“Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away…” – Frank Sinatra
This here is one of my all time favorite posts to ever write: The Ultimate Gluten Free Guide to Global Airlines!
This guide will provide you with all the information necessary to request and reserve a special, gluten free meal the next time you fly. I even went ahead and included each airlines contact information and special meal request notification policy (or notification timeframe).
Flying can be a pretty tricky when it comes to inflight meals. This will make things a heck of a lot easier for you.
I promise.
Here’s a brief overview of the things you’ll find in this ultimate guide.
- A list of all airlines that have a gluten free meal available
- Each airlines contact information as well as when and how you need to request your special meal.
- 5 surefire tips to ensure the best inflight experience ever
Sounds good?
If so, let’s get it started in here. (all Black Eyed Peas fans hopefully sang that line. I just did.)
Requesting Your Special In-flight Meal
In this day and age, most airlines offer some type of special diet meal.
Whether if you’re diabetic, vegan, kosher, lactose intolerant, or in your case, gluten-free, most major airlines that serve in-flight meals with have a specially made meal just for you.
Now in order to take advantage of one of these meals you must request the meal either when you’re booking your flight or 1-4 days before your departure date depending on the airline. (You’ll learn more about each airlines special meal request notification policy and timeframe later on in this post.)
Just remember that airlines will only offer a special meal if your flight offers in-flight meals. Usually anything 3 hours later will offer some kind of meal option, depending on the airline, of course.
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly of Gluten Free Airline Meals
Let’s start on a positive note.
The Good
- Almost all major global airlines offer a gluten free meal with an exception for a few.
- On average, most of the meals served are individually wrapped reducing the risk of cross-contamination.
The Ugly
The only two downsides about these gluten free meals are:
1. You’ll never know what you’re going to get for you meal until you actually get it on the plane. Surprise!
Unfortunately, these gluten free meals vary by route, flight time, and location so it’s impossible to know all the options available because frankly, the airlines don’t even know what’s being served (I’ve contacted about 20 different airlines regarding their gluten free menus and the answers all see to be the same…”please call this number to reserve a gluten free meal for your flight.”) Gee thanks for the help…
2. Gluten free meals are sometimes inconsistent.
There have been many times when food items with gluten in it were actually included into the so called “gluten-free meal.” Plus, there area also times when airlines forget to bring your special meal on the plane, leaving you hungry and helpless.
…
But other than that, these gluten free meals are pretty good, in terms of airline food, of course.
5 Surefire Steps to Have the Best Gluten-Free Flight Experience
1. Make sure that your airline offers a gluten free meal (special dietary needs meal). Hopefully, you’ll have this guide handy 🙂
2. Request a special meal. Depending on the airline, you will need to request a special meal between 1-4 days in advance. Every airline’s special meal notification policy is different, so be sure to double check with your airline. In this guide, I went ahead and listed every airlines special meal request policy to help make things a little bit easier for you.
3. Confirm you meal request directly with the airline or travel agent before you depart. This could be done at the service desks at each gate. You can also call the airline to make sure.
4. Pack some snacks or even a small meal just in case. As a gluten free traveler, flying prepared is extremely important. Since there have been times when airlines forget gluten free meals, or even create special meals that have gluten written all over them, it’s always your best choice to come prepared. Bringing your own snacks or even full meal could potentially save your stomach from starvation, or worse, sickness.
5. Double check the gluten free-ness of your meal. A piece of whole grain toast, side salad with extra croutons, a Twinkie, and a piece of fried chicken in a gluten free boxed lunch? Yeah, I don’t think so. Be sure to double check that your special meal is actually 100% gluten free. The last thing you want is to be stuck in one of those tiny airplane bathrooms during your 15 hour flight from New York to Tokyo.
Gluten Free Meals by Airlines
Here’s a list of all the airlines that offer a gluten free meal. This is usually for long haul, international flights only.
Also, please note that you can select your gluten free meal when you are booking your flight. This is usually found when you are entering in the passenger information. There will normally be an option that say “special requests.”
