How To Maximize Your Odds Of Getting A Gluten Free Airplane Meal

Among the many threads that connect us gluten free folks, one holds true above all else: We've (almost) all been traumatized by a ridiculous plane meal.

I've seen my fair share of what creativity passes as a meal myself, and I've heard of more through all of you. Some of my favorites? A roasted squash sandwich served on rice cakes instead of bread, a yogurt pot as breakfast in international business class, and what I was once served for afternoon tea in British Airways Club Europe:

I haven’t been in the UK for that long, but I don’t think this is afternoon tea.

I can't tell you I have a secret sauce for 100% getting a guaranteed gluten free meal on the plane - and I'd be lying extra hard if I promised that I can help you always get served a rational meal. However, I'm a huge airline nerd, and I've learned a thing or two about how air travel works in my quests for knowledge. Among these facts? How planes get catered, and how to use this to predict my odds of success actually getting a gluten free meal. Do I have your curiosity? Let's dive into it.

First, how to book a gluten free meal on your next flight. Just about any airline that will serve you a meal on your route will let you do this online. After you've booked your flight, use your trip confirmation code to log into the airline's "Manage My Booking" (or similarly named) section, and there will almost always - if not always - be an option for a meal selection. The meal may be called "gluten free", "gluten intolerant" or something else. Depending on your specific needs, you may not want to book a meal like this. Most airlines outsource catering, so while calling in to ask someone to reserve a gluten free meal for you also works, they don’t have any additional insight into a menu or the catering process than you do.

In general, the cutoff time to make a selection for a special meal is 24 to 48 hours before departure, depending on your airline. I've never had an exception made beyond that deadline, so don't miss it!

Not all caterers, airlines, nor airports are created equal

Airlines almost always contract their catering operations to catering staff onsite at various airports. Caters have different contracts with airlines, and at times the same airline will use different caterers at different airports. Few airlines utilise their own in-house catering. Let's start with caterers - these companies operate at various airports and are responsible for sourcing food, producing food, and delivering it to the aircraft they're contracted to service. There are some catering operations that will go above and beyond for special meals, while some.. let's just say, they don't deliver as well.

I've got two good examples of caterers that go above and beyond, starting with Do&Co. They cater airlines like British Airways, Lufthansa, Turkish, among others, and they get huge points for loading allergen manifests into each plane along with their food. I’ve had one exceptionally helpful FA create a gluten free meal based on what was already on the plane. The quality of the food will vary depending on the airline, though I've got a few examples of what I've been served on Do&Co planes below:

Pork belly on British Airways, the nicest omelette I’ve ever been served on a plane on Turkish Airlines, and shepherd’s pie on British Airways

The second example is JetBlue - on their North American flights, there are typically one to three gluten free packaged snacks on board. You’re allowed as many packages as you like, too. Where JetBlue gets good, though, is in coach on their transatlantic flights, and in Mint on their domestic and international flights. On their transatlantic flights, the airline serves Dig Inn food in coach - they’re great on the ground, too. Mint on all routes gets meals from Domestic Hospitality Group to bring menus from several Manhattan-based chefs and restaurants to their inflight menus. They've also got allergens clearly labeled on the menu, let's give them some bonus points there. I flew them in summer 2023 in both cabins, and had two excellent meals, with excellent allergen labeling too.

This meal is single handledly the reason why I love JetBlue’s catering in Mint! Their meal in economy was equally tasty, but had smaller portions and wasn’t plated as nicely.

Now, here is where the variables come in. Airline caterers create meals with specifics and budgets for each airline they serve. If one airline pays more for catering than another at the same airport, you'll probably have a wildly different gluten free meal. Additionally, different caters operate at each airport, and your meal may vary if a meal is picked up at one airport versus another. A practical example: British Airways uses Do&Co catering from Heathrow Airport - you'll likely get a meal catered from that caterer leaving Heathrow. If you're flying British Airways from Seattle, they may not use Do&Co, and any meals loaded in Seattle will be from a different caterer that may be of a different quality.

Source, and further reading: Simple Flying

You're more likely to receive a better meal at a larger airport, especially if it's an airline's hub

Building on the first tip, airlines tend to invest more in their ground services at their hub airports where they maintain a larger preference. This often comes down to cost; it's cheaper to consolidate operations. In practice, this means that bigger airports will have a bigger catering operation. A bigger catering operation means more space, staff, and equipment to handle special meals.

You’ll have a better chance getting a gluten free meal on British Airways flying from Heathrow versus flying from Sydney.

What does this mean in practice? If you're flying, for example Delta from Atlanta (a Delta hub), or British Airways from London Heathrow (a British Airways hub), you're more likely to have better odds of a better gluten free meal than at smaller airports like Delta from Manchester, New Hampshire, or British Airways from Olbia. This is often true when flying a non-hub airline out of another airline's hub airport - Dallas-Fort Worth is an American hub, your results may vary if you're on an airline that isn't American. Flying out of a smaller airport means that your meal is either going to be loaded at a hub airport - giving time for the meal to be accidentally given away - or if your departure airpot can't handle special meals, it may not be loaded at all. This is not to say to never fly out of smaller airports, in some ways they're superior to the big ones. Rather, this is more saying you'll have better odds of a good gluten free meal from a larger airport.

