When you travel, in a airplane, what do you do?

[andgbr]

Do you bring your own food, or do you make a request in the company's website?

[michaelhobson]

Both! I was very glad I brought my own food on my flight to England last summer, my initial domestic connection was delayed and I had to take a later trans-atlantic flight. Of course my vegan meal was on the flight I missed! I had a very nice vegan meal on the return flight. So, I would say order the vegan meal, but take your own too just in case.

[Aaron]

I've got a flight to rome coming up soon. Overnight to Philly then 12 hour layover then overnight to rome. Same plan on the way back. I put in a request for them to provide vegan meals but I'll probably pack my own as well.

 

I could use some tips for what to pack.

[andgbr]

I've got a flight to rome coming up soon. Overnight to Philly then 12 hour layover then overnight to rome. Same plan on the way back. I put in a request for them to provide vegan meals but I'll probably pack my own as well.

 

I could use some tips for what to pack.

 

vega?

and dried fruits?

 

 

Both! I was very glad I brought my own food on my flight to England last summer, my initial domestic connection was delayed and I had to take a later trans-atlantic flight. Of course my vegan meal was on the flight I missed! I had a very nice vegan meal on the return flight. So, I would say order the vegan meal, but take your own too just in case.

 

how does that work? i mean, you request something, how do they know that you're the one who wants vegan meal? ( I guess i'm too exhausted from studying to think now.. )

[finbarrio]

The meal will be assigned to your seat. The best part is that they bring all the special meals out first, so you'll get your meal before all the omnivores. And your meal will be waaay better than theirs (tho it still may suck).

[CollegeB]

Gee when I went to NYC. I brought about 30 clif bars, some of those small raw bars (LA BAR ???) and a few optimum nutriton cereal bars. Ohh and I had my water bottle which now they wont allow on the plane I guess. Cereal and nuts are also good. i guess if you want to spend more you can get some dehydrated veggies. I actually bought some powder which was fruit and veggies. really sweet stuff, put in an empty water bottle with water, shake drink, be nutritional.

[veganmadre]

Gee when I went to NYC. I brought about 30 clif bars, some of those small raw bars (LA BAR ???) and a few optimum nutriton cereal bars. Ohh and I had my water bottle which now they wont allow on the plane I guess. Cereal and nuts are also good. i guess if you want to spend more you can get some dehydrated veggies. I actually bought some powder which was fruit and veggies. really sweet stuff, put in an empty water bottle with water, shake drink, be nutritional.

 

Yeah, I was shocked last time I flew - Michael and I were only taking a weekend trip and it was a one-way flight. We just brought carry-on bags. We had to leave behind our deodorant, hair stuff and my diet coke. Yowsers. You can still pack these things, just can't bring them as a carry-on. We were stinky (ask potter) but still fun!

 

My point - careful with the carryons. I was majorly bummed at the time that I couldn't bring my diet coke (yay! I've been diet coke free for several months now!) on the plane. I guess water bottles are out, too. I don't think there would be a problem with bars, though.

[CollegeB]

Yeah should be no prob with food bars. The screener dude was digging around my bag and kept pulling out clif bars, it was a riot.

[DV]

I've had good and bad luck with airline travel, even when I've gone business or first class. American Airlines stop offering vegan meals 2 days before my return trip from Europe once - not that the company had informed the flight attendants or my travel agent. Even when I've called the day before to confirm my vegan request (made at time of ticket purchase) I have had airlines tell me they never received the request. Maybe I just have bad luck. Overall, non-American airlines tend to handle vegan meals better.

 

I now always pack trail mix, a sandwich, fresh veggies and fruit (if allowed). I also bring something like homemade muffins or quick bread for dessert. It takes a little planning when you are out of town for the return flight but I always try to find a health food store for prepared sandwiches, etc. Mostly, I eat before I leave and have something small on the plane. Of course this works best if you know you'll be having a nice vegan meal upon arrival at your destination.

[Odidnetne]

The last time I flew was from Florida to Philly on 8/19/06 and you can definitley have bars.

 

Aaron, post the date you fly, maybe I can be in Philly that day.

