Airline Gluten Free Meals

[itchy]

Has anyone had experiences with airline gluten free meals?

I just had an Air Canada gluten free meal that had a package of cookies clearly labelled as containing wheat as the main ingredient. Furthermore two of the 'add-on' parts of the meal, a pasta salad and a roll, appeared to be the same as other passengers were getting and seemed to be made from wheat flour. Two other parts of the meal were labelled gluten free, and seemed to be what they stated.

Any comments?

[ElseB]

I've been given questionable food before too when I ordered gluten free, but I can't remember what airline it was. On an Air Transat flight last year they gave away my gluten free meal to someone else, who ate most of it before asking why they'd gotten the special meal! I always order a gluten free meal, but assume I won't get anything so I bring lots of food in my carry on. Usually crackers and LaraBars.

[hawkgirl98]

I flew Aer Lingus last summer and had a decent experience. On one leg, the entree probably would've been fine except it was fish and I don't care for seafood. But there was also a little salad and some veggies and some fruit. My only complaint on either leg was they substituted a roll with Mary's Gone Crackers and I absolutely hate those - I think they taste like cardboard.

[cassP]

  On 4/22/2011 at 3:27 AM, hawkgirl98 said:

I flew Aer Lingus last summer and had a decent experience. On one leg, the entree probably would've been fine except it was fish and I don't care for seafood. But there was also a little salad and some veggies and some fruit. My only complaint on either leg was they substituted a roll with Mary's Gone Crackers and I absolutely hate those - I think they taste like cardboard.

really? i love Mary's Gone Crackers, except that they sometimes r too hard for my teeth.

[MaryJones2]

Yep. Delta does stuff like that ALL the time...

[love2travel]

  On 4/22/2011 at 3:07 AM, itchy said:

Has anyone had experiences with airline gluten free meals?

I just had an Air Canada gluten free meal that had a package of cookies clearly labelled as containing wheat as the main ingredient. Furthermore two of the 'add-on' parts of the meal, a pasta salad and a roll, appeared to be the same as other passengers were getting and seemed to be made from wheat flour. Two other parts of the meal were labelled gluten free, and seemed to be what they stated.

Any comments?

When I was off gluten last year before my gluten challenge I had icky meals on Air Canada. We're flying to Croatia/Italy in a week so wonder what will be in store for me this time? I am better prepared this time - bringing along some snacks because it is 30 LONG hours from our door here to our house in Croatia.

[anabananakins]

  On 4/22/2011 at 3:07 AM, itchy said:

Has anyone had experiences with airline gluten free meals?

I just had an Air Canada gluten free meal that had a package of cookies clearly labelled as containing wheat as the main ingredient. Furthermore two of the 'add-on' parts of the meal, a pasta salad and a roll, appeared to be the same as other passengers were getting and seemed to be made from wheat flour. Two other parts of the meal were labelled gluten free, and seemed to be what they stated.

Any comments?

I flew Sydney-LA and return last year with V Australia. The gluten free meal was fine. I think it was steamed chicken breast and vegies for dinner and eggs (scrambled) and vegies for breakfast. Both meals they gave me those thick puffed rice cakes, the ones that taste like nothing. Very, very plain and quite boring, but it was edible and I didn't get sick and I was grateful for the option.

The only sad thing was that other passengers had add-ons I probably could've eaten - yoghurt and salad. The gluten free meal wasn't terribly filling. But I had other snacks with me anyway.

[mushroom]

Air New Zealand generally does a pretty good job, although I think they combine gluten free with dairy free and insist on giving me soy margarine instead of butter (the flight attendants will generally exchange it), and one time they chucked in a cellophane package of whole wheat crackers (back in the days when they still gave me cheese).

[rosetapper23]

I flew on Qantas from LA to Sydney and back last September, and I had expected a wonderful gluten-free meal. However, while the other passengers got to eat ice cream and creme brule (which I probably could have eaten), I received those dry rice cakes referred to above. The meal itself was so awful, I refused to eat it, but the meals served to the regular folks looked like things I probably could have eaten. So....for my flight back, I didn't request gluten-free food and brought along a lot of snacks because I thought that I'd get at least SOME tasty food that was actually gluten free. No such luck, unfortunately. They didn't serve ice cream or creme brule; instead, they served cakes and cookies, and none of the meals came even close to being gluten free. As a result, I ate an apple and my snacks for the entire 14-hour flight. Blehhhh...... The lesson? Whether you're expecting gluten-free meals or not, always bring plenty of food with you.

[winenstuff]

What happened to me when I flew was I ended up with someone elses vegetarian meal because I switched seats at the last minute to sit to a family member instead of a random stranger.

Yeah, I agree with the above, bringing snacks is your best option.

[GlutenGladi8or]

I just flew round trip to Europe last week and had numerous gluten free meals that were very decent on UNITED AIRLINES:

US to London

DINNER:

Smoked salmon appetizer

Grilled chicken with roasted potato wedges and veggie medley

Gluten free bread

Cheese & fruit for dessert (Ice cream too)

BREAKFAST PRIOR TO LANDING:

Veggie omelet with mini ham steak

Fresh fruit

EUROPE to US

LUNCH:

Baked white fish with veggies and mashed potatoes

Salad with special gluten-free dressing

Cheese and fruit for dessert

All was good (not remarkable) and I had no issues at all.

The wine was gluten free!