Long airline flight question

[joviroxx]

To those who said about bringing granola bars/fruit etc, how are you doing that? US federal aviation law prohibits you from bringing any food items in your carryon bags that isn't purchased after the checkpoint.

Where did you read that? Ive taken more food on flights than I can count. True, anything liquid, including food , has to follow the ziploc rule. But as far as food in your personal carry on, if its not on the prohibited list, its ok. Just make sure they are sealed and easily seen (I usually use ziplocs) and Ive never had an issue. No sauces, yogurts, etc., but solids, no problem.

Now, you might not be able to deplane at your destination with them, as some countries dont allow foreign meats and such, but on the plane shouldnt be an issue.

 

[wvjules]

To those who said about bringing granola bars/fruit etc, how are you doing that? US federal aviation law prohibits you from bringing any food items in your carryon bags that isn't purchased after the checkpoint.

I have never heard that bringing food was prohibited.

 

[Deb in IA]

US federal aviation law prohibits you from bringing any food items in your carryon bags that isn't purchased after the checkpoint.

Not true.

This is from the TSA site:


Non-liquid, non-gel foods (such as sandwiches) allowed in both carry-on and checked luggage

http://www.seatguru.com/articles/tsa_prohibited_items.php#beverages

 

[bettymae1121]

13 hours Chicago to Seoul. I was in business class, and two meals were served, dinner and breakfast. Dinner was I believe a steak w/holendaise sauce, potatoes, and a veggie blend (with soup, bread, and salad as sides) plus desert. Breakfast there was both a Western option and an Asian option, they ran out of the Western breakfast (omlette, sausage, fruit etc.) and I got the Asian one, which looked pretty bad and I didn't eat. Since the food was otherwise excellent, I think it had more to do with the cuisine than the quality of the food, but it wasn't appitzing to me at all.

ETA: It's funny, I remember the flight there very well, I even remember what movies they showed! But I can't remember the flight home, other than the layover at the airport. I know I didn't sleep on the plane, cuz I can't sleep on planes no matter what...but I don't remember anything about the flight. Weird!

 

[NotUrsula]

To those who said about bringing granola bars/fruit etc, how are you doing that? US federal aviation law prohibits you from bringing any food items in your carryon bags that isn't purchased after the checkpoint.

Um... No. That would be drinks, not food. And you can even bring drinks if you have a medical condition that requires special ones.

You also could be confusing "aviation law" with APHIS, which covers the USDA's rules on bringing fresh fruit/plant products into the US from abroad. Fresh fruit *is* an issue on most int'l flights, but only in that you need to finish all of it or leave it on the plane, because in many cases you cannot bring it into the destination country. (Even if you do finish it on the plane, the sniffer dogs may still sit next to you. If you've gotten any juice, etc. onto your clothing, they will notice it.)
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/clearing/agri_prod_inus.xml#GeneralGuidelines

 

[Tinkermommy]

My longest flight was to Europe (not sure if Copenhagen or Paris was longer) from Atlanta about 8 hours. Those are typically overnight so you do get dinner and breakfast.

I always carry food with me (it's not prohibited if it isn't a liquid or gel). I usually take almonds or some kind of nuts for protein, a dark chocolate bar and some dried fruit. Hmm, now I am hungry.

There are laws about bringing meats, fresh fruit/vegetables, plants, etc from out of the country, but anything commercially packaged is fine.

 

[Katy Belle]

Longest flight Doha to Houston 16 1/2 hours. They fed us lunch about 2 hours after take off, and dinner 10 hours later. Way too long between meals for kids! They did have sandwiches in the back, if you wanted to go back and get them. I always pack extra food...cans of nuts, crackers, etc.

Usually flights feed you shortly after take off and shortly before landing. But its always a good idea to take some food along.

Have a great flight!

 

[joyjoy]

To those who said about bringing granola bars/fruit etc, how are you doing that? US federal aviation law prohibits you from bringing any food items in your carryon bags that isn't purchased after the checkpoint.

That's simply false information.

Longest for me was Houston - Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10 hrs. They fed us dinner and breakfast. We are vegetarian, so we had to let them know in advance. The food was... eh. Airplane food. We took snacks, too. Coming back, my boyfriend accidentally had an apple in his backpack (along with cookies, a sandwich and candy), and they let that pass, too.

 

[2girlsmom]

Um... No. That would be drinks, not food. And you can even bring drinks if you have a medical condition that requires special ones.

