r415

Definitely bring your own food. Sometimes even if a steak may have no sauce on it, it was cooked using some light basting sauce that contains bits of wheat or soy, but there may not be a visual indication. Likewise, even the seasoning put on nuts, etc., sometimes has small amounts of soy or wheat in it. I don't know about the AA nuts specifically, but do you really want to take that chance with your health? Maybe if there's a separately packaged piece of fruit, especially something like a banana (which has a convenient natural wrapper), or vegetables that haven't been treated or sauteed with anything, but I wouldn't go beyond that.

Eliza

Right. Exactly. People who deal with serious food intolerances know about all of these things and deal with them all the time. I was just trying to provide some more visible examples to explain to the uninitiated. That's why having an FDA-compliant ingredients list or a specially-catered gluten-free meal is what I was hoping for to begin with.

Oh, what I wouldn't give to be in your friend's place

oldpenny16

I have a severe allergy to shell fish. I travel a great deal. I do not depend on AA for meals. I bring along my own food and seriously look over what is offered to me by the flight attendant. I usually take the dessert, bread and sometimes a salad but never the salad dressing (often contain shell fish). Now and then I will trust a meat dish, but never a fish dish as shell fish are often in the sauce.

It isn't fun, but it works for me.

British Airways has twice failed to load my special meal and on one of the flgiths out of LHR, both meal options had shell fish. I ended up with a meal of bread and cheese with a chocolate bar for 'afters'.

The airline that has given me the best and most reliable meal service is Singapore. Second to that is Qantas.

Chamor

Any views on whether the "special meals" (kosher, vegetarian, or whatever else is offered) tend to be better or worse (transatlantic, J class) than the regular choices. Of course, I realize that taste is subjective -- depends what one likes to eat -- but for upcoming flights I am trying to figure out whether to wait and order from the menu or request in advance some special meal (and, if so, which one). Advice? Thanks.

skylady

If you are going strictly on taste, order off the menu. If you actually have special dietary needs, you may want to order appropriately.

sukn

There is no consistency to the AA special meals. They vary from route to route and will vary in quality and taste. So best to stick to the menu.

Most international flights have a choice of four entrées for the main dinner service, and two choices for any services after that.

The choice of the four entrées will usually consist of beef/lamb/chicken/seafood/pasta.

brp

I'd say "If you are going strictly on taste"...eat at the airport before you get on the plane.

Kidding, actually. I've found AA's food offerings to be pretty good of late, all things considered.

Cheers.

dia1

From my observations it would seem that if you don't need to inconvenience the AA-contracted catering squad or FAs by ordering special meals, it would be best not to. It's a different matter if you really need to.

elitetraveler

AA in the 80s and 90s had an extensive and very good Special Meals menu, close to a pre-curson of SQ's 'Book the Cook.' The rather long menu included an excellent Seafood Platter and very good fruit plate. As I recall they were available in both F and Y.

Today AA has perhaps one of the worst special meals offerings in the industry.

rjw242

Does AA lump all vegetarians into the "vegan" category to simplify their special meals? I remember this from my United (and vegetarian, but still cheese-loving) days. No airline meal has depressed me more than the slab of unseasoned tofu on a dry bun they somehow saw fit to serve me once.

Efrem

Reportedly requesting one can keep you from getting an operational or other last-minute upgrade. I don't know if that's true, but it's been claimed several times. So, if you don't require the special meal for medical, religious, ethical, etc., reasons, that might be a reason not to order one if you think you might be at or near the top of the list for one of those.

Eliza

On a AA LHR-JFK, my special meal didn't stop me from getting an op-up. I just had to make sure with the cabin crew that the meal made the move from coach to business with me.

That being said, I wouldn't request a special meal unless you actually need it. On some flights, I've wondered whether I'd be better off eating actual cardboard. On a couple of flights on different airlines, my (medically necessary) special meal was lumped in with the no salt meal, which didn't make for very enjoyable eating for me.

sukn

Yes, AA does lump all vegetarians into the "vegan" category, so be warned. As an example, I know of a passenger who was served rice and steamed vegetables in Y on a BOS-LHR flight.

r415

I've seen it in J on a TATL flight too. Note that lumping all vegetarians into the vegan category wouldn't be such a horrible thing if they actually catered some decent vegan food (go to a nice restaurant in SF or NYC sometime if you don't think this exists), there's certainly a lot more they can do than simply rice/veggies/tofu. 10 years ago, they actually did have decent special meals of many types, including vegan, so it is possible for them to do, but nowadays it seems like any (albeit minimal) effort put into making menu options presentable/edible, goes into the mainstream menu, and the special meals are largely ignored (I'm talking international J/F, even forgetting about domestic transcons and international Y).

It's pretty crazy when one of the normal meal options consist of a salad, and reasonable breaded chicken thingy, and the veg special meal consists of a very slightly larger salad.

rjw242

They also make the common mistake of assuming all vegetarians are health-conscious. Instead of paying $10 to catering for the aforementioned miserable tofu sandwich on a short hop, pay 99 cents for a fun-size bag of Doritos and you'll make my day