No catering on 7 hour flight...

[Totallyconfusedaboutlife]

I booked flights for me and OH last month and have just gone into my booking to try to order a GF meal for me - I'm coeliac. But there is no catering on this flight. This is OK (kind of... ) for me, but OH is type 1 diabetic and could really do with a meal half way through. I've never been on a flight this length that doesn't offer catering. Is this a new thing? The flight wasn't cheap (not Easyjet or anything like that).

There are as others have noted plenty of food options at Heathrow.

I am very surprised that nothing is offered, even at a cost. Especially as it seems not to have been made clear at the time of booking. I think OP you should check.

@Totallyconfusedaboutlife

It's a flipping good job I checked! Else he might actually be in trouble on the flight. *@rattlehum* - it reminds me of the time my GF choice when everyone else was having a rather nice looking chicken meal was a plain rice cake. The flight attendants were very embarrassed.

I'll investigate mini cool bags - thanks for the tips.

It's Air Canada.

We travel to Toronto and no meals provided... if we travel to calvary or edmonton then we get a meal ....Toronto is 7 hours .....justcnot long enough to provide a meal

At the airport buy 4 liters of water and drink it all

wtf 😂. I’ve seen some mental stuff on mumsnet but this is something else

Literally all the foods a diabetic can’t eat!!

The diabetic in question is type 1. As a group, we can and do eat anything! We just need to take enough insulin to cover what we eat.

That said, lots of us as individuals (including me) moderate carbohydrates to a greater or lesser degree.

OP, I hope your trip goes well! It is annoying that there's zero food available, but you've had some good ideas here for snacks etc

My biggest annoyance on a recent transatlantic flight was no slimline (sugar free) tonic for my gin Surprised to hear the airline are serving no food, and presumably drinks, at all!

@kitcat15 who do you fly with? I've just checked my flight reservation system (which is a global worldwide system) and it shows the amenities available on the flight, for Air Canada it showed as "meal provided". If meals are not included it normally says "light meal at a fee" or "available for purchase". Admittedly I picked a date in June as I'm not sure when OP is travelling to check her flight specifically

I didn't think you could take food through security that was bought and prepared at home/outside the airport - you could only take on the flight food/meals which were purchased in the airport??

@twinsetandpearl

I didn't think you could take food through security that was bought and prepared at home/outside the airport - you could only take on the flight food/meals which were purchased in the airport??

You're free to take most food through, as long as it's solid food such as crisps, sandwhiches, biscuits and not things like yoghurt, dips etc but it does depend on your destination as to whether you can take it through customs the other end. There are some foods that have restrictions even in luggage and not carry on

I made my own meatballs made with black beans and meat. They also had sweet potato, spinach, mashed cauliflower and egg mixed in.

OMG the smell. Very inconsiderate to other people who are trapped on the plane with you. Egg stuck in a container for hours then opened on a enclosed space is disgusting.

I have also travelled extensively during the pandemic and flew last month and was offered all usual meals and snacks.

Thankfully less smelly than PP meals.

Also Heathrow is full of options to take food on plus we took snacks from home for my 3 year old, without issue.

Just thought I would chip in - although I am not diabetic, I do easily suffer from hypo-like low blood sugar on some occasions, particularly if have not eaten regularly and every few hours. I take almonds with me as they are a complete protein, and that really helps. But sometimes on flights they say no nuts because someone on board has an allergy. For low carb snacks, what about celery sticks with cheese and maybe tomatoes - easy finger food. Also Spanish omelette, wedges of - though they do contain potato.

Which class were you flying? I flew Air Canada domestically (4+ hours) in business and economy passengers had a small meal. Surprising it isn’t the same for international flights

@twinsetandpearl

I didn't think you could take food through security that was bought and prepared at home/outside the airport - you could only take on the flight food/meals which were purchased in the airport??