You also could be confusing "aviation law" with APHIS, which covers the USDA's rules on bringing fresh fruit/plant products into the US from abroad. Fresh fruit *is* an issue on most int'l flights, but only in that you need to finish all of it or leave it on the plane, because in many cases you cannot bring it into the destination country. (Even if you do finish it on the plane, the sniffer dogs may still sit next to you. If you've gotten any juice, etc. onto your clothing, they will notice it.)
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/clearing/agri_prod_inus.xml#GeneralGuidelines

Really? It's been a while, but I do recall they wouldn't let me bring apples from Japan, so that might be part of it. However my local airport just last month confiscated the gum out of my purse that I brought from home...

 

[Silent1CB]

They certainly don't serve meals like they used to that's for sure. None of them were memorable, but I do remember being served more than just the snacks you get today. Actual meals back in the day.

 

[Silent1CB]

Really? It's been a while, but I do recall they wouldn't let me bring apples from Japan, so that might be part of it. However my local airport just last month confiscated the gum out of my purse that I brought from home...

Seriously? They are taking gum?

 

[Silent1CB]

You would be better off with a protein bar like a Cliff bar than a granola bar. The protein bar will stay with you & keep you fuller than a carb loaded granola bar will.

 

[LaurenLC]

Chicago to Zurich on Swiss Air... I didn't think it was possible to eat that much on a plane. I felt like they fed us every 30 minutes.

 

[ecuagoddess]

You are not allowed to bring any kind of fresh fruit, vegetables or plants/seeds into or out of the State of Hawaii. Checked bags are run through an Agricultural inspection machine and tagged, untagged bags don't get on the plane to the mainland. For carryons, they remind you on the airplane as you are flying in that you must eat your stuff or it can get confiscated. You have to declare any plants/seeds coming in on the Agricultural/Tourist Form filled out on the plane before landing and be prepared to explain yourself. There are amnesty bins at the airport too.

To answer the question, because I am used to the above restrictions, I tend to pack non-fresh items like nuts, fruit leather, fiber bars and candy (for fun). I also take my empty water bottle through security, then fill it at the water fountain inside the gate. I hate the flavor of bottled water so I never buy it. Longest flight was HNL-EWR, 10 hours or so.

 

[Jeafl]

I think Maui to Chicago non-stop was the longest, about 9 hours. We were lucky enough to be in first class, so they fed us quite well. Some kind of tropical Hawaiian drink as soon as we sat down, then a salmon dinner with pineapple mango chutney (there was a meat choice too), several other courses too. A little while later they came down the aisle with a cart, making everyone custom ice cream sundaes with hot fudge, whipped cream and crushed macadamia nuts. Good stuff!

Oddly enough, what seemed to be only a few hours later, they gave us yet another meal of some kind of beef tips and mashed potatoes. It was about 10:00 pm, so I have no clue what meal that was supposed to be.

 

[joyjoy]

Oddly enough, what seemed to be only a few hours later, they gave us yet another meal of some kind of beef tips and mashed potatoes. It was about 10:00 pm, so I have no clue what meal that was supposed to be.

That would be "Second Dinner" or perhaps "4th meal" which is similar to "2:30 Lunch", the leftovers from your lunch that you eat at your desk at 2:30 p.m. It's the latest American pasttime- creating extra meals since we just. don't. eat. enough.

 

[laurie31]

Really? It's been a while, but I do recall they wouldn't let me bring apples from Japan, so that might be part of it. However my local airport just last month confiscated the gum out of my purse that I brought from home...

Fresh fruit is never allowed to cross international borders (and as someone pointed out, you can't bring it into Hawaii either) but regular food is fine. I always bring tons of food.

I'm very confused about the gum! Gum is not forbidden, it's not a liquid or gel, plus I thought it was recommended to chew gum during take-off. I'm not a gum-chewer at all, but I always chew gum for take-off. My kids do too, and my younger one would be in a lot of pain without doing so. They won't get my gum without a fight!!

 

[pigletgirl]

Phoenix to Maui. I think it was approx. 7 hours. Felt like forever!

 

[JJsmama]

We fly once or twice a year China - US and back 14.5 each way. Then we have to connect to get to other airports. Generally on a 14.5 flight, they serve about 2 meals and a couple snacks. On a flight that long, they don't charge extra for food or drinks.

As to how the food and service will be: depends on where you are flying to and from. Food is catered out of the departing airport. So, from China to US, we get Shanghai food and from US to China, we get Chicago food. Also, we have to travel a lot these days (China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand.. husband also frequently goes to INdia, Australia, Hong Kong) and by far our worst airlines experiences are in the US or on US airlines. Especially with three kids, we get treated soooo much better in Asia.

I still hate the flying.

 

[teskak]

For anybody packing snacks for the long flight to Australia or New Zealand be warned. Customs is very very strict about food products

If you do not declare something that apple could cost you $250 to be paid before you leave the airport and a record that guarantees extra screening on any further visit to Australia.

Ignorance is not an excuse and there are lots of detector dogs + all bags are xrayed on leaving with food showing up as an organic material