Vegan airplane food

[bradders]

Virgin atlantic spinach and wheat risotto was delish but not enough of it and they don't do soya milk for tea

[bradders]

I will say one thing, order your meal at the travel agent and check again with the airline. The reason I say this is when my mum ordered a diabetic meal the agent just cancelled the meals and they were left on a five hour flight with not so much as a glass of juice and when I booked my flight I requested a vegan meal, the agent had put it through as no meal but thankfully this was sorted out in advance by checking with the airline.

[mariana]

Virgin atlantic spinach and wheat risotto was delish but not enough of it and they don't do soya milk for tea

Agreed! That stuff was good. And they even gave me vegan margarine (labelled with the Vegan Society label and everything ).

[Roxy]

I will say one thing, order your meal at the travel agent and check again with the airline. The reason I say this is when my mum ordered a diabetic meal the agent just cancelled the meals and they were left on a five hour flight with not so much as a glass of juice and when I booked my flight I requested a vegan meal, the agent had put it through as no meal but thankfully this was sorted out in advance by checking with the airline.

Yes, definitely a good idea. When I book the flight I check, and double check with the agent and then triple check with the airline a couple of days prior to leaving.

[bradders]

I'd say a week before to be honest.
I also recommend paying for an extra portion in advance as portions they give are always far too small

[harpy]

As well as checking in advance, they used to recommend also asking whether your meals were being loaded at the time of check-in. Not sure how you would do that though now that check-in is usually automated. Perhaps you could ask at the information desk?

Mind you I still take my own food to be on the safe side.

[bradders]

ditto, had sandwiches the last time, home made going to NYC and three yummy club sandwiches from TeaNY coming back!

[Quantum Mechanic]

As well as checking in advance, they used to recommend also asking whether your meals were being loaded at the time of check-in. Not sure how you would do that though now that check-in is usually automated. Perhaps you could ask at the information desk?

Mind you I still take my own food to be on the safe side.

Yeah, I took my own food (I didn't pre-order a special meal anyway, so I wasn't expecting anything from there). This turned out to be good for several reasons - turned out my flight was cancelled, so I had to stay overnight at the airport (so if I had relied on the catered food, then I wouldn't have had a dinner or breakfast), and I also brought some larabars that I used for breakfast the next morning. Also, it turned out that they only let you pay with a credit or debit card, and I don't have either, so that's another good thing!

[!!]

I have just got back from a trip to Colorado with BA, and on the way out there the food was good. All marked with the ingredients and all the 'standard' sides were vegan too, not just the main part. (had tomato pasta for one meal and hummus and falafel sarnies for the other). Came with dairy free stuff for coffee, vegan marked marg for the roll etc.

On the way back, it was a different story! Got the vegan main, along with dairy/egg everything else. The tray was different to everyone elses, but still wasn't vegan... ie a cake with egg in, bread roll with dairy in, kit kats, feta cheese salad... which makes me think they actually thought this stuff was vegan!

Letter writing time today I feel And I'll mention how good it was UK-USA but was crap USA-UK. Will let you all know of any responses.

[harpy]

Yes, that seems quite common. The catering people in the USA seem to know about vegans but the ones who assemble the trays (cabin crew?) often don't.

Please do let us know what they say. I think in the past airlines have resorted to saying that providing meals is an optional extra and a low priority compared with safety stuff (which it obviously is). But if they're going to go to the trouble of preparing vegan food at all they might as well finish the job.

[Gorilla]

yes very interesting, i'm flying Virgin Atlantic to Las Vegas in April, and from New York on the way back - i booked a vegan meal when i booked the tickets and i'm wondering what they'll end up serving me. the tickets were pretty expensive so if i don't get something decent i won't be happy i will be packing whatever foods i can though just in case (especially as i'm not holding out a lot of hope for vegan food in Las Vegas either).

[harpy]

Sorry, managed to post the same thing twice.

