Almost kicked off FLIGHT! Please help

[moet7]

Ok, maybe this has been said already but I wasn't going to read 10+ pages but if you KNEW the airline served peanuts, why did you book a flight on that airline? I guess if my child had such a severe allergy I would make sure they didn't serve peanuts and fly with someone that served something else. Besides that, how are you going to stop everyone else on the plane from eating peanut products. DH always takes Reeces Peanut Butter cups on flights.

I also have NOT read all the posts, but also wondered WHY the parent would book a flight were she knew that peanuts were still used as snacks. Why put yourself and child at risk when there are other airlines who have taken peanuts off their snack list.

Brought me back to my girl scout leader days........had a mom who said her daughter had a VERY serve peanut allergy. Ok, so I took that serious. The mom wanted to make sure that EVERYONE supplied a snack that did not contain anything with peanut or was manufactured were peanuts were. Did you know that "candy corn" has a peanut warning on it?? one of the moms bought it to use as markers for bingo.

So to get to my point, it was just to hard to police what was given to these girls especially if it was a "home baked" treat.

I said to the mom of the girl.......if you want to make sure your daughter doesn't have anything with peanut in it or anything that was manufactured near peanuts, then YOU have to supply her snack at each meeting. OR you need to contact the mom who is bringing the snack and check it out before the meeting.


I felt it wasn't fair to the other moms to have to make sure whatever they were bringing for snack was ok for her daughter to have and I explained to the Mom that I would "think" that she would want to know 100% that what her daughter was eating was ok for her, especially after the candy corn that was brought in. (side note: the girl had no problem handling the candy corn as they just used it as markers)

Of course the mom was not happy with my directions. And I just put it back on her that it wasn't fair to all of the other moms........all I could think of is what if this girl had a bad reaction from a homemade treat.......how would the mom who baked it feel???

Tried my hardest to let this mom of the girl to see the other side of it, but she just pitched a fit and finally caved and sent her daughter with her own "safe snacks"

I do agree that the way the OP was spoken to was not nice and not necessary

 

[boltfans]

I honestly cannot think of anything that I couldn't avoid during a 2-, 4-, 6-, or even 14 hour plane ride. Anything. For a temporary situation, I can make do with whatever I have to deal with to get through the flight. No wheat--fine, no milk, fine. However, we're getting into hypotheticals here that probably don't matter. Peanuts and tree nuts have the ability to become airborne and recirculate on a plane due to the nature of the the "nut" itself. These nuts also have oils that get on peoples' hands and, until they wash their hands, will get all over everything. The nature of peanuts, cashews, almonds, etc, is that they have a sticky, adherent residue.

Now, there are people who can die from exposure to milk and wheat; however, the nature of these food items is "not sticky" "not airborne" etc. You would almost have to dump a carton of milk on top of the allergic passenger for the reaction to occur. A hundred people drinking a their milk is not going to go airborne. A hundred people eating a cracker is not going to go airborne. But, even with that said, if someone was 30,000 feet in the air and my not eating wheat or drinking milk would make them feel better, I'd do it in a heartbeat. There is always something I can get by on.

That's you, but what about if you have a small child with you on that flight and the only items you brought for that child to eat are suddenly forbidden and you have nothing else? 2, 4, 6, or however many hours is a very long time to keep a child hungry. So while I can deal without eating, my 2yo likely could not last a 4 hour flight without a snack of some sort, and if my snacks are prohibited and nothing else is offered, then what? Like the PP mentioned, her child got sick as a result of not eating on the flight. Should that child's welfare be ranked lower than the allergic kid?

And I have a nut allergy (hazelnuts specifically) so I'm not insensitive to allergies in general. Mine is not airborne, only if I ingest the nuts or physically touch the nuts (never had a problem around others eating them at any rate), so much easier to control. But I honestly can't say that banning a 2yo from eating his Nutella sandwich on a 4 hour flight to the point where he's so hungry he gets sick is worth it so that I don't run the risk of a reaction. I think if my reaction is so bad that I can't be in the same space, however far away, from someone else with the allergic item then I should take my own precautions and drive or whatever.

