"Skip airline meals."--Diana Fairechild

AIRLINE "SPECIAL" MEALS

"Fairechild says, 'Research has shown that high-carbohydrate foods aid mountain climbers and athletes who are training in high altitude environments.'" -Alameda Times-Star

"We heartily recommend that you take the Diana Fairechild's advice and skip the meal, to which we add: spend the $12.95 on her book." -Commercial Travelers Assn.

"For those who have a lot of difficulties with flying, Fairechild describes in detail numerous aspects of flying including travel diets." -Magariet, (Netherlands)

"Diana Fairechild is an aviation health and safety analyst." -Andrea Arceneau, CNN-TV

Many passengers feel that by ordering a "special meal" they can get something of a little better quality than the normal airline fare.

Here are the special meal options that are available for passengers; not all options are available on every flight.

• Vegetarian (no meat, fish, eggs, usually includes dairy)

• Hindu (spicy, Indian-style vegetarian)

• Kosher (cutlery and plates have never been used before, meat is slaughtered, cooked and served according to Kosher law)

• Muslim (meat is slaughtered in the name of Allah and is of permissible food source, such as beef or lamb)

• The Prescription Diets: diabetic, low sodium, low cholesterol/fat

GETTING YOUR SPECIAL MEAL

Many special meals are ordered but never delivered on board. Here's what I recommend you do to order (and get) your special meal request.

-Request it with your reservation.
-Reconfirm it with Reservations 48 hours before departure.
-Ask at check-in, "Is it in the computer?"
-Ask the galley attendant after boarding (prior to takeoff), "Was it loaded?" At this time, to aid cabin attendants with delivery, hand over a slip of paper with your meal preference/name/seat number.

FROM READERS

"Your site looks great and offers many great tips for the traveling public. I am a broker of food to the airline industry (yes, I sell airplane food). The frozen meals range from $ .70/unit to $1.30/unit." --Joe Broom

"I just read in your website about eating carbohydrate snacks in airplanes instead of the meals being served. Can you please give me examples of carbohydrate snacks? I am taking a trip to Asia next month, and I want to make sure I eat the right stuff since I don't relish airplane food. I did get a lot of travel hints from your website. Thanks very much." --Maria Pobre

Answer: Some of the carbohydrate snacks I enjoy eating on jets include my own cooking and takeout meals from vegetarian restaurants and health food stores. Ethnic restaurants such as Thai, Chinese, Greek, Lebanese, and Indian also have a number of high-carbohydrate vegetarian meals to choose from. These include steamed or sautéed vegetables, as well as pasta and grain (rice, millet, couscous) dishes. Salads are also good, though I find a cooked meal satisfies me more when I'm traveling, and cooked food is easier for me to digest.

FOR MORE DEPTH & INFORMATION, SEE DIANA'S BOOKS AND/OR WRITE TO DIANA

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