[horselesspaul]

Yes, that seems quite common. The catering people in the USA seem to know about vegans but the ones who assemble the trays (cabin crew?) often don't.

This must be fairly common since it has happened to me every bleedin' time I fly back from Lala land. That said, the fruit salad is awesomely fresh and not imported..

[bradders]

yes very interesting, i'm flying Virgin Atlantic to Las Vegas in April, and from New York on the way back - i booked a vegan meal when i booked the tickets and i'm wondering what they'll end up serving me. the tickets were pretty expensive so if i don't get something decent i won't be happy i will be packing whatever foods i can though just in case (especially as i'm not holding out a lot of hope for vegan food in Las Vegas either).

make sure to check that the airline knows that the meal is vegan.
agents have in the past just cancelled the normal meal and put a note that no-one will read saying vegan. Check your online options to make sure and give them a call. (I very nearly ended up without a meal and my parents ended up with none on a a flight to the canaries when she had requested a diabetic meal)

[harpy]

As already discussed I think, the acronym VGML is supposed to mean "vegan meal" in airline speak - the advice always used to be to look for that on the boarding pass (though it's a bit late by that stage). Not sure if it still works in these days of on-line check-ins and so on.

[Gorilla]

make sure to check that the airline knows that the meal is vegan.
agents have in the past just cancelled the normal meal and put a note that no-one will read saying vegan. Check your online options to make sure and give them a call. (I very nearly ended up without a meal and my parents ended up with none on a a flight to the canaries when she had requested a diabetic meal)

i didn't book through an agent - i booked it online on Virgin Atlantic's own website. i'm not quite sure what you mean as i haven't been on a plane for over six years i would imagine the procedure has changed a bit since then and i wasn't vegan then either (i was veggie and didn't have any problem getting a veggie meal).

As already discussed I think, the acronym VGML is supposed to mean "vegan meal" in airline speak - the advice always used to be to look for that on the boarding pass (though it's a bit late by that stage). Not sure if it still works in these days of on-line check-ins and so on.

no online check-in last time i flew either! i'm not a good flyer as it is and this is all making me feel nervous already

[horselesspaul]

i didn't book through an agent - i booked it online on Virgin Atlantic's own website. i'm not quite sure what you mean as i haven't been on a plane for over six years i would imagine the procedure has changed a bit since then and i wasn't vegan then either (i was veggie and didn't have any problem getting a veggie meal).



no online check-in last time i flew either! i'm not a good flyer as it is and this is all making me feel nervous already

I shouldn't worry, Virgin are usually pretty clued up. If you can, find a telephone number and ring to check a day before you travel. As has been mentioned, it may be too late at check-in time since they probably don't carry any "spare" vegan meals, at least this has been my experience (with American, a cheap but sh1t airline).

[harpy]

Relax, Gorilla (But perhaps take some emergency grub along so you don't have to worry about the meal aspect )

Sounds like a great trip - are you going to bus it across from Las Vegas to New York?

[bradders]

I will say it was Virgin I flew with the last time. You can log into their website and view your flight/ seat options and meal requests etc.

[clare155]

I had problems with Air New Zealand flying from London-Los Angeles-Fiji.... i was given things like scones and clotted cream, cheese and crackers, salad with creamy dressing, custardy cake, etc etc.... I was pretty hungry on the flights to say the least!!

I even checked with the airline repeatedly, and it said they were vegan meals on the slip that comes with the meal Im not sure what else I couldve done.....

[Gorilla]

thanks Paul and harpy i'm not too sure on the rules about what you can take on the plane - how much food are you allowed to bring and does it all have to be pre-packaged or anything?

i'm staying in Las Vegas for four nights for my friend's wedding (hopefully getting a bit of sight-seeing in while i'm there, the Grand Canyon etc), then flying to Vancouver to meet Roxy. i'll be there for another four nights before flying across to New York, staying there for three nights before flying back from there to Heathrow.

i'm looking forward to it overall but i've never been on such long flights before and i've never been away from home for such a long time before either. the flights to and from Vancouver shouldn't be too bad as i think they're only 2-3 hours so i won't starve if they don't have any food for me on those flights

eta: i know you can check your booking online Bradders, but that doesn't give me any confidence that they'll do what i've asked for.

that sounds awful Clare! did you complain to the airline?

