See bottom of tips page for new advice from an airline insider.
2004
As
a travel agent that specializes in vegetarian travel I would like to give a word
of advise
Most
airlines hire catering companies in each airport so each airport has different
versions of what vegan or vegetarian should be. You can not really fault the
airlines on this as they can not keep up with their catering services. I
normally suggest to people to eat prior to their flights or bring food with them
for long flights and if they get lucky they will get a decent meal on their
flight. Also the airlines are cutting back on free food service so instead of
paying for horrible veg food on the flights bring it with you.
Donna
Zeigfinger
I have just returned with my family from a fabulous
fortnight’s holiday in Corfu, in the blue bay escape resort, near Roda, with
first choice holidays.
As a vegan, I had no problem finding food in Greece: -
owners in tavernas created sumptuous food and supermarkets offered a wide
choice.
What a shame, then, that there was no vegan meal for
me on the aeroplane, despite my having arranged vegan food at the time of
booking and checking details two weeks before the flight and at check-in.
On the outward flight I was given the vegetarian
meal, which contained a hot dish of vegetables in a creamy sauce, a yoghurt and
a sticky cake: - all of these contained dairy produce.
I ate nothing during the flight.
On the return journey, breakfast was a vegetarian
sausage and an omelette and a muffin. The
stewardess told me “we do not do vegan”. However, when I returned the
uneaten breakfast, another stewardess said that all the hot meals were vegan: -
“the sausage was made from quorn and that is vegan.”
Quorn is not vegan; it is not even acceptable to most
vegetarians due to its content of eggs which are not free-range.
The stewardess who gave me this information was inaccurate and ill
advised. Had I eaten the meal, based on trust of her word, I would have betrayed
principles which I have adhered to since childhood. Moreover, if I had an egg
allergy, the staff on the aeroplane would have precipitated a case of
anaphylactic shock. Unhelpfulness now becomes a much more serious issue.
No doubt, busy airlines cannot find the time to make
vegan food. Making a non-dairy vegetarian option such as a jacket potato with
baked beans or salad might prove taxing to the unimaginative chef. Telling a
vegan traveller at the time of booking that you have a vegan-unfriendly policy
would have at least enabled me to be self catering on the flight, however, a
stewardess who had found a banana, a bread roll and a sachet of jam and managed
a smile or a “sorry” at the time, rather than a supercilious and unhelpful
response would have encouraged me, after such a brilliant holiday, to use first
choice again.
I am a frequent traveller with my family and, on both
long and short haul flights, I have had fantastic in-flight meals with other
providers. Once when no food was
available, a helpful person found me a portion of fruit salad.
For some reason, first choice fall short in this area
and, despite the caring diatribe on the literature, they would not be my first
choice in future unless there is a policy change which pays some respect towards
the principles and comfort of the hungry vegan traveller.
JUDY LEIGH
In December I flew from Heathrow to Amman via Milan with Alitalia. The meal I was given was vegetarian but not vegan although I'd specified vegan when booking & when checking in. I was given margarine containing whey. On the way back I was given a meal containing meat but eventually given the correct one, which was vegan (though with no margarine for the bread). However a couple sitting in front of me were not given the vegetarian meal they'd ordered. The main problem with Alitalia appears to be non-vegan margarine and not always giving passengers their pre-ordered special meals until they point out they've been given the wrong one.
I cannot understand why airlines don't simply make things easier for themselves by giving everyone a vegan meal, which everyone would be able to eat (unless they had a medical problem such as coeliac).
One day, perhaps ....
Patricia
December 2003
I have 8-year-old twin boys and we do a fair bit of travelling to see family etc. in L.A & various parts of Europe and when I ask for veggie meals for the kids I get no help whatsoever. On the last long haul flight the other kids on the plane were treated to special trays with toys and sweets to accompany their meal and make it fun. Both my boys were left hungry when they were presented with a very spicy spinach & tofu curry not the kind of meal that children enjoy. My sons are the only veggie children I know so we have quite a tough time at parties etc. and then you get the usual they, ‘can have fish fingers though can't they’?!! In this day and age I cannot believe that airlines won't or can't provide veggie meals for kids it's very annoying and unfair. On a recent trip on Ryan air there was NO veggie choice at all!
Danielle Lees
I find if I book through
Lastminute.com, the site says it will order me a vegetarian meal but the
instruction doesn't seem to get through. The worst veggie flying
experience was when my partner booked the flight and booked me a vegan meal ...
not that I mind vegan food, but the American airline on both outward and return
flights gave me some Mexican stodge wrapped in a tortilla - cold. Ugh.
