Peanut Allergies and Flying
 

Does anyone have a severe allergy to peanuts and have any special precautions they make before flying. Or do you know of any airlines that are "allergy" friendly?

Why not simply bring your own snacks - they would have to be better than what the airline provides?

Thanks for the reply NYtraveler. It's not eating on the plane, I would never eat anything provided. It's the peanut dust when they serve the peanuts, which can cause a fatal allergic reaction in minutes.

I haven't seen peanuts on planes in years. I just flew Delta the other day and we had pretzels and biscotti cookies. Bring snacks. Check with the airlines about whether they serve peanuts at all on any of their flights. Some people are so allergic that a person next to you eating them can set them off. I would call the airlines direct.

Have never heard of anyone whose allergy is so bad that the dust from other people eating peanuts causes a reation - I'm not doubting it - just never heard of it.

That must severely limit your going to any bar or restaurant. What do you do there?

DJCV, I would not advertise the fact that you have a deadly reaction to peanuts before your board your flight.

Find out ahead of time if they serve peanuts on your flight. If they do, don't fly. You have zero rights in this matter.

The Captain and First Officer can pull you off a flight for any reason and if they think your health may be in jeapardy, they will refuse you boarding.

I have noticed that some (most?) airlines now serve pretzels instead of nuts, and I assumed that is due to allergies. Southwest still serves peanuts, at least did in December.

I wasn't aware that the airlines still served peanuts. Thought most had switched to pretzels because of peanut allergies.

Go Travel - Thanks for that advise. I have never heard of this. Southwest still serves peanuts and their web site says to advise 1 hour before boarding and they won't serve them. Never knew they may not let me board. I usually fly Delta and I haven't seen them server peanuts in quite a while as girlonthego said. I wish I had booked Delta now.

NYTraveler - Going to restaurants is very difficult. I ususally don't eat out any longer. I had a reaction recently and was rushed to the emergency room. It's just not worth it any longer. This allergy is a lot more prevalent than people realize. Even to be sensitive to the peanut dust - I know sounds weird. Thanks again for your reply.

DJCV, the FAA pretty much gives the Captain and First Officer dictatorship rights when it comes to flying. People have no ADA rights in the air. Let the airline know ahead of time so they will clean up the peanut mess/dust.

The Captain and First Officer can pull anyone off any flight for any reason.

"Peanut Dust Allergies
Southwest Airlines takes the issue of peanut allergies very seriously. Because it is nearly impossible for persons who have an allergy to peanut dust to avoid triggering a reaction if peanut dust is in the air, Southwest Airlines is unable to guarantee a peanut-free or allergen-free flight.

We have procedures in place to assist our Customers with severe allergies to peanut dust and will make every attempt not to serve packaged peanuts on the aircraft when our Customers alert us to their allergy to peanut dust. We ask that Customers with allergies to peanut dust advise our Reservations Sales Agents of the allergy at the time the reservation is made. If the reservation is made via southwest.com or a travel agent, you should telephone Reservations afterward by calling 800 I FLY SWA (800 435-9792.)

If at all possible, we suggest that Customers with an allergy to peanut dust book their travel on early morning flights, as our Flight Attendants do not begin serving peanuts until after 9:30 a.m. local time. If travel during the early morning hours is not feasible or the flight’s duration spans past 9:30 a.m. local time, Customers with allergies to peanut dust must check in at the departure gate one hour prior to departure and notify our Customer Service Agent at the gate of the allergy. (Please allow enough time to park, check luggage and/or receive your boarding pass, and to pass through security checkpoint.)

Upon advising our Customer Service Agent at each departure gate (including connecting flights), the Customer Service Agent will complete a Peanut Dust Allergy form and ask the Customer to present the form to our Flight Attendant upon boarding. This form notifies our Employees that a Customer with allergies to peanut dust will be traveling on the flight, and our Flight Attendants will make every effort to serve an alternate snack. As some of our other snack items may contain peanut particles, peanut oil, or have been packaged in a peanut facility, Customers who have allergic reactions to eating/ingesting peanuts should read the ingredients on any packaged snack before consumption. Of course, Customers are welcome to bring their own snacks with them.

Although following the above procedures will ensure peanuts are not served on a flight, Southwest cannot prevent other Customers from bringing peanuts or products containing peanuts onboard our flights. In addition, Southwest cannot give assurances that remnants of peanuts and/or peanut dust/oil will not remain on the aircraft floor, seats, or tray tables from flights earlier in the aircraft’s routing."

We have flown on Northwest, American and United and haven't had peanuts on our flights in years. I believe they all served pretzels instead.

DJCV This is a difficult allergy. My doctor's three sons all have severe peanut allergies and I saw them all getting on a delta flight last weekend. I only know of this allergy because of the many elementary school children who have it. The school limits all treats for parties to avoid peanut related items (no nutty brownies, cookies with nuts, etc...)As the kids get older they know what to avoid, but I can sympathize with you. I hope you can find a peanut-free flight.

It's true that Southwest does not serve peanuts on early morning flights. Also, I have been on a flight where the attendant announced that peanuts would not be served due to an allergy. She asked that we get our peanuts on the way off of the flight!

