Airlines that DON'T give peanuts?

[phillybeth]

AirTran doesn't serve peanuts, at least on the flights that I have been on. I sympathize, I have food allegies (multiple) myself, ranging from annoying to life-threatening. Epipens are great, but for the severely allergic only buy you about 15 minutes- not enough time for a plane to make an landing for a medical emergency.

 

[4nana]

You sound like a wonderful aunt and I feel your pain. I would be very concerned also. It makes me so sad to hear of any child who is that allergic to peanuts, as they are everywhere!!

Our 2yo GS is allergic to peanuts, however, fortunately his is not as serious as you are speaking of and he can be in the same room w/peanuts/oil and thus far not have a problem, long as he does not eat them.

In our case we called SW and they requested a drs form. They agreed not to serve peanuts and claimed to be more thorough in cleaning. In your case, sad to say, but I would be very hesitant to fly at all. Could you possibly drive? As others have said, even tho the airlines may not serve them, others passengers could bring them on. I hope you have a wonderful trip w/your nieces w/o any problems.

~ Sandie

 

[antkim]

I'm sorry if I sounded rude it was not my intent. I was just trying to explain the seriousness of their allergies. I apologize if I came off "strong". My brother's kids are like my own. I took care of them for years when my sister in law was still working. I know they will do what is best for them!

Kim

 

[disykat]

Thanks to all those who have posted HELPFUL responses. I asked this question on the transportation forum a few years back and got death threats aimed at my child. Peanut Allergic people live in the real world, but it would be foolish not to try to make the best choices possible. Anyone with brains realizes that avoiding having every single passenger eating nuts is safer than risking a random exposure.

Back to your question. I would not fly Southwest. No airline guarentees peanut free, but many do not serve them. It is best to go with those airlines. American doesn't serve nuts on domestic flights in coach. They do have tree nuts in First Class. We've had good luck on United as well. Make sure you order a specific meal for him. Often the airlines that don't serve peanut snacks do serve peanut butter sandwiches to the children.

Please note that this is not a peanut debate - no one has said airlines shouldn't serve peanuts. The poster is simply asking a question to make the right choice for her family.

 

[CEDmom]

I don't want to make this a peanut debate either. I respect the parent of any child that puts that child's safety above all other things. I think it makes sense to go with a peanut free airline and to see if they'd make an announcement to ask people to voluntarily refrain from consuming peanut products. They may so no but it can't hurt to ask. DD has a classmate who's allergic and I often have to remind her why she can't take peanut butter to school and why she needs to wash very carefully if she's had it for breakfast. I don't think it's that people don't care it's just if they aren't affected by it they don't understand the severity of it. I do wonder if the parents of these children know that every counter service and food court in WDW serves PB&J? It's a really hard thing to avoid. I hope they have a safe and wonderful trip.

 

[Cruisin]

Spirit Airlines also does not serve peanuts on the flights that I have been on to Orlando from Detroit.
My son is also one who is extremely allergic to peanuts and he has flown to Holland, Florida, been to WDW and cruised on the Disney Cruise Line with no reactions.
No, you cannot guarantee that someone will not eat peanuts behind you on the plane but if you fly on an airline that does not serve peanuts you at least have a better chance of avoiding them.
There are peanuts everywhere in our lives. You have to live your life as safely as you can under the circumstances.
If you start to think too closely about it you will want to lock the allergic person up in a bubble. You cannot guarantee that doorknobs, library books, money, telephones, and the list is endless are peanut free.
So you just take as many reasonable precautions as you can and carry on.
My son is now 20 years olds and lives his life as normally as a non allergic person does. He has the mindset that he maybe some day peanuts may get him, but he is going to live his life to the fullest until that day.
With all of the advancements and research going on with this allergy there is hope for a better, safer future for all peanut allergy sufferers.

 

[nancy679]

My DD has a penaut allergy also, but not to the smell, if she touches it then we are in big trouble.

What I do is have atleast 4-5 epipens when I travel, that way if you have a bigger time frame of getting help. Lets face it, you may have trouble getting to the hospital in 15 minutes anyway even on land.

Also make sure, if you dont have it already, a note from the MD stating why you need to bring them on board, just in case they give you a hard time about needles.

 

[antkim]

Jet Blue doesn't serve them either which works out great because they fly nonstop from Boston to Mco. I will also tell them to get a note from the dr in case they question needles on the plane!