 

[DawnCt1]

I have no problem not having certain foods on a flight if someone has a deadly allergy to them. However- if I booked a flight and packed lunches etc. for my children, got on the plane and THEN was told that they cannot eat any of it I would have a huge problem with that. If the airlines wants to restrict certain foods then they either have to let each passenger know at least a few days before their flight, ban that food all together from their airline, and/or provide in flight food selections.
I am not making light of any person's allergies but I also would not be happy letting my kids feel sick because they are not allowed to eat their meal that they brought. IMO it is up to the individual to accomodate their allergy. Now before anyone starts flaming- what I mean is that they have to make sure they keep themselves in an environment that is okay for them. They have to be prepared in case they have to change their initial plan. Also, if my child had a severe allergy to something I would never fly an airline that served that food. We do have some allergy issues and we make sure that we are prepared. If the child in question was really very allergic then cleaning the peanuts off the floor was not really going to help. They rugs would have to be vacuumed and the seats, trays etc. would have to be wiped down and then you would have to worry about the airborn allergens from the peanuts. That seems like an awful lot of risk. I would have flown another airline.

I do think the person should not have spoken to you like that though.

Under the circumstances you described, I would point out to the FA that my children were unable to eat the lunch I packed for them due to the restrictions, and I would expect them to comp the sandwiches that they now have for sale on board. I don't think that is an unreasonable accommodation for other passengers.

 

[boltfans]

Under the circumstances you described, I would point out to the FA that my children were unable to eat the lunch I packed for them due to the restrictions, and I would expect them to comp the sandwiches that they now have for sale on board. I don't think that is an unreasonable accommodation for other passengers.

I would agree, as I would be pretty annoyed if we were flying a long distance and my kids had to go hungry. But at the same time, I don't think it's the airline's fault, yet they'd have to lose money feeding people.

 

[Nicoleclaw]

I also have NOT read all the posts, but also wondered WHY the parent would book a flight were she knew that peanuts were still used as snacks. Why put yourself and child at risk when there are other airlines who have taken peanuts off their snack list.

Brought me back to my girl scout leader days........had a mom who said her daughter had a VERY serve peanut allergy. Ok, so I took that serious. The mom wanted to make sure that EVERYONE supplied a snack that did not contain anything with peanut or was manufactured were peanuts were. Did you know that "candy corn" has a peanut warning on it?? one of the moms bought it to use as markers for bingo.

So to get to my point, it was just to hard to police what was given to these girls especially if it was a "home baked" treat.

I said to the mom of the girl.......if you want to make sure your daughter doesn't have anything with peanut in it or anything that was manufactured near peanuts, then YOU have to supply her snack at each meeting. OR you need to contact the mom who is bringing the snack and check it out before the meeting.


I felt it wasn't fair to the other moms to have to make sure whatever they were bringing for snack was ok for her daughter to have and I explained to the Mom that I would "think" that she would want to know 100% that what her daughter was eating was ok for her, especially after the candy corn that was brought in. (side note: the girl had no problem handling the candy corn as they just used it as markers)

Of course the mom was not happy with my directions. And I just put it back on her that it wasn't fair to all of the other moms........all I could think of is what if this girl had a bad reaction from a homemade treat.......how would the mom who baked it feel???

Tried my hardest to let this mom of the girl to see the other side of it, but she just pitched a fit and finally caved and sent her daughter with her own "safe snacks"

I do agree that the way the OP was spoken to was not nice and not necessary

There are many factors that could have put them on that flight. What airlines are near them, why they were traveling (emergency, sick relative? who knows?) The buffer-zone may have been something that worked into their comfort level based on the severity of the allergy. The peanuts on the floor by their seat probably were not what they thought they were in for.

Please know that not all parents who have kids with allergies are like the one you delt with in GS. I always have stash of Divvies at my son's daycare for when they have treats he can not have. I myself don't know why she would trust other people's home made goodies! that is scary!

 

[Nicoleclaw]

I truly feel for the OP and she should not have been treated like that. The airline guy was way out of line and I think the letter is great. I hope she gets somewhere!

I just wanted to mention that it is possible though, for others' rights to be violated by not being able to eat peanuts on the plane. The last time we flew as a family (which was a couple years back, before the new guidelines) I had packed for our journey: pbj sandwiches for all of us and everyone had picked a favorite candy bar to eat on the plane which included, peanut m&m's, reese's, and snickers. Once we had all boarded, it was announced that there was a peanut allergy on the plane and no one was allowed to ingest any peanuts for the duration of the flight. Well, that's all fine and dandy except I was traveling with little children who had not eaten anything but toast that morning and now we had do the entire trip, the waiting on the runway, the flight as well as the unboarding with starving, cranky children. The airline offered us nothing, as they had nothing else on board except the sodas. Once we landed and got into the airport I let my kids eat what we had packed but one child got sick because he had gotten too hungry and ate too fast. We lost the rest of the day dealing with those issues. All could have been avoided if they had told us prior to boarding so I could've let the kids eat then maybe they would've slept! I would not want to cause anyone to have a reaction, but people need to realize that the allergy people are not the only ones with rights. I had paid for our tickets also, and then had to deal with a sick child all day. We now drive when we go to WDW because there's just too many issues with flying. It's way easier to drive!

