Waiting to board our plane and....

[Mkrop]

Ok, I'm not an expert as I or no one in my family is allergic to nuts. But everyone keeps saying how is my granola bar/ pb&j / m&m's / crackers 15 rows away going to send a person into an allergic reaction?

It probably won't. Your snack rows away won't. But combine it with 100+ other people with peanuts and that risk goes WAY up. That's why they remove the peanuts onboard and ask you not to eat any you have. Do people still eat them? YES! No doubt they do. But by asking everyone to refrain it takes that risk way down. It's all about reducing the risk.

Personally, I don't see the big deal in going a couple of hours without a nut product, but that's just me. And I don't expect the airline to notify me because I don't think it's that monumental to go without -- and the airline already knows people are going to eat them anyway. They don't go through your belongings during boarding and take away your snacks? All they are trying to do is to provide a safe flight for all passengers.

A couple of hours is not a big deal if you dont have other underlying health issues, many people need to eat timely. so that change to a plan at the last minute is a big deal. Or you dont know when the person last ate, maybe they are coming from home and had just eaten so a 2 or 4 hour flight of not eating is no big deal. But if you have been traveling and then have delays and all you have on you when you arrive at the gate last minute is peanuts/ peanut butter sandwich etc then it is much more difficult for that person.

See my example above, if my DS was not able to eat his protein bars, he would not have eaten from noon on Saturday until 1am on Sunday. Now if he knew of a peanut allergy he could have eaten his protein bar on the bus or while checking in at the airport, but without knowing that is a long time to make someone not eat, esp if they have underlying medical issues themselves, thank goodness DS does not

 

[morgan98]

Then I do not feel they should be accommodated. Sorry. I know people with severe allergies. I also know people with diabetes who (as others posters upthread) usually have nuts on them as a high protein food item that travels well and needs no refrigeration. These people have a legitimate health need that can be really impacted by a last minute ban on nuts.

If you cannot be bothered to give advance notice, your need for accommodation must not be that great, IMO.

Exactly, if something were truly life and death, I would think you could comply with notifying 48 hours in advance. If something could kill me, it would be on the forefront of my mind...lol!

 

[littlejimmy]

Airlines don't make allergy announcements on a whim. I wouldn't feel "put out" by having to avoid peanut products for the duration of the flight to ensure a fellow passengers safety. My goodness, sounds like some people are more worried about fast pass tips and theme park strategies than human lives.

wait...you have fast pass tips? do tell

 

[Lisaloo]

I didn't say the person had to stay home. I said that I personally wouldn't fly. Big difference. Is a vacation that isn't accessible by car worth you or your child's life? Is your child's life worth the compliance of 100+ strangers? Not to me. And you have no idea what I deal with in life. So don't go there.

How do you know they are going on vacation?!

 

[cabanafrau]

So people are inconvenienced. So friggin what. Is a passenger going to die if they don't eat a NUT for 3 hours? No. But the person allergic to nuts might. Anaphylaxis allergies can hit hard and fast. An epi pen buys me 15 minutes if I get stung by a honey bee. Show some mercy to our fellow man. Is someone seriously going to say his/her right to eat a NUT overrides someone's right to LIVE?

What about people with other health issues who have planned ahead and are relying on something with peanuts or nuts to meet their dietary needs? Should their health needs take a backseat and require them to make a last minute scramble or suffer because someone else neglected to provide advance notice of their allergy?

A couple points to consider, a peanut isn't a nut, it's a legume. So if I were to come on board with almonds or pecans they might not affect your peanut allergy in the slightest, but my hummus might present an issue. It's also important to consider the peanut allergy may be quite legitimate and bothersome, but not in fact life threatening. If the dietary and medical concerns of the other passengers can be dismissively discussed as simply the right to eat a NUT, implying they should somehow deal with whatever bothersome effects come from not following their original plan involving eating the nuts, then the non life threatening allergy concerns can be treated just as dismissively, without all of the hyperbole of every peanut allergy being of the life threatening variety.