Most recent flight was British
Airways to and from Bahrain ... as usual my order did not get communicated, but
the cabin staff provided me with a plate of roast vegetables, which was very
nice. The steward did rather tentatively offer me the standard starter
(which contained salmon) but seemed to expect me to refuse it. No problem
on the return journey because it was a night flight and we got breakfast ...
choice of scrambled egg or omelette!
I find most airlines nowadays do
reasonably well on vegetarian food when the order gets through. They don't
understand about gelatine, but I hardly ever eat pudding anyway. It
does annoy me when they think vegetarian means teetotal, though!
It's much better than a few
years ago. However, I once got the captain's baked potato when no meal had
been loaded for me ...
Angela Smith
My best experiences have been Ansett (which I don't think exists anymore) and
Virgin. Bad recent experiences include BA (gelatine), BMI (ran out of veggie
meals before they got to me even though I had pre-booked it), Alitalia (veggie
meal booked at the time flight booked but no provision on outward flight - they
told me that I must give at least 2 days notice - I had given two months! Once
at my destination I re-confirmed my wish for a veggie meal on return flight 10
days later, again no meal and again I was told I had to give 2 days notice!).
And like other correspondents I bemoan the fact vegetarian means having wilted
salad and tasteless fruit salad instead of "proper" starters and
desserts, dubious margarine instead of butter and no cheese or substitute for
the cheese our non vegetarian companions get.
November 2003
This summer we flew to Memphis, USA using KLM/ Northwest Airlines. We booked through the Co-op Travels. We informed them that we were vegan. The flight was two pronged. A KLM flight from Bradford/ Leeds Airport to Amsterdam and a Northwest airline flight from Amsterdam to Memphis and vice versa.
We set off at 0730 from Bradford/ Leeds on a KLM plane. The other passengers were offered a cheese sandwich and coffee. The staff did not have anything suitable for us. Their explanation was that KLM did not make special provision on short flight journeys. The flight was about an hour in duration. If we had been informed of this, we would have gone prepared. Anyway we asked if they had any peanuts. The stewardess managed to find two packets of roast peanuts each and orange juices.
The 9-hour non-stop Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam set off at 1400, Dutch time. The first refreshments offered were vegetarian pretzels and orange juice. This was followed by lunch: penn pasta and peas in with sun dried tomatoes and herbs; vegetables: asparagus spears, artichokes, shredded cabbage, lettuce, swede; mixed fruit salad. Dinner was a spicy bean burrito. Our meals classified as 'strict vegetarian' were labelled with our names and seat numbers and we were served first before the other passengers.
The return Northwest Airlines flight from Memphis was at 2215 (Memphis time). We were served dinner: couscous with vegetables, salad, fruit salad. A snack at 0600; potato brownies and a 'crumpet' with syrup, and fruit salad.
We flew from Amsterdam on a KLM plane at 1345 for Bradford. We were served vegetarian pretzels and fruit juice.
As you can see we fared slightly better with Northwest Airlines than we did with KLM.
Cynthia Trasi
Shipley, West Yorks
1 - Austrian Airlines. Hopeless. Pre-ordered veg meals on both outward and return flights to Vienna were not there. Complained to head office and had only a very half-hearted apology. Won't fly with them again.
2- Malaysia Airlines. The pre-ordered vegan meals were provided for us on all this airline's flights, both to and from London to KL and on internal flights in Malaysia.
3 - Cathay Pacific. As with Malaysia Airlines all provided as ordered on flights to/from London and HK.
4 - BA to/from Nice. Pre-ordered meals not served as only sandwiches supplied on these flights. Choice of chicken or cheese fillings only. The cheese was the 'plastic' processed type. Didn't ask about rennet. Did without this poor quality offering.
Does this tell us something about managements' different attitudes towards customers between European and Far Eastern organisations? In general I find the meals provided to economy class passengers just about edible, although I appreciate the difficulties of feeding several hundred people in the cramped space of modern aircraft.
Nicholas Elkin
I have been a lact-ovo veggie for 27 years, as much for health reasons as anything else. My observations on success in getting what one ordered is similar to yours, namely a failure rate of 30% or so. I have some additional observations:
On many airlines, orders for ‘lacto-ovo’ are accepted as such, are a separate option to ‘vegan’, they arrive with a lacto-ovo designation, but in something approaching 50% of the time, the first & main courses are vegan. One suspects that a lowest common denominator applies for the convenience of the caterers and vegan was ever really the only option.
In reinforcement of this presumption, whilst the non-veggie traveller gets butter to go with their rolls, the veggie meal invariably has this substituted for some undefined margarine. I would rather have the butter and have some idea what I’m eating.