First of all, it was crappy for them not to tell the airline until boarding and I cannot understand for the life of me why they would do that. LIving with an allergy like that encompasses all parts of your life. Again, sorry that had to happen to your family.
Did you explain to any of the flight attendants the situation you were in? Just curious as to what their response would be or was. Someone else mentioned that being comped sandwiches would be fair. ALso, maybe they could have spoken to the family with the allergy and explained your situation and asked if there would be any acceptable way for your kids to eat. Maybe have the PA switch seats to be as far as possible from your family.
Someone else also mentioned diabetes and the pb crackers. This is another situation where I hope there could be a compromise IF a diabetic needed to eat the pb cracker AND they specifically asked for nut products not to be eaten. Who knows the likely hood of that happening, and I don't think the airlines are likely to put any thought into any situations like the ones that have come up here. With a little compassion from both sides (and the airline - haha), and some thought put into it, I would hope they could come to a solution that would work for both parties. One or two people eating a sandwich or cracker is different than a planeful of people opening bags of peanuts.

 

[DVCJones]

My DD school is a peanut free school. That means no peanut products of any kind. No snacks/lunches manufactured in a plant that packaged peanut products were allowed in school. The school supplied a list of "acceptable" snacks/lunch items.

At first I was a little irritated by this. I didn't have a clue what I was going to pack my child for lunch. She was a picky eater and there were 5 items on the list that she would eat. I thought it would be a long year of the same old lunch everyday.

One time they even sent her snack back home with a note saying they needed to know what brand of pretzels I had packed because they were not in original packaging. I put them in a ziplock instead of buying individual snack packs because it was cheaper. I had to call the school and tell them the brand and why I wasn't going to waste money on the snackpacks.

I ended up labeling EVERYTHING!!!! It turns out that it wasn't that difficult to follow. I packed Soy butter and Jelly sandwiches, mac and cheese and dino chicken nuggets. She also had school lunch 2-3 times a week.

The difference is that I was aware of what to expect and planned accordingly. The problem with airlines is some accommodate as needed. So you don't know you are having a peanut free flight. This causes problems for some passengers. I think all airlines should go peanut free. Make it well known to all passengers BEFORE their flight so that they can plan ahead.

I think everyone can live without having a peanut product during a day of travel. We are talking about a life threatening allergy. JMHO

 

[lillygator]

My DD school is a peanut free school. That means no peanut products of any kind. No snacks/lunches manufactured in a plant that packaged peanut products were allowed in school. The school supplied a list of "acceptable" snacks/lunch items.

At first I was a little irritated by this. I didn't have a clue what I was going to pack my child for lunch. She was a picky eater and there were 5 items on the list that she would eat. I thought it would be a long year of the same old lunch everyday.

One time they even sent her snack back home with a note saying they needed to know what brand of pretzels I had packed because they were not in original packaging. I put them in a ziplock instead of buying individual snack packs because it was cheaper. I had to call the school and tell them the brand and why I wasn't going to waste money on the snackpacks.

I ended up labeling EVERYTHING!!!! It turns out that it wasn't that difficult to follow. I packed Soy butter and Jelly sandwiches, mac and cheese and dino chicken nuggets. She also had school lunch 2-3 times a week.

The difference is that I was aware of what to expect and planned accordingly. The problem with airlines is some accommodate as needed. So you don't know you are having a peanut free flight. This causes problems for some passengers. I think all airlines should go peanut free. Make it well known to all passengers BEFORE their flight so that they can plan ahead.

I think everyone can live without having a peanut product during a day of travel. We are talking about a life threatening allergy. JMHO

is this a public school?

 

[DVCJones]

is this a public school?

Yes!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I think all airlines should go peanut free. Make it well known to all passengers BEFORE their flight so that they can plan ahead.

I agree, I think this would solve a lot of problems. Just like liquids aren't allowed beyond security, maybe peanuts shouldn't be either.

