All Nippon Airways apologises for giving banana to customer as gluten-free meal

Mark Chandler4 May 2017

An airline accused of serving a single banana as a passenger’s in-flight gluten free meal has pledged to review its policy but insists it made every effort to meet his needs.

Londoner Martin Pavelka claimed he was handed the piece of fruit, along with a knife and fork, on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight from Toyko to Sydney.

The 32-year-old coeliac sufferer, who had been given an evening meal at the start of his flight, told the Standard he was left “speechless” when the snack arrived for breakfast.

He said: “All other passengers were served full breakfast meal consisting of eggs, sausage, mushrooms, bread, and yogurt.

“This was a nine-hour flight. Although definitely gluten free, the banana did not keep me full for very long.”

In-flight meal: Mr Pavelka's banana
Martin Pavelka

The airline has since apologised to Mr Pavelka and says it will review how its gluten free options are served.

However, ANA claimed on Thursday that every other passenger had also only been given a snack for breakfast rather than a full meal.

A spokesman said: “During an international flight on the Tokyo-Sydney route, there are two food services.

“The first service is a full meal an hour after departure and the second is a snack service two hours before arrival. To accommodate the various food and dietary needs of our passengers, there are several food options including gluten free that are selected when a passenger purchases their ticket.

“On this specific instance, the passenger ordered a gluten free meal and then a gluten free snack. The banana he ordered was the gluten free snack option.

“We make every effort to meet our passengers’ needs and in this situation felt we accommodated our guest’s additional food requests inflight by providing an additional regular meal as well as an entrée from the regular menu for his snack.

“To imply that ANA only serves a banana for a flight of this length is incorrect.”

He added: “ANA takes great pride in providing an exemplary customer experience for all passengers, and for this one passenger we did not meet his expectations.

“We have apologised to him personally and as a result of his experience we are reviewing our policy on gluten free options and how they are served.”

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