[matt35mm]

I flew with Virgin from LAX to London and the vegan meal was fine except for the margarine, which had some milk powder or something in it.

ENJOY VEGAS! It's a ridiculous place where the alcohol is very cheap and the activities are very expensive! Don't drink too much and your wallet should stay fairly full (impaired judgement is how they git ya!). And April is a good time to go because it's way too hot in the summer and way too cold in the winter.

[bradders]

you can bring pretty much as much solid food as you want in the cabin on the condition that you eat every last bit of it but they can refuse to let you bring it at their discretion. Liquids are subject to the 100ml rules.

[Gorilla]

I flew with Virgin from LAX to London and the vegan meal was fine except for the margarine, which had some milk powder or something in it.

ENJOY VEGAS! It's a ridiculous place where the alcohol is very cheap and the activities are very expensive! Don't drink too much and your wallet should stay fairly full (impaired judgement is how they git ya!). And April is a good time to go because it's way too hot in the summer and way too cold in the winter.

thanks Matt i'm not in the least bit interested in gambling or shows... i'm actually wondering what i'll find to do while in Vegas apart from the wedding-related activities! did you find it easy to get vegan food (sorry slightly off-topic now)?

[harpy]

That sounds grand!

As regards what food you can take, you're safe with anything you buy after going through airport security (and you can usually find the odd hummus sandwich IME). If you bring stuff from home anything wettish is liable to be confiscated, but nuts and things should be OK.

There is some stuff on the BAA website and it lists the following as permitted in hand luggage:

Food
• Sandwiches
• Crisps
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Other solid foods

but these are not permitted:

Food
Any liquid-based food products in packets,
tubes, plastic or tin containers, for example:
• Pasta or any other foodstuffs in sauces,
gravies or other liquids
• Jams and syrups
• Sauces
• Pastes
• Yoghurts
• Soups (carton or otherwise)
• Stews or curry

You might want to read the whole thing sometime

http://www.baa.com/assets/B2CPortal/...sV1_220906.pdf

as they have these pesky regulations about cosmetics etc in hand luggage now

[Gorilla]

thanks very much Bradders and harpy, i'll look at that link

eta: oh dear, perhaps i'm stupid but that link has confused me even more - they seem to be saying you're not allowed to take make-up and toothpaste on the plane at all but that can't be right can it?!

[Zero]

You cannot take liquids, pastes or gels in your hand lugagge on planes flying to the USA, however the airlines usually give you a small tooth brush and some toothpaste, however I can't imagine the toothpaste will be vegan

[matt35mm]

thanks Matt i'm not in the least bit interested in gambling or shows... i'm actually wondering what i'll find to do while in Vegas apart from the wedding-related activities! did you find it easy to get vegan food (sorry slightly off-topic now)?

Oh I haven't been there for 5 years, so before I was vegan. The main form of eating will be buffets, but the options will probably not be very interesting.

Try this:
http://www.happycow.net/north_americ...ada/las_vegas/

[harpy]

thanks very much Bradders and harpy, i'll look at that link

eta: oh dear, perhaps i'm stupid but that link has confused me even more - they seem to be saying you're not allowed to take make-up and toothpaste on the plane at all but that can't be right can it?!

Sorry to confuse matters. This page is more up-to-date regarding cosmetics etc

http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyo...rportsecurity/

As they explain, you can take containers with up to 100ml of toothpaste etc in your hand luggage and you have to take them out and put them in a plastic bag to go through security. That's what I've had to do recently (haven't been to the US in the past couple of years though). You can put larger containers of cosmetics etc in your checked luggage.

I think the BAA page may still be right re food though.

