I’m going to go out on a limb and reason that not only was a woman offered more than a napkin and bottle of water for her Air Canada in-flight meal, but this is a story that actually reflects well on Air Canada.
Woman Complains About “Vegan Meal” On Air Canada…
A woman named Miriam Porter took to Tik Tok to lodge her complaint against Air Canada. She says she ordered a vegan meal and onboard was served a bottle of water for her first meal and a napkin for her second meal on an eight hour Frankfurt (FRA) to Toronto (YYZ) flight.
@thekindtraveler shout out to the kind flight attendant that got me fruit & dinner rolls from business class ❣️ #aircanada #vegan #plantbased #veganfortheanimals #airplanefood #aircanadafail #toronto #frankfurt #hungry #airplanemode #keepsmiling ♬ original sound – SweeetTails
Oh, please.
She was not served simply a bottle of water or a napkin, as if the flight attendant rolled down the aisle and said, “Here is your vegan meal Ms. Porter. Please enjoy your water.” What absurdity to imply she was offered nothing else to eat.
The far more likely explanation is that her special meal was not loaded. Indeed, perhaps she did not even order it (I find it highly suspicious she claims she “confirmed” her special meal three times before her flight). Instead, she was offered a regular meal, usually chicken or pasta, neither of which is vegan if the pasta has cheese on it.
So she made a humorous Tik Tok video instead, only the problem here is that it is quite misleading to imply that Air Canada initially offered her only water.
Here’s where the story actually reflects well on Air Canada. Sure, we can blame Air Canada for not ensuring its catering partner loaded the special meal in Frankfurt, but Porter concedes the following:
“Shout out to the kind flight attendant that got me fruit & dinner rolls from business class.”
Truly, what a kind gesture. What an excellent example of great service.
One time I was flying United Airlines and famished as the main meal was not enough (and I had more than just napkins and water). A flight attendant brought me some fruit and hot dinner rolls from business class. What a kind touch. That’s an example of outstanding service and I nearly remember it 17 years later!
CONCLUSION
Sure, Air Canada should have loaded the special meal in the first place if it was ordered, but I am going to laud the flight attendants on that flight for trying to keep Porter as comfortable as possible. You really should not rely upon airlines to load special meals if you have dietary needs. Arrive prepared…it is not worth the gamble.
(H/T: View From The Wing)
Would people be attacking her if, instead of ordering a vegan meal, she had ordered a kosher meal? A diabetic meal? A meal without a specific allergen?
Passengers should not have to bring their own food to insure against incompetence or negligence. The airline and its caterer are the ones at fault here, not the passenger for calling them out.
You sound anti-semitic to me.
So quick to believe the content creators..
She’s over dramatizing the complaint.
The complaint is that they didn’t have a vegan meal for her. Which is a valid complaint, if true.
However, the video appears to attempt to portray to thousands and thousands of people that all she was offered on a transatlantic flight was a small bottle of water and two napkins. Oh, the persecution!
In reality, she was probably offered at least a few options, and she accepted fruit and bread, but apparently the bread and fruit refused to take part in the video. I’m no expert on being vegan, but I’ll bet she was offered some vegan drink options other than water on the flight too.
Look, I’ve flown on United Polaris, so I know what it’s like to be disappointed in airline food, but there is no need to make a propaganda film about it with people singing profanities. And if you make such a video and send it out to 27,600 people, then expect some folks to call you out over it.
So she is basically using clickbait to get views? How shocking that anyone would do that.
Don’t expect to get from point A to B with any extras including Food.
“Truly, what a kind gesture. What an excellent example of great service”
I would think most flight attendants on most airlines would do this, especially if they figured their airline had screwed up. Theres usually extra in business anyway. People are much nicer in person, especially if they know a lot of the food in business is going to go waste anyway.
Don’t be so sure of that I am Global Services with United and on a recent flight in Polaris, they ran out of the vegetarian choice (ravioli) and I was not offered any alternative from economy class.
That’s terrible. But you should have asked. They might felt sheepish offering you an economy meal in business.
You give tiktokers too much attention and validation
The fact that she claims to have called 3 times to ensure the special meal is not suspicious. I too double and triple check my meal selection online as my travel date approaches, having had the request mysteriously disappear from my reservation on other airlines. The FAs will then claim there is no record of the request.
Sometimes there will be an extra meal other times you end up with bread and fruit.
Carrying your own food can be tricky because you don’t want to end up with any leftover food at customs and fundamentally it is the airlines job to provide meals on the plane.
Fundamentally it is your job to take care of any strict dietary needs.
You’re praising the airline for bring bread rolls? Your article sounds pompous…as if Air Canada is paying you or your gushing with praise because you’re flying with them and looking for some freebie. Regardless of her tiktok video (and I’m an old person that doesn’t have any social media accounts except twitter), you ought to be less condescending in your articles.
I’ve been following the industry closely for two decades and I can generally spot a “fake” when I see it. Here, I think there is a huge difference between filling to load a special meal and calling something a special meal that was never meant to be called one. I am not praising Air Canada, but also don’t think this particular criticism of the passenger is valid.
Agreed with gardening your meal selection – as someone with a dietary restriction the conventional wisdom passed around friends in the same boat/internet support groups is to check with the airline to make sure the meal request sticks. Some people check in more often than others.. I know people (admittedly with dietary needs that are by necessity, not choice) that check with the airline more frequently than that. Whether making a video like she did is appropriate is another question, though..
Airlines forget special meals all of the time (although I’ve never had it happen to me in premium cabins, only in coach). You are right that it’s on us with dietary needs to be prepared – I always travel with snacks just in case – but if this is a service the airline offers but repeatedly drops the ball on, it’s a problem. If we’re going to drag American Airlines for offering “meals in domestic First Class” but serving that pastrami sandwich, airlines that offer “meals for restricted diets” but don’t load the meals deserve some dragging, too.
Leftover food need not be an issue. Leave it on the plane when disembarking or throw it in a bin before customs.
I don’t know. As soon as I see any “Look at me!!” bimbo on TikTok, I already stop caring. Yes, if she ordered a meal it should be there, but let’s also not act like if there was no meal she was stranded in the Sahara for 6 weeks. Go get a salad when the plane lands.
I call BS,
Sounds like an always online social media addict looking for attention.
Probably has a little dog she treats like the child she doesn’t have but so desperately wants.
She’s just crying for internet points
Does anybody board a 7h flight in economy truly expecting to be fed well? I would say that’s where she went wrong. I hate to disappoint her, but I’m sure the vegan meal would have been just as gross as what everyone else was eating.
I fly air Canada regularly and it’s pretty easy to pre order food via the app or website. It’s also nearly impossible to speak to an air canada agent on the phone … hard to believe she spoke to a live agent three times !!
We’re praising Air Canada because they forgot to load a meal, and then brought up some rolls as a “meal?”
She can be exaggerating, and AC is in no way deserving of any praise here.
All this story smells. A person so concerned about being fed needing 3 checks is first unlikely to NOT to bring their own back up food and second unlikely to accept being told water was a meal. This Karen would have screamed and we would have a least ten videos! Pure fiction
I’m a non-rev designated buddy… the LAST one to get served a meal on the plane. I’m a vegetarian, so I bring my own sandwich… NEVER have I needed the sandwich. On every flight that there were no veggie meals f0r, the FA’s on their own volunteered to put together a plate of the side dishes. If this person is one of those, “:OMG I could never eat a green bean that was on a plate near meat,” this PETA member (me) is saying “get over yourself, bring your own food on board.”
Typical Canadian Entitled Karen.