 

[morgan98]

Airlines don't make allergy announcements on a whim. I wouldn't feel "put out" by having to avoid peanut products for the duration of the flight to ensure a fellow passengers safety. My goodness, sounds like some people are more worried about fast pass tips and theme park strategies than human lives.

I do not think many people have said they would eat peanuts anyway.

People are discussing the reasonableness of the request in the first place. Two separate things.

 

[kamik86]

Airlines don't make allergy announcements on a whim. I wouldn't feel "put out" by having to avoid peanut products for the duration of the flight to ensure a fellow passengers safety. My goodness, sounds like some people are more worried about fast pass tips and theme park strategies than human lives.

But if they don't make them on a whim why can't they make them in advance? That is really all most on here are saying is that people should be given a reasonable amount of advance warning to have something else with them if this is going to be an issue.

 

[Lisaloo]

I do not think many people have said they would eat peanuts anyway.

People are discussing the reasonableness of the request in the first place. Two separate things.

Oh okaaaay.

 

[NHdisneylover]

A couple of hours is not a big deal if you dont have other underlying health issues, many people need to eat timely. so that change to a plan at the last minute is a big deal. Or you dont know when the person last ate, maybe they are coming from home and had just eaten so a 2 or 4 hour flight of not eating is no big deal. But if you have been traveling and then have delays and all you have on you when you arrive at the gate last minute is peanuts/ peanut butter sandwich etc then it is much more difficult for that person.

See my example above, if my DS was not able to eat his protein bars, he would not have eaten from noon on Saturday until 1am on Sunday. Now if he knew of a peanut allergy he could have eaten his protein bar on the bus or while checking in at the airport, but without knowing that is a long time to make someone not eat, esp if they have underlying medical issues themselves, thank goodness DS does not

Exactly---it can also happen that someone has two, three or even four connections, and if things go awry, they may be too tight to stop and buy food in between flights. All of those can be short enough flights that no food is available onboard, but the total flight/travel time can add up to quite a long time.

Besides, at least some diabetics need to eat at very specific times, it wouldn't matter how long the flight is---just that the certain time happens on board.

 

[Mkrop]

Of course. I understand all of this. I'm a rational, reasonable person. I'm sure your son is a good guy. I'd expect nothing less from a 17 year old on a Mission Trip.

There is an obvious difference between a kid running late for his flight, missing the announcement and depending on the snacks in his back pack for his dinner which do contain peanuts and a person who hears the announcement, had dinner, has time to replace the snack but wants to eat their Snickers because they can, dammit. Huge difference.

And I dont think most people have an issue with the accommodation itself it is the lack of notice from the airline bc as you can see there are other scenarios that could put others with medical issues at risk or even put the original requester at risk when people are running late and cant just pop in and buy something else.

 

[Lisaloo]

Peanut butter is not a cure all for diabetes. There are innumerable acceptable alternatives. No one is asking passengers to fast for a day.

 

[Dawnlight]

It's typically restricted for international flights only after so many weeks. This is for safety of mom and baby. Increased chances for blood clots/thrombosis with prolonged sitting. And the obvious pre-term labor at 30,000ft over the ocean with no proper medical equipment. The expectants OBGYN would agree that flying after a certain point is not in the best interest of mother and child.

Yes, I understand that, but an airline still has the discretion to determine whether a person is fit to fly or not. They can do the same for someone who has severe allergies. I was reading a travel blog of a person that has allergies and was once nearly bumped from a flight (not a US airline) due to her asking about accommodations for the allergy. The airline felt, I guess, that if the allergy was so severe she needed such accommodation that it was a liability for her to fly, so she downplayed her allergy and got on the flight.

 

[3Gsandme]

And I dont think most people have an issue with the accommodation itself it is the lack of notice from the airline bc as you can see there are other scenarios that could put others with medical issues at risk or even put the original requester at risk when people are running late and cant just pop in and buy something else.

This thread alone shows you how many people have problems with the accommodation. If you think people don't have an issue with the accommodation regardless of notice, you're mistaken.

