Flying with peanut allergy

[babygirlamg]

Will be flying for the first time with our 5 year old with a peanut allergy ... Will be flying southwest.. Besides boarding early and wipe the seats any other tips???

 

[bidnow5]

Does the airline know he has an allergy I don't know about Southwest but Jet Blue doesn't have peanuts on board when there is a severe allergy. They also make an announcement

 

[babygirlamg]

Does the airline know he has an allergy I don't know about Southwest but Jet Blue doesn't have peanuts on board when there is a severe allergy. They also make an announcement

I haven't bought the tickets yet but when I do I will notify them , Jet Blue doesnt serve peanuts at all?

 

[akcire]

Will be flying for the first time with our 5 year old with a peanut allergy ... Will be flying southwest.. Besides boarding early and wipe the seats any other tips???

Not sure where to get. I saw a woman in my last flight essentially put a fabric seat cover on the airplane seat.

 

[rigs32]

Southwest serves peanuts so calling them is a great idea.

 

[OurBigTrip]

I would definitely call the airline ahead of time and let them know, but just be aware that there is no way for the airline to guarantee a peanut-free flight. Passengers can bring their own food on board, and the airlines can't control that.

 

[hildarumpole]

I contacted SW once about how they accomodate peanut allergies. When I told the CS rep that my daughter was contact sensitive, she actually suggested I use another airline. They serve peanuts on every flight unless someone lets them know in advance of an allergy, but she couldn't guarantee that the airplane would be clean and there was likely peanut residue on most surfaces. She said they don't clean between flights, aside from picking up trash and that the overnight cleaning isn't always very thorough, depending on the time crunch. Sometimes they are able to wipe seats and tray tables down and vacuum, and sometimes is just a quick check to make sure there aren't any obvious messes. If your son reacts only to consumption, he should be o.k. with having SW not serve peanuts, and you wiping surfaces down and putting something over the seat and armrests. Just watch he doesn't touch things that might have residue and stick his hands in his mouth.

I don't have a problem with a few people on a flight having peanuts, as long as my kids aren't sitting right next to them, it's the whole airplane full of them that makes me uncomfortable. The only time I saw a passenger reprimanded over peanuts was when he had big 5 lb. tin of Virgina peanuts and was making a jerk out of himself by loudly whining about people with peanut allergies and spilling them all over. He was at the back of the plane and we were at the front. We didn't complain, but someone did and the flight attendent ordered him to put his peanuts away and be quiet, because his actions were being viewed as threatening and a safety issue. I think he was drunk, but he complied.

We've flown Airtran and Frontier. Since Airtran was bought by SW, changes will be coming and Frontier has shrunk considerably, so we'll have to look at alternatives. Neither one of those airlines serves peanuts.

 

[JillyBean1899]

I remember seeing this in one of those things that makes its way around FB. A family flying with twins that were a few months old made up "goodie bags" for people sitting near them. They included some sugar free hard candies, ear plugs, and a note apologizing in advance for any crying the kids did. While SW can't prevent people from getting on board with peanuts, if they make an announcement and ask people to not eat anything with peanuts while on board, it might be a good idea to have some small snacks (like the single serve bags of Goldfish or whatever) to give people that have peanut foods and now don't have any snacks to eat on the plane (unless SW still give free non-peanut snacks ... it's been about 8 years since I've flown on SW, so I'm not sure what they do now). I know it's not your responsibility to feed other people, but it's not something that would be expensive, and I know if I was told that I couldn't eat my snack but someone gave me something else to eat, I'd be a lot happier about the whole situation.

 

[geek+nerd]

We are at the World now and flew SW. On our flight from BWI there was someone with an airborne peanut allergy. An announcement was made and they served pretzels.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

we flew SW for grandson's MAW trip, announcement was made but family across from us said they had brought P&J sandwiches for their toddlers and they were going to give them to them. just to show that airline may not serve peanuts but they still maybe on the plane. just remember with the wipes to get unscented as someone could also list scent allergy on the flight

 

[disfan07]

we flew SW for grandson's MAW trip, announcement was made but family across from us said they had brought P&J sandwiches for their toddlers and they were going to give them to them. just to show that airline may not serve peanuts but they still maybe on the plane. just remember with the wipes to get unscented as someone could also list scent allergy on the flight

But that's the case on every airline so that's not specific to SWA.