 

[Christine]

That's you, but what about if you have a small child with you on that flight and the only items you brought for that child to eat are suddenly forbidden and you have nothing else? 2, 4, 6, or however many hours is a very long time to keep a child hungry. So while I can deal without eating, my 2yo likely could not last a 4 hour flight without a snack of some sort, and if my snacks are prohibited and nothing else is offered, then what? Like the PP mentioned, her child got sick as a result of not eating on the flight. Should that child's welfare be ranked lower than the allergic kid?

And I have a nut allergy (hazelnuts specifically) so I'm not insensitive to allergies in general. Mine is not airborne, only if I ingest the nuts or physically touch the nuts (never had a problem around others eating them at any rate), so much easier to control. But I honestly can't say that banning a 2yo from eating his Nutella sandwich on a 4 hour flight to the point where he's so hungry he gets sick is worth it so that I don't run the risk of a reaction. I think if my reaction is so bad that I can't be in the same space, however far away, from someone else with the allergic item then I should take my own precautions and drive or whatever.

I have said earlier that I thought that situation was wrong. Those kids should have been allowed to eat their sandwiches. It's not one person or two or three peanut eaters that cause the problem, it's when the whole plane is doing it. Those kids could have eaten their sandwiches, away from the PA person and the FA could have provided wipes to clean up afterward.

 

[aprilgail2]

.

Brought me back to my girl scout leader days........had a mom who said her daughter had a VERY serve peanut allergy. Ok, so I took that serious. The mom wanted to make sure that EVERYONE supplied a snack that did not contain anything with peanut or was manufactured were peanuts were. Did you know that "candy corn" has a peanut warning on it?? one of the moms bought it to use as markers for bingo.

I work for a company that produces food products and we do not use any nuts in products nor do we have nuts in the place at all but we slap one of those "may contain nuts" stickers on their anyway just to clear us from any responsibility! Better safe than sued!

 

[disfan07]

I have a severe peanut allergy so this while flyign is something i am accustomed too.
Now, that being said, It is the PASSENEGRS responsibility to make sure that the airline/flight meets their needs. Its not your fellow pasengers or the airlines responsibility to make sure that your need is met. I have fully done my reasearch adn there are only 3 airlines that I will fly on. Southwest, Jetblue and Virgina America.

Southwest has a PDA (Peanut Dust Allergy) rule. If you mark it when you make your reservation and you tell them at check in, they will switch out the peanuts for pretzels AND make an anouncement requesting no peanut products be eaten on board. They will also (at least from my experience) let you preboard so you can wipe everythign down, make sure the flight attendants know, etc. before everyone else gets on.

Jetlbue. They dont serve peanuts. If you mention it at the gate before boarding, they wil make an announcement in the gate area AND onboard requesting peanuts not be eaten on board.

Virgina America. They serve food but nothing with peanuts adn so far no problems.

Now, especially with southwest, just because they have these rules does not give the passneger who needs this accomadation the right to slack off. I did all of my reasearch. I listed my allergy when I made my reservation. I mentioned it when i checked my luggage on my first leg adn at the gate desk on my connecting flight. I mention it to the crews on both of my flights. I did my job followig their rules to the letter adn at that time, i do expect that they do what they said they will do. If i hadnt done my part, i wouldnt expect them to do a dang thing for me.

i have 2 stories for this. Both southwest airlines.
In june, when i flew Southwest Dulles to Tampa I had made a note on my reservation about the PDA. When i checked my luggage i mentioned it to the guy there and he called the gate and told them they had a peanut allergy. I went to my gate adn mentioned it again (as i was told) and they called the crew onboard adn told them adn than gave me a preboard slip. They than made an announcement to the boarding area about it. When i boarded, i handed the ticket to them that said Peanut Dust Allergy on it and they said that they had not put peanuts onboard, they put pretzels instead.

Now, my connection flight from TPA-PBI. Not so good. I mentioned to the guy at the gate desk that i had a PDA adn he seemed clueless. His only answer was, "oh, well i think they'll want you to preboard" When i did preboard, and i handed the flight attendant my slip that said PDA on it they hadnt been told. They had already put peanuts onboard. BUT, they took the peanuts off adn put pretzels onboard instead. They were very accomadating.

Even southwest is a no frills airline adn would not be my first choice for cross country (which all my trips are now) i feel they do the best at accomadations. Better than any of teh major airlines.