[horselesspaul]

Sorry to confuse matters. This page is more up-to-date regarding cosmetics etc

http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyo...rportsecurity/

As they explain, you can take containers with up to 100cl of toothpaste etc in your hand luggage and you have to take them out and put them in a plastic bag to go through security. That's what I've had to do recently (haven't been to the US in the past couple of years though). You can put larger containers of cosmetics etc in your checked luggage.

I think the BAA page may still be right re food though.

100ml

[harpy]

100ml

Oh yes - sorry - have corrected

[Zero]

Ah yes thats right the clear plastic bag thing, I had forgotten about that.

[Gorilla]

Oh I haven't been there for 5 years, so before I was vegan. The main form of eating will be buffets, but the options will probably not be very interesting.

Try this:
http://www.happycow.net/north_americ...ada/las_vegas/

ah i see, thanks for the link (there are a couple of threads on here about food in Vegas too which i will have to study carefully, too).

Sorry to confuse matters.

i'm sure it's just me being thick

so you can take 100ml toiletries/cosmetics in a plastic bag with hand luggage, and pack larger ones in your suitcase that goes in the hold?

[Sloth]

thanks Matt i'm not in the least bit interested in gambling or shows... i'm actually wondering what i'll find to do while in Vegas apart from the wedding-related activities! did you find it easy to get vegan food (sorry slightly off-topic now)?

I think I may be able to help a little here (possibly) as I was in Vegas a few months ago for about 5 days. Although it may depend upon which hotel you're staying in, where exactly you go etc, I was quite pleasantly surprised, as I was expecting the whole thing to be fairly nightmarish in terms of finding food. The breakfast menu had a choice of oatmeal with soymilk, various fruit platters, or some toast type things. The vast majority of food places will have vegetarian meals on their menus, and you can practically always ask them to modify things or leave things out and this won't be treated as any kind of problem. The shop in the hotel/casino that I was staying in stocked Luna bars, which I liked so much that I brought some back. If your hotel stocks these, I would recommend keeping a couple on you while you're out exploring in case of emergencies (food emergencies? I don't know...)
I also found that most of the gas stations stocked fresh fruit and trail mix, so even if everything else goes all to hell, you won't starve.
You'll have a great time as long as you take Vegas for what it is and appreciate the insanity.

[Gorilla]

thanks Sloth, i'm not sure i'll enjoy Vegas that much tbh as it's really not my thing but it's my friend's choice of wedding location so i don't have a choice other than not going! i'm booked at New York New York, purely because it's cheap and my friend (who's veggie) is also staying there.

[ellaminnowpea]

so you can take 100ml toiletries/cosmetics in a plastic bag with hand luggage, and pack larger ones in your suitcase that goes in the hold?

Yep. I think you have to have clear bottles though... I bought those empty trial size ones to fill them up with my own shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Then put them all into one big clear ziploc bag. You'll probably have to take it out of your carry-on luggage for the security people to inspect it. You can bring as much stuff as possible in your checked luggage. Just make sure to bring your prescriptions with you on the carry-on, they've lost my bags a few times for a week or so.

I always bring water with me, especially on long flights. In the US, I empty out a 1 L bottle when I go through security. Then I fill it back up with water at the gate. The last few times they didnt say anything at the gate.

I checked on a vegan meal through the airline's website and called them... BA got the meal perfectly. The last few American airlines didn't. I'd bring food! I also asked for some fruit and extra peanuts. I'm not sure about coming into the US with a European passport, but I have noticed that they never check out the food I bring into the US from other countries.

Most of the food I have bought at airports within the US are trail mix, fruit/nut bars, hummus sandwiches, fruit salads, plain salads w/ meat taken off... It's not too bad. Plus, we don't have e-numbers, just write out what the ingredient is, so that should make it easier.

Food in Vegas is mostly buffets, like everyone else said. It's not too bad... lost os choices. The hotels are massive, so they have lots of choices.