OP.....the ony 3 airlines we fly are SW, JetBlue, and Virgn America. Honestly though, SW is the only airline we've flown for the past 4 years.

When you make the reservation, mark that there is a peanut dust allergy (PDA on the website). When you check in online at the 24 hour mark or with EB check in you will still need to physically check in at the airport to get a boarding pass for your soon that says PDA on it. You will also get other documents for your flight to give to the flight attendants that remind them that there is a peanut allergy on board that way they are reminded again not to serve peanuts. When we check in at the airport they always call the gate to let the gate agents know that there is a passenger with a peanut allergy on the flight.

When you get to the gate, you got to the desk and tell them your child has a peanut allergy and they will give you a blue preboard pass. At that point, I always wipe down my seat, the seat next to me, my tray table, etc. I also always place a sheet over my seat.

We've flown SW about 8 times in the past 4 years (8 RT flights so about 32 separate flight legs with connecting flights) and I've never had a problem and southwest has always been wonderful about the accomodations.

Hope that helps!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I don't understand why people with severe peanut allergies fly Southwest. I would chose an airline which doesn't serve peanuts; there are many.

 

[babygirlamg]

I don't understand why people with severe peanut allergies fly Southwest. I would chose an airline which doesn't serve peanuts; there are many.

And what airlines are those????

 

[disfan07]

And what airlines are those????

That's exactly what I was wondering. Last time I checked, the only major airline that does not serve peanuts is JetBlue. And they are always crazy expensive.

Honestly, that PPs response was completely unnecessary and unhelpful for this discussion.

OP...I hope you enjoy your flight and find that SW is as accommodating for you as they have been for me.

 

[babygirlamg]

That's exactly what I was wondering. Last time I checked, the only major airline that does not serve peanuts is JetBlue. And they are always crazy expensive.

Honestly, that PPs response was completely unnecessary and unhelpful for this discussion.

OP...I hope you enjoy your flight and find that SW is as accommodating for you as they have been for me.

Thanks

 

[Gracie09]

That's exactly what I was wondering. Last time I checked, the only major airline that does not serve peanuts is JetBlue. And they are always crazy expensive. Honestly, that PPs response was completely unnecessary and unhelpful for this discussion. OP...I hope you enjoy your flight and find that SW is as accommodating for you as they have been for me.

actually there are several united, JetBlue, frontier, air Canada. If you google you can find several lists from allergy websites. These all do not serve peanuts in coach but may have snacks that may contain nuts.
As for whether the pp response was helpful, maybe not for this particular question so much, but if someone is thinking of which airline to fly they now know sw serves peanuts and perhaps it is not the best choice for someone with a peanut allergy.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

And what airlines are those????

Many. These airlines do not serve peanut snacks - United Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, US Airways, Air Canada, and Air Tran. Also British Air, KLM, Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic, WestJet, and Qantas. This list only includes the larger airlines and I probably missed some.

 

[rlbklein]

My DH has a severe allergy to peanuts *and* tree nuts, and he actually prefers flying SW. They do accommodate better than other airlines and allow him to preboard so he can wipe down the seat. Other airlines might not serve peanut snacks but they may still serve snacks with tree nuts. And any airline that thinks a "nut free zone of rows" is a solution is crazy - the dust circulates through the cabin thanks to the air system so there is no buffer zone. SW has told him to fly the earliest flight possible since it's sort of cleaned overnight. DH wore a medical mask on our last trip, and there were plenty of safe snacks on our flights even without the peanuts. (Never heard the sheet idea before, will have to remember that one!) So YMMV but I think SW does a great job with allergies despite serving peanuts and I'll stay a loyal customer of theirs.

 

[Random Ninja]

I don't have a peanut allergy but I do have airborne tapioca, mustard, and alcohol allergies. I like flying SW since they let me pre-board. I wipe down the seat, window area, tray and seat area next me. I also wear long pants and long sleeves. The seat cover is a neat idea; might have to get one of those. The biggest thing is my face mask; I have to wear it in the terminal due to all the fast food places and keep it on throughout the flight. I'm used to wearing it out anyway so I'm not self-conscious anymore. You can get some pretty cool disposable ones for kids from medical sites.

 

[Michigan_tinkerbell]

When we flew spirit last time they had a girl that had a allergy, they cam on the speaker and explained it and ask everyone not to have nuts.