Hannathy, mrs. jvb, etc.,
I almost never respond to these kind of posts, however, I feel obliged to now. Full disclosure, I am the parent of a child with life-threatening food allergies.
Some of your arguments are simply ignorant. I'll be specific:
Hannathy says, "And if the peanut allergy folks were reasonable more people would cooperate." Wow. People with food allergies or those caring for those with food allergies have the right to advocate for themselves or their children. I'm guessing that you are not aware that food allergy can be considered a disability under federal laws, such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It's in Section 504 if you want to look it up. You should also know that for every "unreasonable" food allergy person you encounter, there are plenty of "reasonable" ones standing right behind them. Consider that more than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That’s one in 25, or 4 percent of the population.
Mrs. jvb says, "if a person has such severe allergies that being in a confined space puts them at risk THEN DON'T FLY. take the train. drive. whatever." Again, wow. I'm sure that if you took a moment before clicking on Submit Reply you'd see how preposterous that statement is. Sometimes you need to go somewhere that is not accessible by trains or cars and you must fly. Simple as as that.
The original poster was asking for advice, specific advice. The thread is entitled "Flying with peanut allergy." Based on your statements, it's clear that you don't have a peanut allergy. Why did you read it? Why did you respond? I can only guess that you wanted to insist on your right to eat a Payday bar. (BTW, go ahead and eat your candy bar. But if you're sitting next to me, I'll ask you politely not to.)
I'll admit, I've read through plenty of threads on this board that don't have anything to do with my family's disabilities. I've learned plenty from them and hope they've made me more empathetic. I wish it would have had the same effect on you. Bottom line, this is supposed to be a place of information and support.
DVCDawn