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FAQ: Air Canada New meal offerings for International Business Class Customers

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FAQ: Air Canada New meal offerings for International Business Class Customers

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Old Apr 7, 2019, 1:43 pm
  #2476  
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Originally Posted by Mustang Sally
+1. The shellfish obsession is absurd for those of us who can't eat it. It's not an uncommon allergy - why can't they provide an alternative?
I've actually been astonished at times looking at the menus to see a common ingredient in every option.

Shellfish, mushrooms, etc.

Don't put the same thing in every option, or you're going to have unhappy customers.

At least on international they plate it themselves, so there's a much better chance that you can have them prepare yours without some component. Or mix and match between the four options.
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Old Apr 7, 2019, 2:52 pm
  #2477  
 
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
I've actually been astonished at times looking at the menus to see a common ingredient in every option.

Shellfish, mushrooms, etc.

Don't put the same thing in every option, or you're going to have unhappy customers.
As someone with BOTH a fish and mushroom allergy, I can't agree more.

Even special meal options such as bland meal are a coin toss of being fish or chicken.

The noodle entrees usually have mushrooms and nondisclosed oyster sauce, and many of the instant cup noodle are topped with shrimp, seaweed or oyster sauce.

If AC's 286 computer network can't get meal preordering done in J, at least do what LH does and offer a special meal code NFML (no fish meal).
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Old Apr 7, 2019, 6:01 pm
  #2478  
 
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The isn't a SPML that avoids my allergies.
They don't tell what the special meals ARE, just what they're not (not dairy, not meat) or what food style (Asian, kids). If you're allergic to peppers, say, there's nothing the SPML system can do for you.
Rouge meals tend to be all peppers, all the time. It's like they've adopted peppers as their mascot.
If you tell me what's going to be on the menu, I can plan. If you let me preorder, I can plan AND have a meal served that I can eat, whine about, or both, like everybody else.
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Old Apr 8, 2019, 6:58 am
  #2479  
 
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Originally Posted by The Lev
Flew AC5 today from YUL-NRT. It has been a couple of years since I've flown in J to Japan. Ordered the Japanese meal and whil it was tasty, it didn't seem to be as varied and as nicely presented as it used to be on flights from YYZ or Japan.

For those who fly the route regularly I'm curious whether this was a function of leaving from YUL or has AC downgraded the Japanese J meal?

Sorry no pictures as my phone was packed away.
Having flown all routes ex-Canada to Tokyo many times, I would never order the Japanese meal while departing Canada. Its just not in the same league as the Japanese meal departing from Tokyo.

While it may better ex-YYZ than ex-YUL, neither of those will be as good as any of the flights departing Japan.

So my guess is the meal is still as good, its just not as good from certain Canadian airports.
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Old Apr 8, 2019, 2:39 pm
  #2480  
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@Plumber, I agree that the Japanese meal is better ex-Japan but even ex-Canada I still find it better than the overcooked hockey puck and other offering from the "regular" menu.
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Old Apr 8, 2019, 3:13 pm
  #2481  
 
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Originally Posted by The Lev
@Plumber, I agree that the Japanese meal is better ex-Japan but even ex-Canada I still find it better than the overcooked hockey puck and other offering from the "regular" menu.
lol. Good point. Had not thought of it in that way!!
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 11:51 am
  #2482  
 
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Originally Posted by svirac
Am I missing something? If you have a food allergy, you can always order a special meal request - isn’t that the point? So if you’re allergic to shellfish, you can request special or you can do regular and take your chances.
I for instance have a dairy allergy so I either order NLML or vegan or veg. I’ve occasionally on Asian-bound or return flights gone regular and take the Asian option as they tend to be dairy free. But that’s a dice roll and it’s sometimes led to SOL situations. But that’s on me, and I deal.
I guess my point is if you expect there to be non-shellfish options in the regular meal, should I expect dairy-free options? What about gluten-free? Again, hence special meals.
What special meal should I have to order? Low calorie, low fat, low lactose, low salt? Kosher? Diabetic? Vegetarian?

I'm just allergic to shellfish and would prefer to have an alternate appetizer choice. And that's something Air Canada currently doesn't offer. (And yes, I just called in and asked).
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 3:04 pm
  #2483  
 
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Originally Posted by Mustang Sally
What special meal should I have to order? Low calorie, low fat, low lactose, low salt? Kosher? Diabetic? Vegetarian?

I'm just allergic to shellfish and would prefer to have an alternate appetizer choice. And that's something Air Canada currently doesn't offer. (And yes, I just called in and asked).
Agree. Having to have a Vegan meal because of a single food allergy = bring own food.
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 5:30 pm
  #2484  
 
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And there are vegetables that bother me far more than most meat.
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Old Apr 9, 2019, 5:40 pm
  #2485  
 
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Originally Posted by Mustang Sally
What special meal should I have to order? Low calorie, low fat, low lactose, low salt? Kosher? Diabetic? Vegetarian?

I'm just allergic to shellfish and would prefer to have an alternate appetizer choice. And that's something Air Canada currently doesn't offer. (And yes, I just called in and asked).
Honestly, I would either have a nice relaxed meal at the airport with a glass of wine or arrange for a take out from said resto and board with it. After my last experiences with the "Hawksworth Inspired" catering on board, I'm taking matters into my own hands! And I don't have the complications of food allergies....
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Old Apr 10, 2019, 8:03 am
  #2486  
 
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Originally Posted by Mustang Sally
What special meal should I have to order? Low calorie, low fat, low lactose, low salt? Kosher? Diabetic? Vegetarian?

I'm just allergic to shellfish and would prefer to have an alternate appetizer choice. And that's something Air Canada currently doesn't offer. (And yes, I just called in and asked).
I would say yes, those are your options from a shellfish allergy perspective, unfortunately they don't have ones (yet?) for other allergies like shellfish, mushrooms, etc. I have a dairy allergy and have to typically do Vegan or Veg or NLML depending on the carrier (some NLML are no dairy, some are "low-lactose" which doesn't work for me), and even with NLML, it usually ends up being overboard and basically the same thing as the Vegan/Gluten-free meal, but all I really need is no cheese on the salad, for instance, not a wholesale replacement of the meal, which is similar to your situation from what I gather. You just want an alternative for the shellfish app - I often find myself in the same boat - it's just one item from the regular meal that has some dairy in it. So I get it. I'm just saying that's the current options available, so you have to work within. Maybe I should complain more, but I guess I gave up.
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Old Apr 10, 2019, 4:55 pm
  #2487  
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Originally Posted by The Lev
@Plumber, I agree that the Japanese meal is better ex-Japan but even ex-Canada I still find it better than the overcooked hockey puck and other offering from the "regular" menu.
Yep. I just order the Japanese Meal both directions.
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Old Apr 11, 2019, 5:33 am
  #2488  
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I had the Japanese meal on my return flight on Tuesday and also found it to also be a bit of a downgrade from what I had remembered being offered previously but still better than the regular J menu.
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Old Apr 11, 2019, 9:42 am
  #2489  
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Originally Posted by The Lev
I had the Japanese meal on my return flight on Tuesday and also found it to also be a bit of a downgrade from what I had remembered being offered previously but still better than the regular J menu.
Which part was downgraded?
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Old Apr 11, 2019, 6:28 pm
  #2490  
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Originally Posted by yyznomad
Which part was downgraded?
The initial tray of multiple appetizers are now all served in uniform boring small white bowls and soya sauce is now in a packet. Might have just been the presentation, but felt like there were fewer items than previously.
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