pennywern

We're about to make a long, long trip to the USA and there's a transatlantic leg on Delta. It's been many years since I've flown any US-based carrier but my experiences in the past have generally been miserable.

The new ingredient in the mix is that we have a 15-month old, and I don't think there's any practical way to keep enough of his usual eats (steamed veggies and meat, overcooked brown rice, yogurt) fresh for the entirety of the 30-hour door-to-door.

So we are going to have to rely on Delta's catering for those last 8 hours. We're a bit spoiled by the likes of EK, SQ, and MH, where there's a wide variety of children's offerings and the staff are quite creative and flexible about coming up with new options on the fly.

It looks like our options are "infant meal" and "child's meal". Has anyone ordered either of those on a Delta international flight recently, and if so, do you remember what was contained therein? Any insight would be greatly appreciated as we're taking off in a couple days and need to solidify our choice soon.

GalleyWench

Can't speak for Delta specifically, but the infant meals I've seen on transatlantic flights have been for lap children and consist of jarred baby food. The kids meals are more geared towards toddlers and older kids that are actually occupying a seat, and they have consisted of "kid fare", chicken tenders, hamburgers, hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly, etc. Does your son have his own seat where he can order his own special meal? You might also consider ordering a fruit plate or vegetarian for your or his meal and then "sharing".
Hope it works out for you!

ArizonaRoadWarrior

According to Delta's website, you need to call the airline at least 12 hours before your flight to order a special meal.

daregale

I fly Delta a lot and have never ordered or even seen the infant or child meal served. The menu options GalleyWench listed confirms my fears about what those meals likely consist of--the rather typical kid menu items that are ubiquitous rather than thoughtful. My two-year-old is generally fine with the regular meal.

Sounds like the best bet is to ask when you call to reserve the meal.

Eclipsepearl

I never fly Delta but we order Kosher when we fly. We're Jewish and just don't eat pork, but it's usually pretty "kid-friendly". You don't have to be kosher or even Jewish to order it. They also wrap everything separately so they can be tucked into seat pockets and eaten later.

If you opt for this, tell the F/A that you're not religious and that they can unwrap anything without your approval (we would have to "present" the meal to them, avoid that!)

I worked for another major airline and many of the parents complained that the children's meals were "greasy". Often, there was nothing fresh (i.e. salad) on them.

Be sure to mention it IF you reconfirm (I wouldn't call specifically for that but if you do...) at again at check-in.

Once ordered, it is your meal. You wont have the option of his taking a "normal" meal instead. You can ask if there are extra regular meals but you need to wait until everyone is served to see if there are any left.

If you opt to at least bring some of his familiar fare, remember that there are no microwaves on board. To reheat food, it needs to be in a sealed container that can go in a convection oven. Just wrapping it in aluminium foil will do the trick!

pennywern

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful. We don't normally feed him greasy stuff like chicken tenders, and he is still willing to eat pureed baby food, so maybe we'll just order the baby one, and then try to stir in some of the steamed stuff we made to add some texture and variety.

vicarious_MR'er

Yes, I agree with the others. The kids' meals we got when we fly are usually chicken nuggets, a slice of pizza, or a little pasta with red sauce.

if I were you and your child (as it sounds) is in that in-between stage where he will eat baby purees and also some table food, I'd go ahead and order the kids' meal but bring a couple jars of puree in your bag. That way your child can have the crackers and cookie and yogurt from the kids' meal (at least) but also be sure to have something on hand in case the main entree is inappropriate for your child or just plain not tasty.

Cellisttoo

The childrens meals on DL in the US are really icky. SEA to MSP my daughter got: 1 bag of chips, a plate of pancakes (without syrup), cookies, and some other carb that I don't recall. The FA was embarrassed.

MSP to HNL and HNL to NRT in business she got about 25 nuggets (no kidding we could have fed every kid on the plane from her meal- what a waste!!!), and other such greasy stuff. NRT to SIN in business she got the best kids meal ever. Fruits, vegetables, spaghetti, etc, etc, everything was bento box cute. Definitely worth it if you are in Business out of NRT.

I don't order her the kids meals domestically any more, we can usually pick out stuff she will eat from the regular adult offerings. She eats what we eat at home, so is used to this.

Be aware internationally that if you order special meals op-ups are out of the question. If you and the kid are an elite this always a possibility- wouldn't want to ruin your chances!.

JMezmur

We flew to France with our then 18 month old twins on Delta last fall. The kids meal was soggy chicken nuggets and tater tots

EricStratton

So I'm looking at a reservation we have coming up where my almost 4 year old rugrat will be flying with us and the choices for meals include infant, toddler, and child. The toddler option hasn't been covered in this thread but I'm guessing it is somewhere between mushed food in the infant meal and soggy nuggets in the child meal.

Any ideas on that? Also, if I just wanted to get him a fruit plate what option should I select from the ones listed above or is that not a possibility? We'll probably just pick him up some stuff from Chick-Fil-A in ATL since we know he will eat that but might as well try things out to report back to others for later use.

vicarious_MR'er

I can't speak to Delta specifically, but "toddler" meals are going to be more finger food-oriented, like PB&J sandwiches and chicken nuggets. "Child" meals will be slightly more sophisticated (read: may require a fork), like pizza, hamburger, or the ubiquitous chicken nuggets.

Cellisttoo

This has been our experience. HNL to SIN my daughter got 20 chicken nuggets and a HUGE bowl of fries- we were flying business elite, so apparently they decided that since we paid more, my 18 month old should get more. We had ordered the toddler meal. The worst was in domestic first (she scored an upgrade) when we ordered a toddler meal and received: 1 slice of toast, 2 waffles (with no syrup), a bag of potato chips, and some other carb that I cannot recall. It was so bad that the FA apologized. After these experiences we just go with the regular adult meal. They are more wholesome.

bostonbali

Any recent experience with DL's children's meals in DeltaOne Trans-atlantic?

I'm flying with my 4 year old to Europe in Business Class, wondering whether I should go for a regular meal or a toddler/child meal.
My son is a typical 4-year old - unpredictable. He may decide to be picky that day, or may decide to be adventurous...

Thanks for any recent experiences you can share!

icedancer

Is there a possibility of bringing squeeze-packs of food and snacks? They make them now in varieties that are more for the older baby as well as the new eater of solids -- I'm thinking Ella's Kitchen, which I know is sold in the US, UK, and elsewhere

http://www.ellaskitchen.com/ellas_ra...s-2-baby-food/
http://www.ellaskitchen.com/ellas_ra...oothie-fruits/

They have shelf-stable yogurt smoothies as well. They're not cheap as baby food goes, but it seems like some of the most nutritionally diverse and interesting stuff out there, and also gives you convenience for travel. Maybe test out a few varieties before you go to see what the little one likes the most?

icedancer

Apologies for doing two posts in a row, but I just now realized that the question about baby food went back to 2010(!), and the more recent question was pertaining to a 4-year old. In any case, the squeeze packs I think are still a decent option for toddlers, at least as more nutritious supplementation to an "airport food" main course.