carolinephillips

Not true in my case- they often don't have the meal I'd like- even when especially ordered. I think the god of pre-packed food hates me.

Singapore were good- even though I couldn't eat the substitute meal they offered when the one I ordered hadn't been put on the plane, they went up to first, and put together things that probably didn't contain gluten - rice and cheese mainly, but there was a plentiful supply of bananas which I used to keep hunger at bay, and the everlasting cup of tea. The staff couldn't have been nicer, which made up for the fact that the ground crew had cocked up by not putting on the special meal.

Japonica

Yeah, he must loathe me too. Last time I flew, three of my GF meals (two different flights) were missing. I was handed fruit instead. I wrote to the airline, but they said that although they try to honour special meal requests, it's not guaranteed, sorry about that.

Next time, I'm packing enough food (energy bars, instant soups and the like) to last for the trip in case any other meals have gone astray.

moneypenny20

When we flew back with Cathay in March, I preordered GF meals for Tiddler. By the second leg she decided she'd rather have stomach issues in a few hours rather than suffer soggy cardboard again. What I can't work out is why the food always smells feral but if you're brave enough to eat it, it's not toooooo bad.

I wish they'd use their common sense though. Boarding a flight in Brissie at 00:50 tells me that everyone on board will have had dinner and just want to get their heads down. Don't serve up a full meal at 2am, it's pointless and irritating.

itigo

They do that because they have to serve the main meal quickly while it's still warm and fresh apparently.

Since I've been gluten free I've flown twice. Qantas was by far the best. There was tonnes of food and it was all interesting and tasty. On the HKG-LHR leg my Dad actually said he wished he'd had mine instead of a normal one.

Malaysian was a bit different. On the outward trip it was ok I guess but a bit boring. On the domestic flight the people in my row had GF too and we all got the giggles at the soggy roast veg on rice cracker combo. On the way back I don't really remember it but know I wasn't overly impressed.

But they've always had food. I always take some snacks of my own just in case, and tend to do the same for the kids.

tomar

As an ex hostie I'd better not tell you all some of the things that go on in the galley!!!
Have eaten muck on lots of different airlines and survived, my main complaint is that I don't eat red meat and no airline can cope with that request up to now.
I seem to get served only vegetarian and then it's almost always curry or curry. Not my first choice ever let alone for breakfast, so have learnt to always have something with me that I can eat.
Not sure if I'm allowed to post this without upsetting anyone, but husband worked for Royal Brunei for years, and we always sent the kids back to school in UK with ham sandwiches as they found the food a bit unpalatable at times and liked the back up.

moneypenny20

We liked the RB food when we used them a few years back.

TheEmperorIsNaked

This has probably been answered a thousand times, and I acknowledge is showing here..but:

Just to clarify: we can carry food on board? I am flying Singers to Manchester, and won't order my low fibre special meals; I can just sift out the fibre stuff, but a bit of back up tucker would be handy.

Any advice on this would be appreciated.

BadgeIsBack

Well, what could they do apart from pick it up from the floor, and or add bodily fluids...I have seen no worse. What goes into it at source is another thing.

As I flew last night, I can now tell you that my past contribution to this thread has jinxed me...I can also now post in the spirit of the 'First World problem' thread...

The beef I had last night was chewy, offset by a nice little cereal bar.
Still, I'm sure the preparers had good intentions.

I did, however, have a bulkhead aisle seat so was able to fly in comfort.

tomar

No probably wasn't all bad, but after 9 years of the same food, flying more times than I care to remember the novelty had worn off. Most of the school kids just enjoyed having something from home while they were flying back to school, bit of comfort food.

Pomster

The post about Pan Am reminded me...
I went to Houston for business. Qantas Business Class was great.
Delta from LAX to Houston was supposedly first class (but like economy in the real world).
Me to hostie: I have a vegetarian meal ordered.
Hostie: we don't do anything other than beef, to save costs. We have to meet our budget.

I was so glad my employer paid extra money to help them save costs. The message was delivered rudely too- US airlines are the pts.