Kim

 

[momof2inPA]

Here is a link to some good information on travelling with peanut allergies:
http://foodallergy.org/advocacy.html#airlines

My severely peanut allergic kids have flown many times on USAir, who has not served peanuts in years (but does serve cashews in first class). I always wipe down any area they can touch from their seats, and they either sit in their carseats or on a twin fitted sheet, which fits nicely over the airplane seat. Only once on a flight did we have a problem with someone eating a snack near us. We explained the kids' allergies and they understood completely, but if they hadn't been so understanding we would have asked the flight attendant to move us.

Your relatives should take along a doctor's form explaining the necessity of the epi-pens just in case security asks.

Have a great trip! Your nieces are extremely fortunate to have such a loving aunt.

 

[Christine]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie

Even if they'll able to book with an airline that doesn't serve peanut products, how do you deal with people who may bring them on board? Can an airline demand that a flight be peanut free? If so, how can they enforce the policy? What if someone has peanuts before the flight?

If this was something I had to deal with, I think I'd drive instead of fly.

There's a big difference between a few people here and there having their own, personal peanut snack on previous flights compared to having 200 passengers (on a previous flight) begin given one or more bags of peanuts and each one of them opening them up on their tray tables and eating them. Yes, there is still a risk if one flies on United or JetBlue--of course someone may have had a jar of peanuts with them or a Snickers bar, but not the whole darned plane. This is about minimizing risk, not eradicating it, which is impossible.

My son has a peanut allergy and we are lucky that he is not so sensitive that smelling it will hurt him, but I imagine that if he touched a tray with residue and then touch his eye, nose, or mouth, we might see some hives.

When we last went to Disney we flew Southwest and requested a peanut free flight. The flight was served pretzels; however, the man behind me opened a jar of peanuts. I let it go because I knew the risk was small, but I was amazed. We also requested the first flight out of the day. I had read that if you do fly with a peanut allergic child, try to take the first flight because that is the flight that has been more thoroughly cleaned.

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by Christine
I let it go because I knew the risk was small, but I was amazed.

Why were you amazed? Just because they don't serve peanuts doesn't mean the passengers aren't free to bring their own, does it? I have never been on a flight where we've been instructed not to bring peanut products on board. We normally do bring peanut butter crackers, peanut M&M's...whatever, because we never know with flight delays if we're going to have time to get a meal between connections.

 

[Christine]

Originally posted by Bojangles
Why were you amazed? Just because they don't serve peanuts doesn't mean the passengers aren't free to bring their own, does it?

I was amazed because of the coincidence of the one person who did bring the peanuts just happened to be sitting right behind the peant allergic kid! I just had to roll my eyes and say to myself "go figure."

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by antkim
Just to respond to a few comments about the "real world". You are all right saying they can't control EVERY situation BUT because they know that SW serves peanuts on a regular basis there is cause for alarm. My nieces throat literally closes up kind of like someone who is allergic to bee stings which is the reason they go NOWHERE without an epipen. Being confined on a plane for 3 hours that COULD cause a reaction is really not a way to start your vacation! To put your child in a dangerous situation really wouldn't be acting responsibly-you think? Anyways, because there are 2 other airlines that do not serve peanuts I think the choice to fly a different airline is really the only way to go. The doctor has recommended this also. Maybe you all think they are overreacting BUT I can assure you I would be just as concerned for my child's well being as they are. If they were to have a reaction in the "real world" the epipen would give them a chance to get to the hospital. On an airplane this isn't an option.

Thanks all,
Kim

I have a friend whose little girl is also highly allergic to peanuts and also shellfish. She will also swell up as soon as she breathes in any time of peanut fumes. She flies to WDW about once avery two months on whatever airline they can get a deal on. The trip takes about 2 hours. Her parents carry a bag of epipens and are very cautious. That is all they can do unless they want to live in a bubble. I know that when we fly, which is usually Airtran, there aren't any peanuts but my DD brings an Uncrustable to eat. We do this everytime we fly! I can't imagine being told she cannot eat her lunch due to a peanut allergy. What does your brother do in that case where some folks still eat their PB? What about the previous fliers that may have just eaten PB and debarked?