You won't have any trouble finding lots of awesome food in NYC!

[veganbikerboy]

yes very interesting, i'm flying Virgin Atlantic to Las Vegas in April, and from New York on the way back - i booked a vegan meal when i booked the tickets and i'm wondering what they'll end up serving me. the tickets were pretty expensive so if i don't get something decent i won't be happy i will be packing whatever foods i can though just in case (especially as i'm not holding out a lot of hope for vegan food in Las Vegas either).

I flew to St Lucia with virgin atlantic about 7yrs ago and the vegan food on the way there was really good.

However, on the return flight it wasnt so good (i cant remember now, but i know i couldnt eat the main meal bit). Apparently, this was because the food was prepared at the airport where the plane leaves from (as you'd expect) so it is based on the local understanding of 'vegan' it wasnt just me, one of our 'party' was diabetic and he was served alot of stuff he couldnt eat either. I suspect 7yrs on they will be alot better and i'm sure you wont have a problem.

two years ago i flew with US Airways and had good food both ways!

[veganbikerboy]

yes very interesting, i'm flying Virgin Atlantic to Las Vegas in April, and from New York on the way back - i booked a vegan meal when i booked the tickets and i'm wondering what they'll end up serving me. the tickets were pretty expensive so if i don't get something decent i won't be happy i will be packing whatever foods i can though just in case (especially as i'm not holding out a lot of hope for vegan food in Las Vegas either).

I flew to St Lucia with virgin atlantic about 7yrs ago and the vegan food on the way there was really good.

However, on the return flight it wasnt so good (i cant remember now, but i know i couldnt eat the main meal bit). Apparently, this was because the food was prepared at the airport where the plane leaves from (as you'd expect) so it is based on the local understanding of 'vegan' it wasnt just me, one of our 'party' was diabetic and he was served alot of stuff he couldnt eat either. I suspect 7yrs on they will be alot better and i'm sure you wont have a problem.

two years ago i flew with US Airways and had good food both ways!

[kriz]

Hi, Gorilla,

I don't like Las Vegas myself, but my relatives always like to go there while visiting me so the place is unavoidable. I wish I knew the fascination with it.
Anyway, I just go shopping instead of running around in casinos watching tourists. I like The Fashion Show Mall at the end of the strip. They also have a Subway (sandwich shop) where you can order a yummy veggie sub.
You shouldn't have any big problems with vegan food in Vegas.

For long flights I like to download vegan podcasts which keeps me distracted enough during the trip - music alone is doesn't do it for hours at end.

[mariana]

Do you really have to eat everything you bring on the plane with you? I almost always have extra food in my bag that I don't eat and they never said anything to me. Also, re buying food after passing through airport security, I wouldn't count on it. At O'Hare all the restaurants are prior to security so once you pass through security there aren't many options for food (though I have found a small stand that sold crisps, trail mix, and Oreos). I'm pretty sure the international terminal at Heathrow had a similar setup, but don't recall if the food places were before or after security (even though it's only been a month since I last flew out of Heathrow, I don't remember ). Bottom line is, I'd advise bringing a few food items with you.

I wouldn't worry too much, though. I've flown with Virgin Atlantic several times now and they've been great. The first time they actually forgot to pack my meal (though really I think it was just a mix-up since they'd upgraded me and the seat number on the label was not the seat number where I was sitting, but the stewardess didn't seem to understand me when I tried to explain that), but they were really nice and made me a special meal of baked beans on a jacket potato, a salad of field greens, tomato, sweet potato, and dried cranberries, and a fruit salad. If they hadn't done that for me I don't know what I would have done as I'd only packed a few Larabars in case of emergency. The other times I've flown with them my vegan meal was always vegan, aside from non-vegan margarine coming out of Chicago (but they even gave me Vegan Society approved margarine flying out of Heathrow). They've also upgraded me twice, once to Premium Economy and another time to first class, so I really like Virgin Atlantic. Oh, but the snacks they give out on Virgin are not vegan (no peanuts )--sour cream pretzels. Flying out of Heathrow I believe they also gave out ice cream as an afternoon snack. On an unrelated note, at Heathrow they have two security checkpoints--one where they check your hand luggage, coat, etc, and another where you take off your shoes and have them scanned (in the States they usually just have one checkpoint, so I ended up prematurely removing my shoes ). They're also really thorough at Heathrow (much more than in the States, in my experiences)--they check you a second time just before you board. I don't know if I was randomly chosen or if they did it to everyone passing through, but they gave me the most thorough search I've ever experienced (they even made me take out my laptop battery and show it to them and searched my wallet).