* Gluten Free Meal Code: GFML
Aer Lingus Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Reserve at time of booking or simply contact the reservations office at (516) 622-4222
Aeroflot Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 36 hours in advance
- Click here to see if your route offers a GFML
- To reserve, call (495) 223-55-55
Aerolineas Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Only available on select flights
- To reserve, call 1-800-333-0276
Air Canada Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 18 hours in advance
- Can be reserved when booking your flight
- Call 1-888-247-2262 if your flight has already been booked to reserve your GFML
Air France Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve 48 hours in advance
- You can only reserve a GFML for flights longer than 2 hours 35 minutes
- You can reserve when booking your flight or call 1-800-237-2747
Air Pacific (Fiji Airways)
- At least 24 hours in advance
- To reserve, contact Air Pacific
Air New Zealand Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- This meal is not for anyone with an allergy
- To reserve, contact the airline
Air Tahiti Nui Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 36 hours in advance or when booking
- To reserve, call 1-855-835-9286
Air Transat Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 72 hours in advance
- To reserve your GFML, call 1-877-TRANSAT (872-6728)
Alaska Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- You can reserve your meal online here
- Mediterranean Tapas Picnic Pack (Vegan and gluten-free) – $6 USD Late July® Organic Multigrain Snack Chips, Mario® snack olives, Wild Garden™ sun-dried tomato hummus dip®, Madi K’s almonds®, Vacaville Fruit Company Snackins’ Apricots & Apples, TCHO Dark Chocolate.
Alitalia Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 12-24 hours in advance
- To reserve, call 1-800-223-5730
American Airlines Gluten Free Menu
- 24 Hours Notice
- Special meals are not available in the main cabin (economy) for domestic U.S. flights.
- Example GF Menu: (Brunch/Hot Breakfast – Mushroom cheddar omelet with sweet potato hash, yogurt, seasonal fruit; Cold Breakfast – Yogurt, seasonal fruit, breakfast cookie; Lunch/Dinner – Sweet chili salmon, green beans, white rice, salad, fresh fruit; Snack – Penne pasta with artichokes, fresh fruit)
- To reserve your meal: Call American Airlines at 1-800-433-7300 in the U.S. and Canada or your local American Airlines office.
Austrian Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Reserve your meal when booking or by calling +43 (0)5 1766 1000
British Airways Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve your meal at least 24 hours in advance
- You can request your special meal through Manage My Booking as soon as you have a confirmed booking your flight through British Airways
Cathay Pacific Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve your GFML at least 24 hours in advance
- To reserve, go to manage my booking or by contacting your local Cathay Pacific office.
China Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Call 1-800-882-8122 to reserve your meal
Delta Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve your meal at least 12 hours in advance
- Request your meal using My Trips
El Al Gluten Free Meal
- This meal is not for Celiacs or anyone with a gluten allergy
- To reserve, call (03) 977-1111 ext 1
Emirates Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- To reserve your meal, call 1 800 777 3999
Eva Airways Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- To reserve your meal, call 1-800-695-1188
Finnair Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Call 358 600 140 140 to reserve
Gulf Air Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- To reserve, call 1-888-359-4853
Iberia Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Only for first class passengers only
- To reserve, call 1-800-433-7300
Japan Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Online: reserve at least 72 hours; Phone: reserve at least 96 hour in advance
- Please note that this is a LOW-GLUTEN meal (not for anyone with allergy)
KLM Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Please note that this meal cannot be guaranteed to be 100% gluten free
- You can reserve this meal by contacting KLM, when booking your trip, or via My Trip
Korean Air Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours prior to departure
- Reserve your meal when booking your flight
LAN Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 48 hours in advance
- You can reserve your meal when booking or by calling their customer call center
Lufthansa
- Reserve a GFML for flights longer than 185 minutes in econmy class and 75 minutes for business class
- Fly in comfort with Lufthansa
Luxair Gluten Free Meal Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve a gluten free meal by calling 352 2456 4242
Olympic Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- You can reserve you meal by calling 801 801 0101
Qantas Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve you meal at least 24 hours on Qantas.com
SAS Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve you meal at least 24 hours in advance
- You can reserve your GFML by calling 1-800-221-2350
SATA Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve you meal at least 24 hours in advance
- Call (+351) 296 209 720 to reserve
Singapore Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve your meal at least 24 hours in advance
- You can reserve your meal by managing your trip on their website.
