Dietary Needs

Airlines have special meal requests. You must let them know well ahead of time, however. I suggest you contact a customer service rep for the airline you are flying with. They should be able to help you. Flight Attendant posts alot on these boards. Maybe you could ask her to make suggesstions.

You ( as you know) need gluten free, and I have noticed not all airlines offer that, so you will have to check with the airline you book with.

Personally I do not see a problem , do not eat airline food, it is bad. Bring your own, I am sure it will be much better. Don't worry about liquids as they will still provide you with liquids.

Have fun and be careful, bring a proper translation of your issue. I am very familar with Celiac as friend has it. Too many restaurants think it just means " no flour" or " no wheat" they will forget all the other ingredients in foods that hide gluten.

You CAN travel, but you do have more to thing about then others. Good luck and I hope you don't have any episodes. My friend still travels.

I don't know which airline you are travelling with but the airlines of the Star Alliance have a gluton free option on all transatlantic flights and I'd be very surprised if the other major carriers did not offer this option, I know Virgin do.

What you have to do is call the airline at least 48 hours before departure, but play safe and do it now, and ask for a gluten free meal.

The airline code for a gluton free meal is GFML, if you have any problems - tell them it has to go in as an SSR remark. They'll know what you mean.

It's usual for Star Alliance to offer a gluten free option on all flights on which meals are served, but it really helps if you book them well in advance. Most European airlines operate this policy.

Thank you for your responses. I would be very interested in hearing from Flight Attendant on this matter. I'll be on three different planes going to Australia and 3 coming back from there. Should I contact a special department within each airline? Or is just any Customer Service Rep ok? I'll be traveling for 40+ hours all told one way (with layovers) and can't really afford to go without food for that length of time. Do I need special permission to bring food on board? Gluten Free food does not travel well, but I can find something, most of it, though, needs to be kept cold. Plus I would have to find something in Australia to bring back with me. Thanks, again, for your help.

My experience is that if you are booking online, you are asked about special meals as a part of the booking process. Or can indicate a special meal by accessing your reservation on the website. Otherwise call the airline to make the request - well in advance.

You can bring food on the plane, and it might be wise to have something - even if you do request a special meal, errors can happen, especially if there are delays or cancellations. So you don't want to be without food for a whole flight.

However, Australia is EXTREMELY strict about what you are allowed to bring into the country - to the point of checking shoes for dirt & debris. So ANY fresh food, meat, seeds, uncooked things etc. must be consumed or disposed of before you enter customs. They will fine you if you get caught - no excuses.

Thus, I would advise not to bring food for Australia. You will certainly be able to get gluten-free food there - search on the web or check guide books for suggestions.

Kate

Bonjour!
Some good advise here.

I agree with Pat, Airline food isn't exactly nutritious. I don't eat it. Fortunately, we get "crew meals" which are much better. We get fresh fruits, veggies and cheese and crackers etc. Our Union fought hard to ensure we are fed right.
Airline food is ok once in a while, like the occasional convenience food that it is. But eating it often will either make you gain weight and feel lousy or lose your appetite altogether.
Some Airlines offer buy your own meals and snacks and offer meals from popular restaurants like Cara Foods. A big hit.

Special meals are widely available. Just like others have suggested, contact your Airline's website for specifics.
They must be ordered well in advance usually at least 48 hrs.

I suggest to my friends that they always order a special meal. That gives you more choices. And special meals are often better, especially Kosher meals, even if you are not Jewish.

I also would suggest to anyone with special dietary needs, bring your own snacks as back-up. But that's just me, I prefer to be proactive rather than reactive.

It would be awful if somebody screwed up and didn't have your correct meal on board and you were stuck. Well, let's hope that wouldn't happen. If that happens, we try to work around it the best we can with our limited resources. Crew are often most willing to share our crew meals/snacks so no one goes hungry.

Here's an entertaining link regarding Airline meals...

www.airlinemeals.net