OP: I agree that the guy was too haarsh with you and your family. That said, I think you made a terrible choice choosing to fly delta when you knew their policy. In the end, it was your fault that you were inconvenienced. They said there would be a buffer zone on YOUR flight. Not on teh flight before you. They dont clean the planes completely between flights. You should have known that there could be peanuts on the floor.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Asking your friend not to have a cat for the life span of a cat 15 years or so and asking people not to eat nuts for 2 hours or so are two completely different things.

In your last paragraph, and this question applies to anyone else who has stated the same, I want to know, IF you have a child that is PA, you plan to never, ever, ever have a need to take a plane with them?

No, but people with small cats or small dogs can travel with them in the cabin provided they are in a carrier in which case that person would be SOL and not abel to ride the plane. If a passenger already secured permission to travel with the cat in the cabin, it would not be right to deny that permission after the fact. Rather, the person you quoted would likely be transferred to a later flight.



Of interesting note--I was with friends last night and one of them works for DCL at the Port. We were chatting about the Disney summer cruises and meeting the celebs. Then out of the blue she brought up a passenger who was checking her daughter in the kids club. The mom asked my friend if she could guarantee that absolutely no dogs would be on the ship. Her daughteer is deathly allergic.

They had traveled on another cruise line and asked the same question and they were told no at check in--only that the ship forgot about service dogs. Her daughter had to be medi-vac'd off the boat due to a reaction.

My friend said she could see if there were any service dogs listed and it ended up that there were not so the family could take the cruise.

In a case like that--no entity can legally deny a service dog boarding over this child's allergy. I had asked if they could have notified them in advance (not sure if she did or not)--but they legally cannot prevent a dog boarding over this child's life threatening allergy.

So no--it is not fair to use the example "Can't everyone give it up for a few hours"--there are some cases where legally--they can't...like service dogs.

And the family who had packed lunches and were not notified, then her children couldn't eat and one got sick.

It is important to note--I'm not sure--someone feel free to correct me, if gel ice packs are even allowed through security anymore.

I used to pack a cooler of food--so my options would increase so we wouldn't have to pack peanuts. But with no refridgeration, the options are much smaller for what you could bring. (I.e. my son would eat eggs or chicken nuggest, but with no way to refridgerate it, I can't bring it from home).

Just some other thoughts. PA isn't the only lethal allergy out there (or at least the only allergy that requires medical intervention to stop.)

I found the dog story to be interesting--and in that case, I would feel sad fro the family but that would have rightfully had to cancel their cruise at the literal last second had there been even one dog on board.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I was asking myself the question of when/how do the airlines tell the passengers this? I am SURE most parents will do like the OP and tell them at booking, at check-in when they get there and at the gate. I would anyway. But when does the airline convey this? It should be done perhaps when you check in at the airport - you know before security and everything. It really stinks what happened to your family, just remember it is fault probably lies within the airline, not the family that has to deal with this every day, every second of their lives.

They could have been denied boarding/offered another alternative as would have happened in the post above with the family on Disney Cruise lines.

They are able to list LAP CHILD on a ticket--I'm sure they can code for PA and know ahead of time prior to everyone getting on the flight so that they have a last second option to get something else.

That's the part where one's rights aren't superior to others. A little consideration goes along way.

There are folks who got stuck on a tarmac for 8 hours for what was to be a less than 2 hour flight a few years back. (jetblue, remember?) It prompted a passenger's bill of rights that I am unclear of how far that got.

But all passengers have rights and things happen and flights aren't on time or are delayed or just crap happens and your stuck on a tarmac in a line of 12 planes.

It is unfair to right off the rights of other passengers to eat as something as simple of "can't you wait for 2 hours to save a child's life."

It is unfair to not allow other passengers an alternative due to lack of family or flight crew to properly notify folks so that other passengers can do something different.

Pre liquid ban, it was a lot easier to have variety.

But when you have to pack things that are consumable without cooling and have no liquids, it does limit options.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I was asking myself the question of when/how do the airlines tell the passengers this? I am SURE most parents will do like the OP and tell them at booking, at check-in when they get there and at the gate. I would anyway. But when does the airline convey this? It should be done perhaps when you check in at the airport - you know before security and everything. It really stinks what happened to your family, just remember it is fault probably lies within the airline, not the family that has to deal with this every day, every second of their lives.

The air tran scenario earlier had peanut-free printed on the tickets.

As long as a passenger isn't running late at check in and having to sprint to the gate to make final boarding call, that would be ample amount of time to get an alternative.