South African Airways Gluten Free Meal
- You can only reserve your meal within 72 hours till departure
- To reserve your meal, call 27 11 978 1234
Swiss International Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Call 1 877 359 7947 to reserve meal
Thai Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- 24 hours for Royal First and Silk Classes; 48 hours advance for economy class
- Call (662) 356-1111 to reserve your meal
Turkish Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Call 1-800-874-8875 to reserve meal
United Airlines Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- You can reserve your meal by logging in to your Mileage Plus account on United.com
U.S. Airways Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve at least 24 hours in advance
- Call 800-428-4322 to reserve your GFML
Virgin America Gluten Free Meal
- Gluten free in-flight options are available
- Be sure to ask you flight attendant regarding their gluten free snack and platter options
Virgin Atlantic Gluten Free Meal
- Reserve your meal no later than 48 hours prior to departure
- To reserve you gluten free meal on Virgin Atlantic Airways, visit My Booking
…
So what’s your experience with gluten free meals on your flight? I’d love to hear about it, good or bad!
Anna
This list is missing at least Dragon Airlines, which had the best gluten-free bread I have ever eaten.
Adam Bryan
I’ll be sure to add them to the Anna. First, I need to contact them and learn their meal request period and process. But thanks for the suggestion!
Danielle bush
hey lov u al thisis col
Lois
thanks for ur tips they mite help me they mite no lol x 🙂 !!!!!
Steve
Flew LAN from Bogotá to Miami in October… my gluten free meal? A small dish of sliced pineapple, small dish of berries, and another small dish of sliced pineapple PLUS a bottle of water… they were kidding, right? The regular meal was a small ham sandwich on a bread roll, ANOTHER bread roll, a piece of cake, and chips. Wonder what the vegetarian meal looked like! Yikes!
Suzie
We flew Singapore Air in 2011 when we moved to Germany. The airline has a great reputation for being swishy, but I can say our entire experience from booking tickets to touchdown in Frankfurt was one frustrating situation after another. Perhaps it was just that flight, but an overseas flight is too long to be uncomfortable. That being said, our meals were horrible dried out fish. Plus, they served us the same dried out fish a 2nd time at breakfast- only it was more dried out. It was no fun for my 3 kids and I watch others eat breakfast and sit with our twice dried fish! My poor husband guilty ate his breakfast. Luckily I had food stashed away to eat.
rorschached
I flew with Lufthansa and Swiss Air last year. Lufthansa’s bread was the best airline one I’ve had, the rest of the food supplied was nothing special. Swiss Air’s meal had a few problems – some bland food, mouldy grapes and the air crew kept offering me bread rolls even after serving me a gluten free meal. The good news? I complained about this when I got back and they sent me a voucher for a free European flight (I was in business class so I guess that helps when compaining)
Seize the Globe
Wow! That’s a generous compensation for a dietary complaint. I’m impressed. Well done!
Alex
Hi Adam, thanks for the advice.
My problem is that I am gluten-free, but also vegan.
Can an airline usually put together a combination meal?
Usually I’ve had to stick to Raw Vegetable meals, which obviously isn’t substantial at all!
Helen
I have celiac disease which means I can’t eat gluten. We just phoned American Airlines to ask why the gluten free meal I’d requested (and had confirmed) for the flight out of LAX had gone missing and to double check that they had my request for one for the return flight. It turns out that it hadn’t gone missing but that American Airlines (a huge company) flying out of Los Angeles (a huge city) isn’t “able” to offer a gluten free option for lunch on a six hour flight where they’re serving lunch to passengers. Luckily, I’ve been told that I’ll have to bring my own food if I want to eat on the flight home too as they don’t offer a gluten free option for that flight either, which is good because I’ll have something to eat ? but crazy because these days the smallest airlines flying out of very obscure places offer food I can eat so why not American Airlines flying out of LAX? ?
Peggy OMeara
Helen,
I am currently arguing with American Airlines as to why they can’t provide a GF meal from O’Hare to Seattle. The whole first class cabin will be given meals, yet they will not provide a GF meal. Escalated the issue and got absolutely nowhere. Was also told I could bring my own food. Unaccceptable !
The supervisor would give no further information.
Won’t be flying AA again..
PHIL
Just returned from the USA after a very hectic schedule.
None of the U.S. Carriers that I flew AA, United offered a GF meal on any leg.
Thank goodness for Air NZ whose GF meals in premium Eco were first class. Sensational two course meals at breakfast lunch and dinner.
Air NZ you’ve won me over.
Armin
Also missing is LOT, the Polish Airline. I don’t know specifics about long haul flights, but on European flights, you can order a decent GFML online, which I find very convenient. It’s not free, but I think well worth it – and you know what you get.
Lynn Novatt
Do you know what kind of gluten free meal is offered on LOT Polish Airline?