GeezerCouple

Very nice summary/comparison of the two policies!

GC

CDTraveler

Right idea, wrong wording. My travel companion and I both have major dietary restrictions, including celiac disease and allergies diagnosed by a doctor with 2 rounds of testing to confirm them - i.e. NOT a fad diet for either of us. It's pretty common for us to travel with peanut butter on GF bread sandwiches - because they don't spoil - and if I had heard that announcement, I would have had a quiet word with the FA explaining that we, too, have special medical needs and how far away is the passenger with the nut allergy? If that person was close by, I might ask for a seat change because for my companion going without eating for 10 hours flying time + the time spent in the airport/security + travel time to the airport would result in hypoglycemia, which is a serious problem for him. Either way, under the ACAA air carriers have a duty to provide "reasonable accommodation" to people with disabilities, and celiac can be considered a disability in limited circumstances, so I would politely insist the FA find a way for both the person with nut allergies and us to both be accommodated.

CDTraveler

Not quite, and this is something we have extensive personal experience with. If you have an allergy to dogs, a service dog takes priority, an ESA or pet does not. However, if you have stated that you have a dog allergy and request not to be seated near one at the gate, having already notified the airline in advance and having it on your record, then in order to fly you may be asked to:

1. provide documentation of the dog allergy
2. show the GA that you have antihistamines with you
3. show the GA that you have a rescue inhaler with you
4. show the GA that you have Epi-pens with you.

If you do not have all these things with you, the GA and whatever first level manager comes above them will strongly suggest the whole problem is your fault, that you should take a later flight (no guarantee it won't have dogs) and yes, you have pay $$$$ to make the change. AA gate staff in Seattle, we still hate you.

GeezerCouple

Thanks. We are in this situation, and DH's celiac was diagnosed late and had already caused damage. It's definitely not a "fad" for us.
And I have a different allergy, to a common ingredient, so I always need to have a backup, as that ingredient can show up in as a garnish anywhere, or be pureed and not immediately visible, etc.
So we ALWAYS bring aboard some nut-based snacks, as those don't spoil. Kind bars are especially perfect for DH, but so are any sort of nut-type food.

You've given us some good wording to keep in mind.
We'd never even heard of a "nut free" flight.
When we traveled on a short flight with a wee grand who was highly allergic to peanuts, we obviously didn't have any of our regular snacks with us, and they boarded first and did the "wipe-down" routine. And they've got the Benedryl and Epi-Pens handy, of course, just in case. IBack then, it never occurred to us to have the flight declared nut-free just for him/us.
Interestingly, he's going through desensitization, and there was just more research written up this past week about that type of preventive treatment.

What does someone like that do on a public bus, or a movie theatre or a restaurant, etc.?

GC

defrosted

Wow. I mean objectively I can see that nobody needs nuts to function where a service animal is required (ignoring the ESA thing) for someone to function. However it seems ludicrous that a severe nut allergy and a severe pet dander allergy would be treated differently.

ijgordon

Well of course, the wording in the post was for dramatic effect.

ijgordon

Well, I think we could still debate prioritizing even a true service animal over a paying passenger, but I think the fact is there is a greater prevalence of ESAs than true service animals (and maybe a few actually paid the pet fee? ). But I suppose the question is whether a similar list is required of someone with a food allergy? I haven't heard of it. And for that matter, AA doesn't make any promises regarding nut allergies.

FWIW, it looks like DL's official policy is to not serve nuts if notified (no deadline specified), but they "cannot guarantee a peanut- or nut-free flight or prohibit other customers from carrying nut products aboard."

acrophobia

I’m pretty skeptical of the need to ban all nuts on a flight because of an allergy. If ambient exposure to nuts is enough to trigger a reaction, there is going to be a reaction in any event, because the planes aren’t exactly deep cleaned between flights.

airforcefamily

airforcefamily

CDTraveler

Just to clarify, it's not a dog dander allergy. It's a severe allergy to everything doggy - dander, saliva, etc. There are some places we just don't go because of it.

defrosted

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you. All I was saying that giving them the benefit of the doubt and ignoring that point, who gets to decide which allergies are the ones that are important? I mean who decided a nut allergy can ban nuts from a plane, but a dog allergy means tough luck take another flight?

Makes an even better point. I just thought of the dander because I know people with certain breathing problems have issues with dander, which like peanut dust can "be circulating in the air system" like the dreaded peanut dust that causes the entire plane to be nut free. Yet they tell the pet allergy person to sit somewhere else. Completely illogical.

ijgordon

The airlines have decided, apparently. And based on my posts from above also, I agree it's completely illogical.

WillBarrett_68

It's not illogical when you consider the consequences of not having nuts on a particular flight versus making a passenger take a different flight plus the difference in headache for the employees to have to deal with people.

It's zero cost to say "no peanuts" and it's high cost to argue with a parent. It's high cost to reroute a passenger with a service animal.

CDTraveler

Especially when the airlines think they can get away forcing the person with a severe dog allergy to pay $$$ to change their flight. That's why I now carry copies of relevant portions of the ACAA and ADA when we travel.