Is It Safe to Eat The Airline’s Gluten-free Food?
AL: Do you have any favorite airlines for gluten-friendliness?
MDB: LAN Airlines, Emirates, and Continental (now United) all do very nice jobs in the long- and ultra-long-haul department. JetBlue is my favorite for shorter domestic hops. Their snack options, both complimentary and buy-on-board snack boxes offer some gluten-free options for Celiac flyers.
Sadly, my most impressive gluten-free meal came from an airline that is not around any longer. It presented me with my first ever in-flight gluten-free roll. Just remember, the main courses of gluten-free meals tend to be relatively basic (read chicken) – even in the premium cabins – but at least you’ll have something to hold you over until you land.
AL: Have you ever gotten ill from an airline meal that was supposed to be gluten-free, and wondered?
MDB: I can safely say that in hundreds of flights and more than a million air miles since my diagnosis, I have never gotten “glutened” on any of my flights.
AL: As a big traveler, what are your best tips for eating gluten-free in the air?
MDB: Be prepared; things happen and your gluten-free meal might never actually make it on the flight. The best advice I can give is to check with a flight attendant as soon as you board to ensure your meal has been boarded.
When my gluten-free meal has gone missing, I have asked flight attendants to make up a meal on the fly – pulling salads, fruit, cheese, and other items from the galleys to help me out. I do always carry a gluten-free contingency pack that contains, depending on the length of the flight, a range of gluten-free nibbles ranging from snack items to “just add water” all-in-one meals.
I also check the website of the airline, as many publish their in-flight menus online (by route). [See also AL's chart here.] While I love flying, in the end it is just a means of transportation to get you to your ultimate destination – you can always enjoy fine dining options when you are back on terra firma. [See Mike's blog here.]
Readers: let us know your gluten-free food experiences with the airlines at editor@allergicliving.com. We are looking for people’s stories for a future issue of the magazine.
Karen Kurokawa
I don’t fly domestically that often but do fly internationally. The biggest problem for me is finding a “free-from” meal that addresses both my celiac & soy/dairy allergy needs. (It’s interesting to find out that Air France has a completely allergen-free option.) On the positive side, Lufthansa has taken my needs quite seriously, even once holding a flight’s departure to make sure a meal for me made it onto the flight. (Yes, one should always double-check at the gate.) On the negative side, United has no meal that addresses multiple issues and their gluten-free meals tend to rely heavily on soy and dairy. They also tend to “forget” the gluten-free meal quite often. The one time I flew Turkish Airlines, they “forgot” too, despite several pre-flight confirmations of this request. So these days I do pack my own food always. I recommend carrying a note from your doctor explaining your special dietary needs so the TSA and/or other inspection entities will permit such carry-ons as small containers of yoghurt, etc. Honestly, most of the time other travelers are eyeing my food with envy and I often end up sharing! It’s a nice way to meet interesting people.