Flying as an allergic consumer. The review does exist!

The Allergic Diner and her Allergic Mother recently booked a vacation together. Though it was quite easy, thanks to the internet, to find out about restaurants in the area we were going to visit, I got to thinking about flight travel for allergic consumers. We've all read the articles about passengers with peanut allergies so severe that the whole plane cannot have peanuts. I got to wondering if somewhere there would be a review of allergy-friendly airlines.
The good people at the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network have our best interests at heart. The following was taken from their webpage at http://foodallergy.org . Enjoy!

Airlines

Flying With a Peanut Allergy
Individuals with peanut allergy often worry about reactions occurring on board commercial flights. A published study showed that severe, or anaphylactic, reactions caused by peanuts occurred on such flights from ingestion of peanut-containing food. Other reactions from exposure via skin contact or inhalation were generally less severe.

Many peanut-allergic individuals have safely flown without incident. It is always important, however, to exercise caution while flying and to have emergency medication available. Airlines are required to have epinephrine as part of their emergency medical kits, but flight attendants may not be properly trained to administer the medicine to a passenger. Generally, the flight crew will ask if there is a doctor or other type of medical professional on board the flight who would be willing to respond to the passenger’s needs.

FAAN recommends that you talk with your physician, and assess the risks involved in your specific case. Below are current policies, tips, and strategies to help you take reasonable precautions, and enjoy your trip.


Current Airline Policies Regarding Peanut Snacks

To avoid possible inhalation or skin contact reactions due to large numbers of people opening their peanut snacks, most peanut-allergic passengers are well-advised to fly on one of the following airlines that don’t serve peanut snacks: American, United, Northwest, Jet Blue, Spirit, AirTrans , US Airways, America West and ATA.

Continental continues to serve peanuts and makes no accommodations for peanut-allergic passengers. Delta and its related carrier, Delta Shuttle, now serve a choice of five snacks, including a peanut snack on many of their flights. Delta Connection serves some of those choices, but passengers cannot find out in advance which ones will be served. Delta also provides a peanut-free buffer zone. Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air serves peanuts but, according to its Web site, will also provide peanut-free buffer zones.

Southwest, long noted for its peanut-related advertising, “will make every attempt not to serve packaged peanuts” upon request. The longer the lead time you give an airline, the more likely that it will be able to honor any special requests.

The international carriers that do not serve peanut snacks include Aer Lingus, Al Italia, and British Air.

Flying With a Tree Nut Allergy

FAAN receives many questions from those allergic to tree nuts. The most common question is which airlines don’t serve tree nuts? AirTran is the only airline that doesn’t serve tree nuts at any time. Some airlines only serve them in first class (United), others in snacks sold on board (Northwest), and still others only at certain times of the year (Jet Blue). To find out for sure, ask the customer service representative who books your ticket.