 

[fly girl]

A couple of hours is not a big deal if you dont have other underlying health issues, many people need to eat timely. so that change to a plan at the last minute is a big deal. Or you dont know when the person last ate, maybe they are coming from home and had just eaten so a 2 or 4 hour flight of not eating is no big deal. But if you have been traveling and then have delays and all you have on you when you arrive at the gate last minute is peanuts/ peanut butter sandwich etc then it is much more difficult for that person.

See my example above, if my DS was not able to eat his protein bars, he would not have eaten from noon on Saturday until 1am on Sunday. Now if he knew of a peanut allergy he could have eaten his protein bar on the bus or while checking in at the airport, but without knowing that is a long time to make someone not eat, esp if they have underlying medical issues themselves, thank goodness DS does not

And in all honesty, the airline knows people are going to still eat nut products. Like I said making the announcement is reducing the risk. They know people are going to do what they need to do. But in making that announcement some people will refrain and then in turn the risk for an allergic reaction goes down.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Peanut butter is not a cure all for diabetes. There are innumerable acceptable alternatives. No one is asking passengers to fast for a day.

No one is saying peanuts or other nuts are (most diabetics I know carry nuts, not the sugar filled butter). They are, however, generally the best option for on the go (because of the high protein content and ease of carrying without worry about being smashed or refrigeration) so it seems reasonable to inform people in advance so they can plan to have one of those alternatives on the day in question.

I guess that is where I come down on this--I do not see it as a REASONABLE accommodation to ask that allergens be removed at the last minute, for something that is planned well in advance.

 

[kamik86]

Peanut butter is not a cure all for diabetes. There are innumerable acceptable alternatives. No one is asking passengers to fast for a day.

When are they going to get this other food? This announcement is being made at the gate so we are talking at most 30 min from the plane boarding to figure out another option and purchase it.

If they were given notice the day before then they could have planned to have another item. However if they are given notice only a few min before boarding then it doesn't matter how many of thousands of other options may exist. What matters is that those options aren't with them.

 

[gwynne]

Peanut butter is not a cure all for diabetes. There are innumerable acceptable alternatives. No one is asking passengers to fast for a day.

So is it your contention that it is unacceptable to bring any peanut/nut product on an airplane?
Because passengers aren't notified about these issues until really late in the game, sometimes when boarding, more often after being seated.
It's the job of the diabetic to choose a nut free snack, am I understanding?

Kamik-just noticed I was posting at the same time you were. Jinx!

 

[fly girl]

Yes, I understand that, but an airline still has the discretion to determine whether a person is fit to fly or not. They can do the same for someone who has severe allergies. I was reading a travel blog of a person that has allergies and was once nearly bumped from a flight (not a US airline) due to her asking about accommodations for the allergy. The airline felt, I guess, that if the allergy was so severe she needed such accommodation that it was a liability for her to fly, so she downplayed her allergy and got on the flight.

That's a slippery slope. There's a disability act and denying someone due to an allergy is going to stir up trouble.

 

[okeydokey]

I would have no problem at all doing without peanuts for a couple of hours for someone else. Honestly, I would feel ashamed of myself it I had a problem with it. What's wrong with looking out for someone else for a while?

 

[Lisaloo]

So is it your contention that it is unacceptable to bring any peanut/nut product on an airplane?
Because passengers aren't notified about these issues until really late in the game, sometimes when boarding, more often after being seated.
It's the job of the diabetic to choose a nut free snack, am I understanding?

Where do I say that?! No you aren't understanding. I'm addressing this specific OP and thread.

If we were flying I wouldn't think twice about helping to ensure the safety of a fellow passenger, but I do generally care about the well being of others.

I've dealt with Type I diabetes since my DS17 was diagnosed at age 4. I used to carry plenty of snacks (nut and other) for him. He manages on his own now. He is also considerate and empathetic and would never grouse about missing out on peanut butter crackers for someone with a life threatening allergy.