See bottom of tips page for new advice from an airline insider.
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| Check your confirmation invoice and if your request for vegetarian meals isn't shown request it is put in writing. |
| Ring the airline to confirm you require flesh free meals three days before the flight (remember to ask about the return journey if applicable). |
| Bring your written request confirmation with you and at check-in ask if the request has been logged. |
| If you don't get your meal ask to see the chief steward/stewardess and show them the confirmation. Also complain on arrival to your tour rep or at the airline office to make sure the veggie meal is available on the return flight. |
| On your return, write letters of complaint to all concerned and mention your willingness to use the 'small claims procedure' at the county court (don't be afraid to carry out your threat - it is easy to do & costs very little if you loose). |
| And finally and most importantly - e-mail veggieflyer@hotmail.com with your story so we can take it up with the company concerned and publish it our site. Also remember to complete our survey. |
Thanks to Frances, who works for a major UK airline, for the following advice: -
Do
try to pre-order your meal whenever possible via your travel agent (or on a
'special meal request form' available from the outbound cabin crew for
your return journey). This is especially important if you are traveling as a
group with other vegetarians as the airlines can't be expected to anticipate
large numbers of special meal requirements without warning. If you don't trust your
travel agent, phone the airline yourself and ask which catering company they
use. Phone or fax the caterers directly about a week before your flight and
put your vegetarian request in, stating your name, the flight number, destination and
date of departure.
On
the day of your flight, confirm at the check-in desk that you've requested a
veggie meal; The caterers need several hours' notice to produce,
package, transport and load the food onto the aircraft, however they sometimes
carry one or two spare veggie meals on their trucks which could be loaded pre
passenger boarding. If there's enough time it may be possible for the check-in
guy/girl to phone your request through. Don't rely on this though as the cater ring
is probably already at the aircraft by this stage.
Onboard,
remember that the cabin crew are going out of their way to help us, so be friendly
and polite when asking for your special meal. An aggressive or demanding
attitude will just make your trip harder. The crew may be serving several
hundred meals within a very short timeframe - this is hard
work even with a choice of two dishes but imagine how much more time
it would take if every passenger wanted a unique meal. So being nice about it
goes a long way! I travel on standby tickets so unfortunately can't
pre-order my vegetarian meal, however I generally find that there's something veggie
available.
On
a long-haul flight you could always ask, politely, whether it
would be possible to have a veggie crew meal instead. There should
be at least one veggie option and, as long as the crew member
isn't vegetarian themselves, they probably wouldn't mind swapping for a
non-veggie passenger meal. This probably wouldn't be condoned by the airline
itself but if it means you get a meal then the crew might be okay with it. Bear
in mind that you'll then need to wait for it to be cooked.
Happy traveling!