What can I do if an airline cannot provide the meal I requested?
Context:
I was flying from Brussels to Toronto via Brussels Airlines. While buying the ticket, we specify the type of meal that we require as it was a long flight.
I am a vegetarian, and at least 80 people on that flight were from India, flying this popular route (also vegetarian).
When we are in the air and it comes time to have dinner, I was shocked to hear that there was no vegetarian meals on the airplane.
The only vegetarian food was bread, and crackers and such, which is what I had to have for dinner. Not only me, but countless other families around me were also shocked by this incident.
We know this is not our fault, this must be the fault of the airline. I remind you that this was dinner time, the people around us would have chicken or beef while we were stuck having the small loaf of bread.
I am wondering if I can seek compensation for this. Many of us were annoyed, it was a long flight, and we even got delayed by an hour, but mostly I want compensation for the lack of food service and vegetarian food.
I never had this problem before in my life, and this mistake I believe must be on the airline itself.
I tried to lookup compensation for missing meals, but could not find anything online useful.
Best Answer
You have no recourse for compensation other than perhaps to call and ask for a few miles to be credited to your frequent flier account. Brussels Airline is a reputable airline, they will likely agree to do that. They do not like negative publicity.
Meals on most airlines are not part of the contract, they are a courtesy offered to you and have zero monetary value when not provided. You could not find out anything about compensation for meals because it does not exist.
It was an unfortunate situation however you are not going to get any traction on that. Even in the USA which is the hotbed of litigation where we sue for anything and everything, you would not get anything out of the courts.
CONCLUSION
Call the frequent flyer number and complain enough and you will get some miles credited to your account otherwise fuhgeddaboudit.
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How do I claim compensation for denied boarding?
Accepting the airline's offer will mean that you voluntarily agree not to fly on that flight. According to denied boarding rules, you can only claim compensation in cases in which you were involuntarily refused access to the flight. This is why, in most cases, we would recommend that you refuse the airline's offer.What is denied boarding compensation?
This is called \u201cdenied boarding compensation\u201d or \u201cDBC\u201d for short. Most bumped passengers who experience short delays on flights will receive compensation equal to double the one-way price of the flight they were bumped from, but airlines may limit this amount to up to $775.How long does a flight have to be for them to serve you food?
Meal service is determined by time of day, flying time and mileage, but in general, food is served on flights of approximately four hours or more than 1,750 miles. Meals and snacks are available for purchase on domestic flights longer than 3 1/2 hours or 1,550 miles.How do I know if my flight will serve a meal?
Each airline has its own set of policies concerning meals and snacks. On international flights that take you through a traditional mealtime, you can expect that a meal will be served. If you have a special dietary need (diabetic, veggie, etc.), ask the airline if they offer a special meal.Passenger doesn’t get her meal choice and gives flight attendants a hard time 🥴
More answers regarding what can I do if an airline cannot provide the meal I requested?
Answer 2
I have no idea how Brussels Airlines manage their meal ordering system, but even when specifying your request beforehand I think there is a big distinction to be made between preferences (such as a vegetarian meal) and medical necessities (such as a diabetic meal). As someone who requires a diabetic meal I am rarely let down by airlines -- though it does happen and some cabin crew are very careless about snacks, even though they know that the patient has had a diabetic meal -- but I always carry suitable protein bars when travelling, so I won't be stuck for suitable food. Actually, when ordering a special meal you may find that you get better attention as a result as alert cabin crew will check at boarding time who you are and that you are occupying the seat specified in their manifest. The often-criticised (though not by me) China Southern are particularly good in that respect. KLM are very good at providing alternative sugar-free snack items on request.
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