On my recent trip to Paris I flew United Airlines. I reached out prior to ask about gluten free meals and was told that they were not offering specialty meals due to COVID. This did seem to be a bit of a cop-out but I selected a gluten free meal option for my flight anyway, just in case. I’m so glad I did because they just brought back the gluten free meals, according to the flight attendants I spoke to. Both long flights to-an-from DC to Paris included 2 meals and plenty of snacks.
One of the most challenging things about flying if just surrenders your trust that things are gluten free. There is no kitchen they can go back to check. What they have should be labeled. Mine came with a yellow special meal card. I didn’t get sick so they did a pretty good job! It was a relief to be able to eat and not worry about food on a long flight.
For the long flights we flew using United Premium Plus (thanks Mom!). I had to look up the difference to let you know for sure but It’s still an economy ticket that’s more expensive and only available for long-haul international flights. Economy plus is just extra leg room and also more expensive by about $100 to $150. For an 8 hour flight and as a tall person with celiac disease, the extra comfort is so worth it! It includes extra leg room, upgraded dining and complimentary alcoholic drinks and a better TV viewing experience. Since upgraded dining was included, I’m not sure what the gluten free meals would look like in basic economy. Hopefully the same, just not on real dishes. We also got a blanket, pillow and little travel bag with socks, chapstick and an eye cover for sleep. There were also TV screens on the back of the seat in front of us, with headphones to pick something from a variety of shows and movies. I’m 6 feet tall so the extra leg space was greatly appreciated for the long flights. I’m a typical southwest flyer so I felt like a princess. If I can, I will try to do this moving forward. If you track your miles with United then after a certain number of points you get complimentary premier upgrades!
My flight there included gluten free dinner rolls. I could tell they were gluten free because they were hard as a rock. I could not open one up with my hands. I probably could have taken someone out if I threw it at them. On the way back there was a different roll that was French made, it was very soft and tasty! Here is a picture below:
Dinners were mostly of the chicken and rice variety, similar to the regular meal but without couscous. Honestly, I often thought the airline made things more difficult for themselves but not simply making that meal the dinner choice for everyone since it was similar and easy enough to duplicate gluten free.
Lunch was a sandwich on a gluten free roll or bun. While everyone else just got a sandwich I got a whole plate with a salad, fruit and another dinner roll. I felt so lucky! I saved the roll for later connecting flights and I’m glad I did because layovers were short and gluten free eats in the airports were slim pickings.
Breakfast was 2 bowls of fruit, 1 gave 1 back because 2 was not needed. They also brought out oatmeal later on. I felt a bit suspicious about that being gluten free since it’s not naturally safe for celiacs. Since no one else was offered it I felt safer about it. Bit I don’t really like oatmeal and was pretty full so I turned it down.
Snacks were plentiful. They handed out some, if it wasn’t gluten free I asked if they had some. There were chips, corn nuts and nuts. They also had jerky and trail mix that was reportedly gluten free available for purchase. The snack boxes weren’t labeled gluten free, but someone told me that the cheese and meat box is ok since the crackers are wrapped. If in basic economy you may need to purchase snacks but it’s comforting to know they had options.
Desserts were ice cream and gluten free cookies!
I’m flying to Hawaii in October for for a wedding. We got United tickets for our flight back. It’s already more expensive than Southwest, but the fact that there are meals/snacks on United and not Southwest makes it worth it for such a long day of flying (13 hours total). I will pack something on the way there for my Southwest flight. I selected United Economy Plus on return for the long flight, which has the added leg room without the upgraded dining experience. We shall see how it compares to my flight to Paris. I will keep you posted.
