I work for an international airline and we will not provide any meal to anybody suffering from any nut allergy as none of our suppliers worldwide (including those in the USA) will guarantee that there has been no cross contamination. If somebody rings us to advise that somebody in there party has a nut allergy, we enter a special no meal code in the booking and advise them that they have to bring their own meal that our cabin crew can heat up for them.
I just had look at the websites of some of the major American carriers and here is what I found:
Delta
Peanut Allergies
When you notify us that you have a peanut allergy, we'll create a buffer zone of three rows in front of and three rows behind your seat. We'll also advise cabin service to board extra pretzels, which will allow our flight attendants to serve only pretzels within this area.
Gate agents will be notified in case you'd like to pre-board and cleanse the immediate seating area. We'll do everything we can, but unfortunately we still can't guarantee that the flight will be completely peanut-free.
United
Peanut information
United does not serve peanuts as snacks or use peanuts or peanut oils in foods served on our flights. However, we do serve vendor products manufactured in facilities that also produce items containing peanuts or peanut oils, and we do have snack mixes that contain other tree nuts, such as almonds and pistachios. Since we cannot prevent customers from bringing onboard their own peanuts or food items containing peanut products, we cannot guarantee a nut-free environment. When making your travel arrangements, we recommend that you assess the extent of any allergies or other medical conditions to determine if air travel is the right choice for you.
American Airlines
Peanut Allergy
American recognizes that some passengers are allergic to peanuts. Although we do not serve peanuts, we do serve other nut products and there may be trace elements of unspecified peanut ingredients, including peanut oils, in meal and snacks. We make no provisions to be peanut-free. Additionally, other customers may bring peanuts on board. Therefore, we cannot guarantee customers will not be exposed to peanuts during flight and strongly encourage customers to take all necessary medical precautions to prepare for the possibility of exposure.
US Airways
US Airways recognizes that some of our passengers are allergic to peanut products. However, due to last-minute aircraft changes and the possibility that other passengers may bring peanuts onboard, we cannot guarantee that no peanut products will be onboard.
Because we cannot accommodate "peanut-free" snack requests and the possibility that peanut-related ingredients may be contained in meals, we encourage passengers to bring their own food items onboard the flight.
South West
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 on southwest.com, there is a field to indicate a peanut allergy on the Payment and Passenger Information page during the booking process. If the reservation is made via
travel agent, the Customer should telephone 1-800-I-FLY-SWA afterward to speak with a Reservation Sales Agent.
We suggest that Customers with an allergy to peanut dust book their travel on early morning flights, as our aircraft undergo a thorough cleaning only at the end of the day. 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, all 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 aircrafts routing.
Southwest Airlines cannot guarantee that a flight will be free of other allergens such as perfumes, lotions, cleaning solutions, etc.
So none of those guarantees a peanut free environment either and all of them state that they cannot prevent other customers to bring peanut products on board. Delta seems to be the most enlightened, but I doubt that the "buffer Zone" is all that effective as everybody is breathing the same air that is circulated in the whole cabin.
dolphingirl47