Finding out just before they shut the door and you are now "stuck"--is unfair to any and all passengers--especially when some folks may eat something once they sit down and you have now risked peanut exposure. (We have taken pre-dawn flights and sometimes I will give my kids their breakfast once we are seated on the plane--or they had breakfast at 5 and are now due for a snack.)

That is too late for all passengers and unacceptable and surely would miff people when noone can guarantee a smooth on-time flight of any duration.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It is important to note--I'm not sure--someone feel free to correct me, if gel ice packs are even allowed through security anymore.

No, but frozen grapes, or bags of frozen peas, corn, etc., are allowed

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Under the circumstances you described, I would point out to the FA that my children were unable to eat the lunch I packed for them due to the restrictions, and I would expect them to comp the sandwiches that they now have for sale on board. I don't think that is an unreasonable accommodation for other passengers.

Yes but what if it is a shorter flight- like NY to MCO. There are no food son those flights. Now in truth it is only 2 hours, but if you take a very early morning flight with the intention of feeding the kids breakfast on the plane and now they cannot eat and the plane has no food to offer them what can you do? Two hours is a very long time to a child. What if you have a medical condition and need a snack so you don't get sick?
I still stick by if you have an allergy it is up to YOU to make sure you are safe. You can't expect everyone else to change their life and make yours the only important one.
I will say though that while my kids love pb&j we never pack it on flights because we know that many kids are allergic.

 

[welovedisneyx4]

I have a severe peanut allergy so this while flyign is something i am accustomed too.
Now, that being said, It is the PASSENEGRS responsibility to make sure that the airline/flight meets their needs. Its not your fellow pasengers or the airlines responsibility to make sure that your need is met. I have fully done my reasearch adn there are only 3 airlines that I will fly on. Southwest, Jetblue and Virgina America.

Southwest has a PDA (Peanut Dust Allergy) rule. If you mark it when you make your reservation and you tell them at check in, they will switch out the peanuts for pretzels AND make an anouncement requesting no peanut products be eaten on board. They will also (at least from my experience) let you preboard so you can wipe everythign down, make sure the flight attendants know, etc. before everyone else gets on.

Now, especially with southwest, just because they have these rules does not give the passneger who needs this accomadation the right to slack off. I did all of my reasearch. I listed my allergy when I made my reservation. I mentioned it when i checked my luggage on my first leg adn at the gate desk on my connecting flight. I mention it to the crews on both of my flights. I did my job followig their rules to the letter adn at that time, i do expect that they do what they said they will do. If i hadnt done my part, i wouldnt expect them to do a dang thing for me.

I just want to convey my story so people don't completly depend on the airline that there will be no peanuts on board. **We were flying SW, but it could have been any airline**

We were about 20-30 minutes late leaving on our original flight from RDU. When we got to BWI for our layover, we found where our gate was and proceded to get our lunch. Due to losing the extra time from where we left RDU late, by the time we ate and used the restroom, etc., it was time to board. (So we weren't sitting in the boarding area to hear any announcements.) We were in the A boarding group, so we got on 1st. I was listening to the announcements as best as I could, but I couldn't hear them very well, the speaker wasn't very clear.

When they started passing out snacks, they gave us pretzels and wheat thins. DS tried the wheat thins and didn't like them. I had a pack of peanuts left from the previous flight that I was planning on eating and told DS I would ask for a pack for him. The ONLY reason I hadn't opened my pack of peanuts was b/c we were near the end of the drink line and I wanted to eat them when I had a drink. When I did ask the FA about a pack of peanuts, she then said it was a peanut free flight. If I would have been at the beginning of the drink line, I would have already had my peanuts opened.

Unfortunately, the thought of someone w/ a PA never crossed my mind. That just isn't something that is an issue for me and maybe it should be, but at a time like that, I am worried about getting my family on the plane and taking care of them. I would hate to do something to cause another passenger problems, but it very well could have if I had opened the peanuts. So...my main point for those who do have a PA, especially if it is very severe, do like disfan07 and check and double check w/ the airlines and what precautions they are taking.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Has anyone actually suffered a reaction in flight and succumbed to a peanut allergy? For all the hype I hear about peanut allergies I'd expect to hear about at least one or two. By the same token, I've never heard of a child starving to death in flight, either.

Airlines don't have the luxury of providing several alternate snacks for each person on board any given flight. If your children need to eat frequently, think about non-peanut foods like almond butter sandwiches instead.

If you are traveling with an allergy sufferer, take precautions. This would include choosing an airline that doesn't routinely serve peanuts as part of its inflight service.