 

[maps]

i flew southwest with my peanut allergic son. i made them aware when i booked and again at checkin. they took extra time to clean the plane, made an annoucement about a peanut allergy and served pretzels instead. on our connecting flight, they did not honor our request and i was shocked at how much the plane was filled with the peanut aroma. thank goodness my son is not allergic to the smell.

many people brought their own snacks and i am sure a lot of them had some sort of peanut product in them. it's not easy to control the environment around you in public so make sure you are very prepared.

 

[Cruisin]

I don't know how other families feel about their children and their peanut allergies but I can tell you how we feel about it in our family.
Our son's peanut allergy is his/our problem. We can not rid the world of peanuts and therefore he has had to learn to live in the world the way it is.
Just because he cannot have peanuts doesn't mean that we have the right to tell other people that they cannot have peanuts either. That is just not a reasonable solution to an allergy.
When he went to school he did not have a peanut free classroom either. Peanut free classrooms do help to lessen the chance of accidental exposure, but it also can give the allergic child a false sense of security. They think no peanuts are allowed here so I am safe. Which we all know is not true because of cross contamination, other children with breakfast peanut butter on their hands etc.
That is just the way we have handled this, I have no problem with someone else who asks for special considerations etc if that is what they feel more comfortable with.
I just might be that person on the plane behind you eating peanuts because I am travelling without my son and then I can eat peanuts

 

[antkim]

AHHHHHH! I can't believe I feel the need to defend myself again here!

What my brother "does" in a situation like this is he chooses to do what HE thinks is best for HIS 2 girls. Which is fly an airline that doesn't hand out peanuts to every passenger surrounding his family. He doesn't think the world should stop eating peanuts for his girls but if he has choices then that is his decision to make.Some people may feel comfortable with knowing that the airline will pass out pretzels for a particular flight-he does not. Does it make one person right and one wrong? No, not at all. Like maps said they did not honor her request for no peanuts on the connecting flight which would be a serious problem for them because they are allergic to the smell. Thanks for that info because that is very important to know!People may bring peanut snacks on the plane but that's a lot less risky than EVERYONE having peanuts.

I did NOT start this for a debate, I did NOT ask for opinions on whether he was making the right decision to fly. I DID ask my "friends" if anyone knew of peanut free airlines-period. I thank all of you who helped me.

I am NOT trying to be confrontational either. In my 909 posts I don't think I have ever come off that way- at least I hope not!

Please do not beat me up here! I came to you for help not to get flamed!

Thanks guys,

Kim

 

[Bojangles]

No one is beating you up. I think it's good for you to know that there are a lot of children on flights to Orlando and that many parents will pack snacks for the plane that contain peanuts.

 

[antkim]

And on the flip side it's good for all those parents who bring peanuts for snacks to know that they may be asked to consider the peanut allergic passenger and do what they would want done if their child was the allergic one! LOL

Kim

 

[Christine]

Kim,
This is a very touch issue isn't it? I remember when I first start snooping around the internet MANY years ago in prep for my son's first trip (he is allergic to peanuts). I was on some Disney alt.newsgroup and some of the responses I received were actually violent. I was so shocked it literally made me feel sick to my stomach. Haven't been back to THAT board since. I have also had some EXTREMELY unfriendly posts on this board regarding the same subject several years ago. I have noticed that that tone on this subject matter has improved over the years. Maybe it will get better.

I perfectly understood what you were asking but many people feel that have to jump in and tell you how you shouldn't be dictating others lives--and you clearly were not doing that. As I said in my earlier post, I requested a peanut free flight, got it; however the man behind me ate peanuts. I let it go, I didn't stomp my feet, nor did I demand that the stewardess confront him. This is just the way it is. But I would rather have only 1 or 2 or 5 people on the plane eating them rather than 200. Unfortunately, I think the man ate the peanuts just to be confrontational. As soon as they made the "peanut free" announcement, he made some snotty remark about it and pulled out his jar. There was no way in h*ll I was going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that the sensitive person was right in front of him.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by Christine
I requested a peanut free flight, got it; however the man behind me ate peanuts. I let it go, I didn't stomp my feet, nor did I demand that the stewardess confront him. As soon as they made the "peanut free" announcement, he made some snotty remark about it and pulled out his jar.

I am curious about this...they don't make the announcement until AFTER you have gotten on the plane?? I bring a peanut butter sandwich for my daughter and peanuts for the rest of us all the time and I would think that they would let you know in advance about the peanut free flight thing so you could make other arrangements about what sandwiches and snacks you are going to bring....