This month’s Blog post comes from Matt Bzdel of Gluten Free Street Gang. His goal is to become your one-stop shop for all things gluten free travel and food, with a healthy dose of humor.
There are few things that will get gluten free dieters talking as much as the bizarre meals we often get served on planes. As someone who follows a gluten free diet, I personally know this firsthand. I live in the UK, though was born and raised outside the country, and between travel to see family, work trips, and holidays, I annually take between 30 and 60 flights both long and short haul. More often than not the meal selections for special meals are downright strange.
I could talk about my highlight (or lowlight) reel for hours on end. On one flight for afternoon tea service, my partner received scones and sandwiches. I, on the other hand, received two pieces of lettuce, quinoa salad, and a packet of butter. On another recent flight, while everyone else got an omelette, I was served a single banana. I’ve also received a side salad, served alongside a main course of salad, with a packet of butter without gluten free bread as it was not loaded. On each of these occasions, my partner was served a relatively normal meal.
This is not even mentioning the all to common occurrence of the caterer not loading special meals. On one transatlantic flight this year the purser told me there was no meal for me and, despite showing them my gluten free meal request in the app, told me I should have requested the meal differently as if it was my fault. I’ve also had flights get cancelled and rebooked within a 24 hour window of departure. I’ve never had an airline be willing or able to move my meal request to this new flight in the 24 hour window, meaning I was left to have a feast of packaged snacks.
Flight crews seem to receive different levels of training on food allergies and dietary restrictions. On the one hand, some crews have been wonderful for me and used allergen manifests or knowledge of food on board to provide a meal for me in the event of a forgotten meal, while others have given me my meal only to place a piece of gluten-containing bread right on top of it (rendering it inedible for someone with celiac disease). Some will give away your meal to another passenger who asks for a meal catering to the same dietary need.
I have a large following on Instagram (over 127,000 strong), many of who share very similar experiences. Many of the meals I hear about are even worse than my experiences and confirm what I have experienced firsthand: either airline caterers have a limited understanding of allergens, or airline budgets for special meal catering are too low. Airline food content I create generates high engagement reliably, reflecting the curiosity of the restricted diet community on this very topic.
At the same time, most of my audience has little to no understanding of how airlines cater their planes, how the experience may differ even on the same airline on different days, and often do not know what food they can bring through airport security. The worry about getting on a 6 hour, 12 hour, or longer flight when the plane has no safe food helps prevent them from fulfilling dreams to travel.
The thing that I cannot wrap my head around, though, is that I’ve had some absolutely wonderful gluten free dining experiences in the sky. On one European airline, I’ve been served the best shepherd’s pie I’ve ever had in my life. This main course was on the menu for the rest of the cabin and was prepared gluten free. On a Southeast Asian carrier, I’ve been able to have curries, pho, and even hot dine on demand items, all marked gluten free. In the most impressive feat, one American airline flying transatlantic served every single dish (aside from the second meal) as gluten free, offering me the choice of anything – and this was in economy!
I do want to take this time to recognise that there are far worse consequences to meals than simply being strange or inedible. Unfortunately, we’ve recently seen some high profile cases of allergen-related illness and even death from meals being catered incorrectly. No one should have the worry that the food they are served onboard an aircraft may cause a diversion to a location without quality medical care, or worse – death.
In my mind, though, a rising tide lifts all ships. It is my hope that by pushing for higher quality allergen friendly meals will not only lead to better taste, though also increased safety as airlines better understand allergens. Better, safer meals for one allergen should lead to greater understanding of others. Education is the first step to meet this end.
If the emotional argument for this is not enough, airlines are providing a service for a cost, and often include meal service as a part of their service offering. Is it acceptable for an airline to offer a service, though not fulfil it simply on the grounds that the caterer forgot to load the meal? If a full plane of passengers were told catering “forgot” to cater a 12 hour flight, and were left to eat crisps for the duration, it would be newsworthy.
Travelers with food allergies or other dietary restrictions are a niche group, though we are loyal to businesses that can safely cater to our needs. I imagine that the first airline or alliance to create consistent, safe, and tasty allergen friendly meals for all cabins of service will unlock the loyalty of this market segment for years to come.
It is entirely possible for airlines, even with limited catering budgets, to create menus that are more inclusive for dietary restrictions. Until then, I do hope that my days of being served a banana while watching other passengers eat a meal that could easily be made gluten free are numbered.