You can take solid food but not liquids obviously. Weirdly, jam counts as a liquid! www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions

Mini cooler bags with ice packs

But basically it's just the snacks you carry around if you are low-carbing -
Babybels and other robust cheese portions
Mini salami
(the two above will barely need a cool bag for this short a time)
mini philly pots
mini humous pots
bean salad (chilled from m n s or make your own), lentil salad, rice salad
Egg muffins (the low carb ones you cook, they don't smell like boiled eggs) or strips of cold omlette
mini cucumbers

Don't need to be kept cold:
Rye crackers to eat with above
Merchant Gourmet sachets of tomatoy lentils and other grain combos (Jamie Oliver does similar)
Moma porridge sachets (they have powdered milk so just add hot water)
apples
berries
cherry tomatoes
Nuts
Jerky

Anything that's liquid, like humous, you can freeze - it will stay frozen in the cooler bag through security.

(I fly a lot)

Thank you so much all you lovely people! As I said earlier, we aren't seasoned flyers and haven't used the catering outlets in the departure lounges (and tbh I probably still won't - I really don't want to be glutened on a 7 hour flight - I'm disabled on top of everything so getting to the loo is a bit of a major undertaking).

This is such a non issue
You know in advance

There are so many awful things going on in the world I'm surprised this bothers you

I dont know anyone who likes plane food

If there was no wine, that would be sad, but no disgusting chicken chunks in a disgusting sauce with boil in the bag rice and disgusting over cooked beans?! Come on!! There's heaps of options for coeliacs at the airport!!

My son in law’s a T1 diabetic, he has a Libre monitor on his arm, linked to his smartphone, but there’s a separate reader available as well. When he flies longhaul, he takes tubes of glucoboost and dextrose shots just in case. He’s never had a problem

—apart from the time he left his insulin pens on the plane—

Happy holidays!

Take your own food, airline food is rubbish.

I haven’t flown for a couple of years but I’m sure when I flew to Florida, we were given two meals on board... and that’s not much more than 7 hours away.
A 7 hour flight I’d expect a hot meal atleast.

chasegirl
I'd advise checking the airport security rules for food before planning on taking your own food just in case you can't take it through with you.
You can take food you buy after security.

You can take food from home . It's drinks that you have to buy after security . Don't take nuts in case there's someone on board with an allergy** - you won't be able to eat them if that's the case .

7 hours without a meal should be manageable with a snack - I have T1. Does he set an alarm in the middle of the night to eats? Just adjust the insulin appropriately and bring a banana and a carton of fruit juice

@cultkid

This is such a non issue You know in advance

There are so many awful things going on in the world I'm surprised this bothers you

I dont know anyone who likes plane food

If there was no wine, that would be sad, but no disgusting chicken chunks in a disgusting sauce with boil in the bag rice and disgusting over cooked beans?! Come on!! There's heaps of options for coeliacs at the airport!!

Errrrm... if you'd read the thread you'd know that actually it's not me I was bothered about but my OH, I guess elderly, type 1 diabetic who tends to throw unpredictable hypos into awkward situations.

Seriously - read the thread. At least the first post. It does help.

@OrangeUmbrella

7 hours without a meal should be manageable with a snack - I have T1. Does he set an alarm in the middle of the night to eats? Just adjust the insulin appropriately and bring a banana and a carton of fruit juice

Thanks - yes he'll be fine. Hopefully. (Remembering the massive hypo as we left the plane last time we flew... we narrowly escaped being blue lighted to hospital (or whatever light is on ambulances there...))

Crossing time zones really messes with his blood sugars anyway.

@C8H10N4O2

Whether or not he can pack his own lunch is likely to be academic - its years since I was able to take hand luggage food through security at an airport.

I wonder why this differs at airports ? Admittedly my experience is only from my local UK airport to various European holiday destinations but I've never had this problem . Certainly you can't take liquids but never had a problem with food .

[quote shinynewapple22]@C8H10N4O2

Whether or not he can pack his own lunch is likely to be academic - its years since I was able to take hand luggage food through security at an airport.

I wonder why this differs at airports ? Admittedly my experience is only from my local UK airport to various European holiday destinations but I've never had this problem . Certainly you can't take liquids but never had a problem with food .

[/quote]
OK now I'm really worried... my hand luggage tends to be mainly GF biscuits and cake...

They will have to prise it from me with a crowbar.