BA in their short haul network, have a policy of carrying vegetarian on board as a matter of course (though often this is just vegan) – for which full marks. Unfortunately, because they do this, they seem to ignore passenger specific orders for such meals. Result: whether one gets one or not then becomes a lottery – where one sits & the number of people seeking veggie on the plane. I say seeking veggie because, by the nature of the flight, there is little or no choice so one sees carnivore passengers asking what else is available – leading to “that sounds OK, I’ll have that”, and, when they get to you, “sorry, sir, that was my last one”.
Your website provides a tip that one should order seven days in advance. Whilst I have come to the conclusion over the years that the sorts of actions that all of your various tips suggest have helped in the past, the objective has to be that veggies get treated indistinguishably from carnivores. In any event, many of the trips I make are on business and I simply do not have the luxury of giving long notices. The requirement for 24 hours’ notice is an absurdity that needs to be tackled. I could understand it 20 years ago when volumes of passengers were much less, proportions of veggies were less, communications were slower and food production was less automated….but this requirement has steadfastedly stuck in there. In connection with a flight starting at the airline’s main base or key hub this is wholly inexcusable.
Ian Smith
I have never really had any bad experiences of veggie meals that I actually ate. Generally, they are fairly good, but not terribly imaginative. I have occasionally not received my veggie meal even though I ordered it well in advance, and have had to go hungry.
No. 1: my BIGGEST gripe is that the meals are never substantial enough, compared to the non-vegetarian meals (and I am average in size!). Airlines must think we're skinny, carrot eating, sandal-wearing weirdos - which most of us are not of course.
No. 2: nearly 99% of the time our choice of dessert is either a piece of fruit or a miserable looking fruit salad, whilst the non-veggies get a delicious chocolate looking pudding with custard. I presume this is because the pudding contains gelatine or animal fats? Either that or the catering staff believe that vegetarians don't eat fatting puddings because they're too health conscious! Believe me, I am health conscious, but I also like to indulge in a nice dessert now again! So airlines, please take note.
No. 3: Airlines should also ensure that the margarine/spread that comes with the bread is vegetarian, as I have been served up with non-vegetarian alternatives in the past such as Flora, which contains animal bi-products (or at least used to).
And finally, it would be nice if other passengers (sometimes including our travelling companions) wouldn't make comments such as: "There you go, you got your meal. Mmmm, doesn't that look nice! You ARE lucky you know", as if we need to be eternally grateful for being offered a flesh free meal.
Keep up the good work in persuading the airlines to remember that being vegetarian isn't something out of the dark ages.
Louise Bools (Middlesex)
When I was flying last year I never requester Vegan food on my outward journey so all I was served was meat and other animal products which I avoided but I eventually found something humane to eat on the way over but on the way back I called the customer line and ordered a strict vegetarian meal which is in other words VEGAN and I got it and it was really nice - cant remember what exactly it was but it was ok. So ya that was continental airlines...
www.shac.net
I read with a smile your letter in the latest 'The Vegetarian'. I have been a vegetarian since 1985, and fly quite frequently.
Flying on a variety of airlines, I ask for a vegetarian meal when I initially book, I then get to check in and confirm it has been ordered, 99 times out of 100 I get no record of it but at this late stage it might not go through in time, can you check at the gate. Get to the gate and low and behold they have no record of it either, but will do their best to get one for me. The gate always manages to produce a list of passengers who have requested special meals, but my name never seems to be on it. It always seems to be me that fails to get a meal, its nice to know I am not alone.
This denial of knowledge of a prebooked vegetarian meal is then relayed to me when they serve the meals, but they will do their best to find something. I have even been asked how strict a vegetarian are you as the breakfast is ham omelette and a steward will pick the bits of ham out for you. Earlier this year I flew with continental airlines no meal was produced despite all efforts being made on my part to let them know my dietary requirement, when I asked the stewardess what does she suggest I do to guarantee I have a meal the reply was make it known when you book initially. But I always do. I subsequently made a complaint to this airline, who have advised me to take my own food on their flights in future, this is not so bad on the outward flight but on the return flight, depending on where you are travelling from can become a problem, when I asked what discount I should get they said none. So I pay the same price and get less. Not that the airline caterers have much idea what vegetarians eat, British airways did eventually produce something for me on both legs of the journey, after the same rigmarole, and got vegetable samosas both times.
I have even suggested that all meals should be vegetarian, most people eat vegetables, this was rejected as airlines consider people prefer a hot meat meals. I have found the best airlines that I have flown with and had little trouble is getting a meal are EVA and THAI.