Anyway, have a good time and hope your flight goes well.

[bradders]

you don't have to eat it all up but if they say anything about it (re importation of food stuffs) then you just say you'll ea it all.

[mariana]

you don't have to eat it all up but if they say anything about it (re importation of food stuffs) then you just say you'll ea it all.

Ah, I see. Sneaky! I like.

[Sloth]

thanks Sloth, i'm not sure i'll enjoy Vegas that much tbh as it's really not my thing but it's my friend's choice of wedding location so i don't have a choice other than not going! i'm booked at New York New York, purely because it's cheap and my friend (who's veggie) is also staying there.

Well I stayed at the New York New York too, so all the things I mentioned before should be pretty accurate. I was trying to be positive about Vegas as I don't like to be all down about things that people are going to do...It wasn't really my idea of a wonderful place either though!

[Gorilla]

thanks for all the comments everyone.

it's worrying that a few of you have heard about diabetics not getting the right meals, it's a lot more important for them to eat properly!

i'm flying from Gatwick on the way out... i seem to remember all the shops being before security, so you can't buy anything after you go through (i remember being horribly bored after checking in because there was nothing to do but sit in the lounge until your flight was called). perhaps that's changed now?

glad to hear you've had good experiences with Virgin mariana - you've made me wish i hadn't paid for Premium Economy tickets though!

thanks for the tips kriz and ella that's a coincidence that you stayed at NYNY too Sloth - thanks for the tips there too, i'm not so worried about getting food there now.

[harpy]

Here's some info about departure lounge facilities in the South Terminal - I think that's where Virgin Atlantic flies from? http://www.gatwick-airport-guide.co....res-facilities ETA also http://www.v-flyer.com/lgw.asp

I haven't taken a transatlantic flight from Gatwick in living memory but other airports I've been to lately have a reasonable number of food shops/caffs after security - possibly more than before because of the difficulty of taking stuff through security?

[Gorilla]

thanks very much harpy, very helpful i see they still advise checking in 3 hours in advance - i hate sitting around in the airport for ages, it just gets me more nervous

[harpy]

If you set yourself a challenging task (like listing all the vegan food on sale in the departure lounge for us ) the time will flash by. Actually there is so much messing about involved in flying these days that it does take up a lot of time - putting your stuff in little bags, having your shoes x-rayed etc. Every cloud, etc.

Come to think of it I'm flying from Gatwick soon and it may be the South Terminal so I'll let you know how I get on.

[Gorilla]

^ i think i will have to do that, thanks

do please let us know what it's like if you go, i find things less intimidating if i have an idea of what to expect. i see the v-flyer website says there are shops after security and a 'Clubhouse' which is 'a friendly haven away from the bustle of the main terminal', apparently.

[mariana]

glad to hear you've had good experiences with Virgin mariana - you've made me wish i hadn't paid for Premium Economy tickets though!

Well maybe you'll get upgraded to first class!

[1gentlemaorispirit]

It's been pretty hit and miss, with more misses. I take sandwiches with crips, fruit and nuts and an extra bottle of water, as some airlines are reluctant to spare it unless used to tea and coffee.

The best airlines for vegan food are: Virgin, Qantas, Cathay Pacific and KLM were very good, although I have heard others with dietry requirements haven't been so fortunate with them.