleyag said:

I am curious to find out other people's experiences with airline special meals. Have you used them? Have they actually been served to you? Or as has happened to me on several occasions not made it to the plane despite checking in advance to be sure it would be!

Thanks for any input you might have

[babysteps]

Jet blue snacks are mostly glutenous, but the terra blue potato chips are okay (I called the mfgr, they are made on a gluten-free line, but same building does make corn & wheat blend tortillas - they say they follow safe practices to avoid cc).

Continental I did get a gluten-free meal cross-country (twice) - although the breakfast came with non gluten-free soy milk (in a carton) and already dished-out, so non-labeled, yogurt (I skipped that but enjoyed the plain omelet). I did confirm with the crew that they 1) had my special meal and 2) knew I could have no bread, please don't put any on my tray or I won't be able to eat anything. That seemed to help.

Like others, I travel with gluten-free snacks in case the meal falls through, or in case I'm hungry when they're not serving it.

[lesleyag]

  NJKen said:

Continental Airlines has done well for me. Whenever I've ordered a gluten-free meal they have had it on the flight. Domestic flights that do not cross the continent, however, do not have regular meal service, and they do not have gluten-free "snacks" available when they serve sandwiches to others.

The gluten-free meals on Continental are usually very bland--almost always chicken breast with a little bit of tomato-based sauce. My wife usually orders vegetarian, and more often than not gets an Indian (south Asian) entree. That's fine, because she likes Indian food, and so do I, but what I don't understand is why Continental doesn't sometimes provide the Indian entrees for gluten-free passengers. Most Indian meals are made without glutenous ingredients.

[lesleyag]

  NJKen said:

Continental Airlines has done well for me. Whenever I've ordered a gluten-free meal they have had it on the flight. Domestic flights that do not cross the continent, however, do not have regular meal service, and they do not have gluten-free "snacks" available when they serve sandwiches to others.

The gluten-free meals on Continental are usually very bland--almost always chicken breast with a little bit of tomato-based sauce. My wife usually orders vegetarian, and more often than not gets an Indian (south Asian) entree. That's fine, because she likes Indian food, and so do I, but what I don't understand is why Continental doesn't sometimes provide the Indian entrees for gluten-free passengers. Most Indian meals are made without glutenous ingredients.

I have had real problems with Continental, the last flight being yesterday. When yet again didn't have my meal though the flight attendants got me fruit and cheese from first class. That was actually better than the meal they usually serve. I really resent them telling me the meal is an amenity and so I should bring my own food. I just sent them a letter telling them that everyone's meal is also an amenity and I found their suggestion bordering on the discriminatory.

[elonwy]

I've only ever dealt with Continental on the in-flight meal, as most of my flights are domestic, so don't rate food. Also being allergic to eggs, my breakfast meal was a wash, though I enjoyed the gluten-free bread I got with both meals. It was individually packaged with ingredients, so I could be sure it was gluten-free.

I fly to NY a bit, and eat the Terra Blue chips, but also always have food with me when I'm traveling, as I never know where I'm going to get stuck. I always have some bars (Glutino and Lara), nuts and usually some cheese and meat slices. I had some dried fruit with me the last flight which was delicious, and then the passenger next to me dumped her biscotti crumbs all over me and into my open ziplock of fruit. That was unpleasant. I pack for flying like I would for camping, compact food that lasts a long time, is easy to store and provides high energy in small amounts.