Helen Thomas
My husband & I have flown 6 times with United Airlines, last year Chicago/Vancouver return, this year, London to San Francisco, San Fran to Honolulu, & return to London via Los Angeles.
Although we requested Vegetarian food in advance on all these trips we didn't actually receive it. Not once. Staff on the outward Chicago/Vancouver flight were downright rude, saying sarcastically that if we'd bothered to order veggie food.... one of them actually shook a printed list of names in my face & suggested I tried to find our names there as he certainly couldn't. We rang the airline offices to check that we had registered our veggie requirements, and yes, we were on the computer's list for both flights.
On this year's flights the staff were pleasant & apologetic, but again, although our request had reached as far as the computer, no veggie food ever appeared on the plane. Next year we will be using a different airline.
On a happier note, we flew from London to Chicago last year with BMI. The veggie food they served was very good, the best airline food we've had so far.
Kris Simpson
September
2003
I
have only flown three times in recent years –
Anne
& Keith Nicholas
August
2003
I
have been lucky when flying, they always provided veggie food, and last year I
asked for vegan food and I got it. I have flown with American Airlines, Virgin
Atlantic, and Air Malta.
Sanya
I
had a problem with Turkish Airlines a few years ago.
Vegetarian food was not available on the Istanbul to Bangkok leg of the
journey. The stewardess in effect called me a liar when I told her I had
requested vegetarian food when I bought the ticket. I did hear another passenger ask for a vegetarian meal. She
was told that no vegetarian food was available on that flight.
Ian
Martin - Bangkok
I
am a vegan and have made some flights. It hasn't been too bad actually. I did
everything that you recommend in your tips and perhaps this is why it worked,
usually. They still provided choc-bars with milk, and forgot the soya milk but
the basic meal was usually ok. I
complained to the chief steward, and double-checked in the connecting airport.
However I think it is also important to contact them and let them know when you
had a good experience as well.
When
things have gone wrong, the staff have usually been embarrassed and tried their
best to make up for it. All the meals are brought in so it isn't the
aircrew's fault though they have to take the stick. Sometimes I have
missed out on a fairly sorry veggie burger, and instead been given lots of extra
fresh fruit which is much nicer. So when I complained I also made sure
that said how good the staff were making up for someone else's blunder.
The
best experience was with Britannia airways, where the marge had the vegan
sunflower and we had a special vegan creamer for drinks.
Chris
Childe
On
one particular occasion I had booked a meal and it was prepared for me but not
with my name - another veggie who hadn't booked a veggie meal got mine and there
were no spares on board! They rustled me up cheese and an apple and a tuna salad
(which I didn’t eat obviously). This happens each time I fly so I now have a
procedure I follow: I book a meal in advance, I check that one has been arranged
for me when I check in and I grab a flight attendant as soon as I board and
check with them too! On previous
flights where they haven't got details on my pre-booked meal they have always
had a few spare veggie meals on board so I have been lucky.
Christine
Thorpe
Ryanair
to Stockholm (1999), they had cheese sandwich or ham sandwich for £6!
It's a no-frills airline, you should eat before boarding or bring your
own food. Flying intercontinental,
the vegan meal (confusingly coded VGML) has often already been given to a
vegetarian by the time they get to my seat, if it was ever loaded at all.
Outbound British Airways flights from UK are ok, they have firm control of the
caterers. Returning from elsewhere, e.g. Mexico, you can't be sure of a vegan
meal as they're using overseas caterers. In the absence of anything fit for
vegan consumption, I ask them to make up something for me by raiding first class
for fruit. Take a small tin of beans with a ring pull or a packet of nuts, to be
combined with the onboard fruit and veg, otherwise eaten at the other end.
Alex
Bourke
June
2003
My wife and I recently
took a trip to Cuba. We booked at
our local branch of Going Places, who asked if we wanted vegetarian meals and
typed the request into the on screen booking form.
Having had problems before with meals on flights, I confirmed our request
directly to the holiday company – Kuoni.
Being ultra cautious, knowing it would be a ten-hour flight, I tried to
ring the airline (Air Jamaica) a couple of days prior to the flight. Being a weekend they naturally had no one in the office and
their voice mail was full. I thus
e-mailed them instead. Did we get
our veggie meals … of course not!
Air Jamaica blamed Kuoni and Kuoni blamed Going Places.
Going Places were not sure who to blame but it sure weren’t their
fault! Well I can tell them all…
it sure wasn’t mine!
Blaise (Essex)
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Please note that the views expressed above are those of the individual and not necessarily those of the veggieflyer campaign. Where applicable organisations mentioned will be offered the right to reply to ensure they are aware of the campaign.