[Aaron]

I'm in Philly from 6:45 am to 6:30 pm or there abouts on Saturday. 12/16/06

[Astrocat]

I would do both.

 

I certainly wouldn;t trust British/United Airways to actually feed me real food rather than stuff with menstrual waste and other bodily fluids mixed into it.

 

If you want flight-food, i would also advise phoning them before you leave for the flight, to confirm that you want vegan food.

 

The last time i flew long-distance was when i went to California, and back several months later.

 

I was given a vegan meal on the way there, but on the way back i had problems.

 

It was an 18 hour long journey, during which time i had no opportunity whatsoever to go to any place to eat, because i needed to have mobility assistance and when i got to each airport they just kept plonking me down in the crummy disabled-people waiting-rooms, which aren't even anywhere near a toilet, never mind near anywhere selling any food. Which strikes me as being an especially sadistic room-plan... when you think about it.

 

I confirmed my flight and vegan meal three times before i left. This was because i confirmed it twice, then they cancelled the flight 12 hours before it was due to leave (seemingly just to save a bit of cash as they weren;t heavily booked up. I asked if that was why it was and they certainly didn;t deny it... far from it. One member of staff informally confided that this is common. Which is what i had thought. Convenience Shmonvenience seems to be their policy.) so i had to reschedule for the next day. So i rebooked with a vegan meal and called the next afternoon right before i left to re-confirm the vegan meal and mobility assistance.

 

Well, i got the mobility assistance but they didn;t seem to have any problem with giving me no food for 18 hours straight.

 

Which is what they did.

 

Fortunately, i don;t trust them any further than i can throw them (which isn;t very far !) so i had stocked up on tasty vegan snacks before i went, snack-y bars and some wonderful vegan raspberry gummy heart-shaped sweets which i got in Realfoods featuring prominently in the meal selection.

 

Of course, that was right around the time when they had a bomb scare or something, so at the time they were trying to prevent people from taking ANY food on board at all, just saying that "you get food on the plane so you don;t need it anyway" .... they never checked my hand luggage closely but if customs had thieved my food then United Airways failed to give me food for 18 hours i would have been extremely infuriated with them. Like, more than i was already even.

~ GRAAAAAAAH !

 

When i phoned before i left the daft bat on the other end of the phone seemed to think it was a bit silly me phoning to confirm the meal, jovially saying "we won;t let you starve (ho ho)" well teehee, guess she was talking rubbish after all

Fortunately, I considered her assertions to be about as believable as the Easter Bunny. Or perhaps about 13.5 % less believable than the easter bunny, to be precise.

 

AHHHHHHH don't mind me. I have issues with these people. I wish they had some competition.... rather than being the only flying option to so many destinations. It would make rubbish customer service so much less profitable for them, and they would feel more inclined to be less crap accordingly, i reckon.

 

The annoying hostess on the plane even started trying to make out that it was unreasonable of me to not want to eat the repulsive-looking menses and breastmilk-laced meal which they tried to give me (she probably thought they deserved applause for having a vegetarian one ) so i told her that i hgad health problems and might projectile vomit all over the place if i ate it. Which is not technically a lie. I do have health problems as i have an immune disorder. I never said my health problems had anything to do with eating eggs or milk. And i construably MIGHT have projectile vomited everywhere. I mean, we can never be sure when such things might happen.... and i hadn;t eaten eggs or milk for ages before then so for all i knew i might have a horrible allergic reaction. She never asked how likely it would be that this might happen, in which case i would have to admit that the chances would be slim.... but she did stop pestering me about their crappy meal and left me alone after that, to eat my snacks.

~ SUCCESS !

 

It is probably just as well that i don;t ever have to fly long-distance, these days.

 

I wouldn;t mind so much either, if they didn;t force you to pay a no doubt obscenely inflated price for their crappy meal (included in escalated ticket cost) , but it's a cheek to make you pay for food then not give you it, and a cheek to refuse to give you the option to not buy their lousy maybe-non-existent food and just bring your own.

[Odidnetne]

Whew, this weekend....I doubt I can make it down, but I'll have to see.