Emirates do NOT like special meal requests

[Al Fakhem]

Al Fakhem jr. flew EK from Dubai to Cochin the other day. The meal "choice" on this flight was non-veg (curry) or veg (curry), and he was surprised that there was no non-Indian option. The FA told him that it was EK policy to serve food in accordance with the destination of the flight. This, of course, is pure rubbish. I have never had bacon and eggs for breakfast on EK flying to the UK or sweet and sour pork flying to HK or a nice German sausage en route to Düsseldorf. Anyway.....

My son called EK reservations in Dubai yesterday to request a special meal for his return flight from Cochin to Dubai a few days from now, and was in all earnest told that they could only accept such a request on religious or medical reasons. I have a standing request for seafood meals in my Skywards profile and have essentially been served my preference on every flight.

It seems that if you are not a Skywards member, they try to fob you off with spurious arguments.:=

[Tolsti]

and don't even think about asking for a Non Kosher meal on El Al !!....

[WHBM]

...flew EK from Dubai to Cochin the other day. The meal "choice" on this flight was non-veg (curry) or veg (curry), and he was surprised that there was no non-Indian option.
Exactly the same on British Airways between UK and India, where it seems more than half the pax are non-Indians. Meal choices entirely Indian style.

Must say it hacks you off, after a week or two of the stuff over there, to get on BA to head back home, thinking "at last, some European-style food", to find it's just the same as what you have been getting offered day after day.

The drinks options offered are totally Western; why does the food have to be entirely Asian ?

[apaddyinuk]

Well actually BA do have western menus in ALL cabins on flights out of India, I know myself as I have just finished doing a DEL followed by a BOM followed by a Bangalore. They probably just ran out by the time they got to you! lol!

As for emirates...what exactly was the "special" meal request? If your son was trying to create his own menu then indeed perhaps he was asking far too much but all available meal requests are of a diet (medical) or religious nature so he should have gotten what he wanted! Was he perhaps asking for Burgers or something???

Seafood is considered a dietry (medical) request so that is why you receive it!

As for the meal choice towards the region...well firstly would they have pork sausage out of Dubai??? Not likely. Secondly they will have a "western" option on these flights which is indeed exactly what it sounds like and could be considered appropriate to anywhere in Europe!

Expand your understanding! lol!

[Al Fakhem]

appadyinuk:

My son requested either a Middle Eastern or Continental dish, then something not too spicy (e.g. bland) and finally seafood, which was then complied with.

As for the meal choices geared towards a particular region: surely one should not be wrong to expect the food to be geared towards the nationality of the carrier. In the case of EK: is Middle Eastern cuisine so bad it has to take a back seat to Indian food? Perhaps my logic is totally warped, but why should I be served Indian food on a non-Indian carrier?

You rightly point out that it is unlikely I can expect a pork sausage out of Dubai on EK - although from the point of food safety pork is safer than beef or chicken these days. (Always a problem when superstitiion or, worse, religion gets in the way of facts).

(I once had a Muslim visitor with me in a Western European city. He insisted on having a Chinese (....) lunch and wanted me to make sure there was no pork in any of the dishes I ordered. After the waiter had taken my pork-free order, my guest then called back the waiter to order Won Ton soup, which he slurped and intensely relished, even remarking he had never in his life tasted such good Won Ton soup. Go figure.....)

TG could until recently be relied on to serve at least one Thai option on any leg. Suddenly, they started offering Indian-only cuisine on legs to and from India, totally alienating for instance my wife, who flies back and forth monthly. As a Thai, she felt rightly offended that TG, as flag carrier, does not promote Thai cuisine, and I really have to go along with her on that one.

[PAXboy]

Thanks for the warning, as I would have been reduced to eating bread rolls on that flight - I am allergic to curry. Which, of course, is why I have never visited India! However, the general feedback about limited meal choice and, it would seem, a relatively low percentage of western meals available does not make good publicity.