On flights over 2 hours, SW gives out snack packs that have cookies and crackers, but no peanuts.

Just to stir things up a bit, I would suspect that many airlines have resorted to pretzels instead of peanuts, using the allergy worry as the public explanation -- and a decent one, since the allergies are real and really dangerous. But of course the pretzels are a lot cheaper.

When things get tricky, however, is when they serve nut mixes to Business or First Class passengers, just to show how much more they're pampered ;-) . The question of peanut "dust" (tiny particles that can get into the air circulation -- if you smell peanuts, they're circulating) then becomes more compelling.

DJCV - on discount airlines, I'm guessing it's less of a problem, but I would take SW's warning as more or less the industry standard. On 2 and esp. on 3 class flights, you may have to change your arrangements or at least be ready for a problem.

And as some Fodorites will always remind you: call the specific airline about your specific flight.

As of March 13 until the 16, they were still serving nuts on Continental and Air France.

On a Virgin Atlantic trip to London a couple of weeks ago as soon as the plane closed the doors in Orlando the flight attendant announced on the speaker that there was someone on the plane with severe nut allergies and if people brought them on board please do not open them. I did not hear any complaints from people around me if anyone did bring them on board.

If you explain the problem, Southwest may issue you a refund so that you can book Delta. If death were a possibility, there is no way that i would fly Southwest. They are serving peanuts day and night, and those planes are not very clean. Southwest is the one airline where I caught a cold or flu EVERY time I flew them. Co-incidence? Maybe, but like I said...if it was Delta vs. death, I would opt for Delta. I would bet that peanut dust is heavy in the Southwest-dirty-filtered-air. They always RUSH to clean and re-board those planes, there are often peanut packets in the seat pockets, under the seats etc.

If a person has a severe peanut allergy and still chooses to fly on Southwest Airlines,well Darwin at work.

My friend's one year old daughter has a severe allergy to peanuts. She followed the SW airline's advice by calling ahead of time and then notifying personel in advance when she arrived at the airport. She was struck by the number of passengers around her that were whining about the lack of peanuts. Even the guy next to her began complaining about the lack of peanuts until my friend told him that it was her 1 year old who was allergic. The flight attendent then got on the intercom and explained that they were not serving peanuts because of a severe peanut allergy which suprisingly caused more complaining. Seems like they could have just served pretzels without the announcement- or perhaps SW fliers are willing to be hearded like elephants just to get their peanuts on their flight!

Why are severe peanut allergies such a new(ish) issue? Back in the day, peanuts were everywhere...I'm not trolling, I'm honestly curious.

Southwest serves peanuts on my 9am flights, is that not early morning?

Also, I HAVE seen them in action with the no peanuts thing...they actually made an announcement that someone was allergic and they'd be serving pretzels. What an airline, those sweet, goofy bastards.

love
roxy

I was thinking the very same thing as E. I do not remember nut allergies being a big thing when my kids were born in the early to mid 80's or even after that. In fact I don't remember nuts of any sort being a "thing" at all.

The population of our country is growing. More people means more people allergic to peanuts.Approximately 1.5 million people in the U.S. have peanut allergy, the leading cause of severe allergic reactions. Each year, thousands of people rush to hospital emergency rooms, and approximately 50 to 100 people die after accidentally eating peanuts. Strict avoidance is the only means of preventing an allergic reaction

Thank you everyone for your postings and your kind comments and good advise. I called Southwest Airlines a few minutes ago and they were extremely understanding and gave me a full refund for two tickets, even they were non-refundable!

Thank you Clarkgriswold for your posting. So many people are just not aware of how serious this allergy is. It's not just the suffocation from the swelling, but other causes of death are an extreme drop in blood pressure.

In response to E and Placeu2...I am 46 years old so I have been living with this allergy since I almost died when I was a toddler. I've had close calls throughout my life even though I have always been extremely cautious. I am thankful that school children these days don't have to worry as did. Now if only restaurants and airlines would get "on-board."

Thanks again everyone!

a friend's son is severely allergic to many things, including peanuts. she helps fundraise for the national allergy awareness group (can't remember what it is called). researchers/doctors actually do not know why allergies are on the rise. there are many theories, but none have panned out to be definitive. people blame everything from the huge increase in antibacterial products have caused immune systems to be less effective to the mom eating too much peanut butter during pregnancy. who knows, but it is really becoming a big issue for our society.

Because this posting is a way for others to be aware of the severity of this allergy. I want to add that the reason I've mentioned restaurants is because it's not just peanuts, it's the peanut oil that many restaurants use when cooking as well.

DJCV, you are so right about the peanut oil! I have a restaurant, where we use peanut oil exclusively, and although we brag about it on our menu, it was not "posted" on the wall until a couple of years ago when an allergic customer explained it all to me. Also, when a customer tells me they are allergic to shellfish, I explain that the cooking surfaces (the grill or the fryer) may have had shellfish on them, and so a severely allergic person must really be a very careful detective!

I once read about a child who went to a neighbor's house. The neighbor was making soup, and the child passed through the kitchen and DIED as a result of his allergy! This is serious stuff.