NYC to LDN eating
If you are a vegan traveller, you probably spend a fair chunk of your preparation time wondering what your airline-supplied meal will consist of once you are in the sky.
I have a recurring section on this blog dealing with just that very topic. You can click here to view past stories of airline meals, or keep scrolling down this page to see what I was served on my British Airways flight between JFK New York and London Heathrow last week.
As you can see, it was a somewhat satisfying showing for this trip. The main was grilled eggplant/aubergine with ratatouille while the salad and fruit offerings were very standard but still tasty.
Extra points must be given for the inclusion of Smart Balance vegan spread. I love that stuff!
How does this stack up against vegan airline meals you’ve been served recently?
I’ve has a few flights recently, and although I’m not a fussy vegan on my most recent flight with BA which was from Chile but the connection from São Paulo to LDN. The dinner was Rice with raisins, a soya burger, some green veg and a weird mango curry sauce. I couldn’t eat the sauce so used the plain bread roll to hold the burger.
The breakfast was more dry bread. The hot food was steamed sliced mushrooms, and severely undercooked potato or parsnip. The battered tofu was ok but a little soggy. Both meals had some melon and mango and side salad. No butter or milk substitute.
I’ve had that same British Airways meal every one of the 6-8 times I’ve flown between Boston and London the past few years. I agree that it’s not bad as airplane food goes.
I miss the brief period when the UK veg restaurant Cranks was doing British Airways veggie meal catering (after the closure of their restaurants). I had a fondness for their hearty, hippie meals.
Here’s the vegan meal on Ryanair:
Oh dear… hope you had some nuts.
I travel a lot and never order a vegan meal as if you do you won’t get upgraded as they won’t have aeal for you in the upgraded cabin. BA staff almost always manage to get me something although I usually take fruit on from the lounge and try to eat before boarding. Glad you got fed! Much Love, Barry (Another gay fat vegan – you are not alone).
This. So true.
2 months ago my better half & I flew to Vietnam and back from Gatwick on Vietnam Airlines. We arrived to check in for the outbound flight so early we were among the first to check in. However, when I asked for a window seat we were told they had all gone! I asked how this was the case as I couldn’t check in online and he just shrugged his shoulders and apologised. We got aisle and centre. As the flight progressed I chatted to the bloke next to me – by the window – and he said he arrived late to check in and got whatever seat he was given. When the lights went out & everything went quiet I put this to a stewardess who said “special meal must sit by aisle”!
So if you like sitting by the aisle then you’ll be happy. Me, I’m like a kid when I’m on a plane, I want the window and I want to spend hours looking out of it. Next time I’ll think twice before ordering a vegan meal and will instead take peanuts an/or Trek bars to carry me though.
And the meals? Not vegan, on both legs! What was edible to me did enough to fill a hole but wasn’t worth spending 12 hours in a poor seating location for.
Still, at least they kept the beers coming!
I’m not flying BA again ha ha. They messed my meal up twice on my last trip to Florida in October – no vegan food for me at all. Ooops! On the last flight they eventually brought a plate of salad from the chef in first class with a kinfe and fork – which was a pleasant change from my usual going hungry with BA.
My most recent trip was Hawaii, via the mainland. Always found great vegan food with Delta Airlines.
How do you go about ordering your meal? Did you contact the airline direct?