Once, on a thirteen hour long-haul flight to Bangkok with Lufthansa I was given a Granny Smith and a small pat of butter. This wasn’t because I had allergies or was vegan or anything complicated back then. This was because I was vegetarian, and Lufthansa had simply forgotten to load up any veggie trays. With hindsight, my response now would be “Thank God”, as the last Lufthansa meal I ate was a tray of rice with vinegar and olive oil as condiments.
Since developing shed-tonnes of allergies, I’ve had to be pretty flexible when travelling. I.e. Taking what I can get, when I can get it, as quickly as possible. This can mean stocking up on sweet potato shoestring fries as if they’re my last sustenance for weeks on end, because, as far as I know, they are. At a diner this morning for example, I ordered coffee, and then noticed they had a side of an avocado so got that too. I wasn’t hungry, but just in case. Just in case that was all I could eat for the next three weeks.
But for flights that are longer than seven hours, I expect a bit more provision for travellers with allergies, veganism, or weird food preferences, especially if travelling business or first. My last long-haul was a trip from Detroit through to London with Delta-I had a bread roll and a lovely and apologetic cabin crew member. “sorry, but we don’t have anything else for you. Oh wait, I packed this lettuce to eat onboard. Do you want it?”
The flight I took yesterday was over ten hours direct from London through to Dallas flying business. The sum total of my food on board was two side salads (after I’d picked out the blue cheese), a breadstick, and a bag of low-fat kettle chips. The cabin crew were beyond fabulous and one of them donated me a bag of celery sticks that she’d packed for her trip. I appreciated the gesture, although the negative-calorie producing snacks probably weren’t the most helpful. I also downed a miniature bottle of olive oil in the hope that I’d get a few extra calories that way.
This has to change. Airfares, especially when you spend a fortune on taxes out of the UK, should cover a meal or two for everybody. They manage halal, so how do they manage to forget vegan-dairyfree-or gluten free options? This isn’t simply fussiness on my part. I eat cheese and I will vomit over your cabin. If you want that, then bring it on. But please, airlines, make more of an effort with your vegan meals by remembering them. I shouldn’t be just an afterthought, but as valued as any of your other, more carnivorous travellers.
Anyone else out there got any horror stories? Or if you care to leave a recommendation for airlines where you’ve had great on-board food then please do below!
Vegan Voyager 