How do you find a hub airport? Wikipedia tells you on airport entries which airlines use that airport as a hub. Here's Boston as an example!

Boston Logan is a hub for Delta!

You're more likely to get a tasty meal in a premium cabin

I hate to say it, but in my experience, flying in a premium cabin (business, first, sometimes premium economy) will get you a better special meal than in economy. Also in my experience, you're more likely to get the meal you pre-order in the first place. Premium cabins account for most of the revenue a given plane brings the airline; it makes sense that airlines would want to invest in a better experience in these cabins.

However, this does not always mean your meal will be good. I've had some particularly bad experiences in premium seats. In one particularly laughable experience, on American Airlines in transatlantic business class a flight attendant was walking around with a bread basket and came very close to putting a gluten-ful bread roll on my tray a) without asking and b) right on top of the giant "GFML" sticker on my tray.

If this matters to you, cash (or cash + miles) upgrades can be purchased in advance of your flight, often representing a substantial discount in a premium cabin ticket price. Credit card points can be a great way to get you into these seats, too. Just remember, if you upgrade within 24 hours of departure, you won't have time to request a special meal.

Calling the airline, or asking the check-in desk, won't make a difference

I've seen a tip every now and then to call the airline after selecting a special meal to verify that they will have your meal on the plane. I don't want to be a naysayer, but in this day and age where actually getting on the phone with someone at an airline often takes over an hour, I want to set the record straight: calling the airline won't help.

If you call the airline, you'll probably get a response of "yes, we've got your meal request". The call center agent you're speaking with - unless they're pulling serious strings - is probably looking at your reservation details in their computer where you've requested the gluten free meal. With very few exceptions, they aren't talking to the airline caterer who has information about your specific flight. They have the same information you can see when you manage your booking online.

Similarly, talking to staff at the airport won't provide an answer. Staff at the check-in desk won't have access to the catering manifesto on the plane, and staff at the gate will likely be stressed out trying to process upgrades and stand-by passengers, close the flight, and otherwise get it out on time.

So, how do you get the best answer? Ask the crew once you've boarded the plane. Now, how should you talk to your flight crew about your gluten free meal?

The crew on your plane will have a listing of all meals loaded onto the plane - they’re your best bet to confirm your meal.

A good amount of this is reading the room. The crew is likely going to be getting the plane ready to leave on time - they're on the clock and are going to be busy. If you want peace of mind, though, they're your best bet. When you're boarding and see a few crew members in the front galley, or if you see a member of the flight crew not actively doing something after boarding, those would be good people to ask. What should you say? Something along the lines of "excuse me, I'm in seat (number), and I pre-ordered a special meal. No rush, but when you have a moment can you check to see if it was loaded?" will work.

Not all crews are friendly, or willing to help. In my experience, flight crews in the US are really hit or miss with friendliness. That being said, being polite will go a long way to getting information on your meal!

So, after all of this, you're probably thinking that it's a good idea to eat beforehand. Maybe, at the very least, you're keen to bring snacks. If that sounds like you, you may be wondering what snacks you can bring onto a plane, or if you're allowed to bring food through airport security at all. Sound like you? I've got you.

You are allowed to bring food through airport security

First, let's take this from the top: you can bring a large variety of food into an airport. I can't speak for every country, but the TSA in the United States has a really helpful guide on what food you can bring in a carry-on. I imagine other countries will have something similar.

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/food

In general, you're allowed to bring as much non-liquid food as you want to through security. Liquids like salad dressing will more often than not have to be scanned separately, and more often than not be subjected to quantity limitations. Semi-liquids like peanut butter fall under liquid restrictions (though please be mindful of anyone possibly having a nut allergy on board and consider eating nut butter in the terminal), though any liquid or semi-liquid that is frozen will be allowed through security as it's in a solid state when you go through security.

I've personally brought on giant bags of snacks, a bag of a dozen Modern Bread & Bagel bagels, and even a box of a dozen gluten free Kane's donuts, onto a flight, and not had any of it count against my carry-on allowance. In general, I understand gate agents will allow food "for immediate consumption" onto a plane without much question. Not all gate agents will be relaxed about carry-on rules, though.

Given the current state of airport prices, I'd recommend bringing whatever you want to eat on the plane through security with you!

I’ve personally brought a dozen Kane’s donuts onto a JetBlue flight!

If your airline has buy-on-board products, you likely will be able to see the menu in advance

I've got a few examples of airlines that offer this:

-British Airways, on shorthaul flights

-JetBlue offers buy-on-board products

-Ryanair publishes their entire inflight magazine online, including buy-on-board products. They often have a gluten and dairy free lasagna you can pre-order or purchase on board. Editor's note: you do not want this.

bottom line:

The internet is full of a lot of myths on how to confirm a meal choice, and what you can/cannot bring onto a plane. In reality, the workflow to do this is to confirm a meal in advance, screenshot the confirmation (in case you need to complain), come prepared with snacks, and ask the crew on board.

What’s your best tip to get a gluten free airplane meal?