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Air Fare
Cheap Charlie · May 12, 1999

In an age of service reductions, one of the first amenities to be eliminated was the often maligned airline meal. I once thought that most passengers would have said, "Good riddance," to the food. For years, passengers complained that it was terrible and that they didn't need so much to eat.

No way. Ironically, airline passengers began to complain that they weren't being fed enough. Some even change flight plans to have an airline meal. Go figure.

Most flights don't have any meal service for tourist class and significantly reduced service in First Class. On recent flights between Boston and Miami and between Dallas and San Diego I received a euphemistic "Bistro Service." Having grown up in Europe, I was excited to have a chance to experience some of the international flavor U.S. airlines have developed in their expansions to every corner of the world. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered that my "Bistro Service" was more akin to the culture Mom packed into my brown-bag school lunch than anything found along Paris' Left Bank.

I used to hear, "Ugh! Peanuts again," on every flight it seemed. Then the government threatened to have peanuts quarantined from the airlines. Then I found that more and more airlines are shifting to pretzels. The Generation Xers screamed, "I want my MTV!" Today's airline passengers are screaming, "I want my peanuts and airline meals back!" What has been the result? We are shifting back to peanuts and the airlines are spending more money on meals.

The "Bistro Service"? Well, it is getting better. But, whatever the passenger reaction has been, the airlines are more or less sticking to their guns when it comes to severely reduced meals. I once saw a chart that described what criteria each airline used to determine when meals were going to be served, however, I have no idea where to find it (wait for it in a future column). Suffice it to say, don't expect meals on any flight shorter than two hours or during "non-traditional meal hours."

We have probably all experienced airline food. We have probably all complained.

Many of my frequent flier friends -- and parents traveling with children who are thinking ahead -- always take their own cookies, snacks, fruits and cheeses to munch on during their flights. Others will only eat "special meals" detailed in the next section. Bottled water is often a good idea as well since it not only quenches thirst, but combats the dehydration caused by dry air in the aircraft cabin.

I know you are asking, "What does this have to do with cheap"? Not much, but when meals are offered on flights, you should know that special meals are available for anyone who requests one. Better yet, if you order a special meal and then find you can't stand it, or you figure the regular lasagna or herb-stuffed chicken looks better, you can switch back to what everyone else is eating.

But for the most part, special meals, specially the vegetarian meals, in my experience, are far superior to anything normally traveling up and down the aisle in the food cart. This is a bargain you can claim for no extra cost. You can select special meals on most airlines; they even have a section for them in most Internet reservation systems. These meals normally must be ordered six to 24 hours, depending on the airline, before your flight departure. Any changes in your schedule will nullify your meal request. Special meals are not available on all flights, but if you don't ask, you'll never enjoy one.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines offers 13 special meals in four categories -- Diet, Religious, Vegetarian, and Children's. Their special selections include: Diabetic, Low cholesterol/low fat, Low calorie, Low sodium, High fiber, Kosher, Moslem, Hindu, Western vegetarian, Strict vegetarian, Asian vegetarian, Baby food and Child meals.

Other airlines offer Gluten-free (no wheat, rye, barley, or oats), Bland (no seasoning), High protein, Lacto-vegetarian, Fruit, Seafood, Oriental, Kosher, Hamburgers, Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and sometimes even a birthday or wedding cake. United Airlines even offers Obento (a chilled Japanese meal) and McDonald's Friendly Skies Meals for children on some flights. US Airways has chicken legs and "tater tots." Delta serves pizza.

You might as well try some of these meals as long as you've already paid for them. They provide a change of pace and, what the heck, you might enjoy them.

As they say in Italy, "Buon viagio e buon appetito!"

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at cheapch@aol.com or access his Web site.