Nut allergy

i thought you had to pay for everything on jetstar, i think this is a fake story, you dont have to eat it so somethings not right.

Hey jack what do you think "selling" means

sorry i missread, but if he is allergic to nuts, too bad.

Jack you are a dickhead...If you are allergic to nuts why would you purchase some?

I thought they sold mixed nuts, peanuts not being part of the mix?

No Sharon, if he is allergic to nuts too bad, the person next to him is on the plane he gets what he wants he should just move away, too bad.

You can't stop people purchasing them elsewhere and bringing them onboard either..

Get the fuck with it. Nuts are available on most airlines I've been on! God you're all pathetic.

yeah dis another exemple of jetstar bullshit. they no dat there r peeps in thie world wit nut allergies, but they still sell nuts. no other airline does this! only jetstar do it without conferming with the passenger that they dont have allergys 2 nuts. jetstar r murderors and should be locked up. they take money and now they try to kill sum1! bullshit. DONT FLY WITH JETSTAR EVER!
R

Remmy many of Jetstars problems would improve if fools like you stay true to your word and don't fly Jetstar. Some people can't eat wheat, should they stop selling sandwiches? And you are completely wrong that no other airline sells/provides nuts. Get your facts straight.

Remmy is a moron. When I flew business with QANTAS, I was offered nuts.

I think Remmy is a Jetstar employee- he writes anti-Jetstar comments in neanderthal language to discredit this website- trying to make people who complain about Jetstar seem stupid. What other explanation could there be? If this is the case- Remmy you are a puppet.. one day Bruce Buchanan and David Hall will retire on a mulit-million dollar payout, and Remmy you will only get unemployment benefits. Think about it.

as if wanker! i would never even fly them! my posts dont discredit this website, i just say my own mind like every1 else here, dont say shit about me fuckwit, u dont even know me. i just hate jetstar and dont want peeps 2 fly them. fuck yourself if you say dat about me.
Rem.

@ Remmy - if we were all in high school, maybe you'd win an argument that way - but in the adult world you have to make a clear & coherent argument- without swearing & name calling. By carrying on the way you do - you do more damage than good. Anyone seeing your comments can't take this website seriously. If you have a point - speak like an adult not like an adolescent- otherwise you make people writing on this website seem like a bunch of idiots..

Every airline in Australia sells nuts on board. Whoever disagree's is a fuckwit. Shows how much the people on this site actually fly anyone other than Jetstar.

@ dope - Sorry Dope.. peanut allergies are well understood now. Over 10 years ago I remember flying Qantas BKK - SYD and as there was a peanut allergic passenger in our row- each row around this passenger were offered other snacks rather than peanuts. I think I recall a case where someone on a plane had an attack as the main meal had a strong smelling peanut sauce. Some girl a few years ago died after kissing her boyfriend who had eaten a snickers bar. School canteens have to show care when using peanut products etc - it's a known often deadly problem. That's why chocolate snacks carry a 'may contain peanuts' warning. Airlines shouldn't be serving peanuts- otherwise there will be the risk of someone having a mid-flight reaction- which would likely result in the plane being diverted.

@ Dope - if in fact you work for Jetstar - your comments show how poor Jetstar staff training is.

Phil - I'm sure what you say is true, however I don't see what it has to do with dope's point that Jetstar is not the only airline in Australia that provides/sells nuts on board.

@ Anonymous - OK I'll make it more clear. Jetstar is owned by Qantas. Qantas has been in the airline business for 90 years and up until recently had an excellent safety & quality reputation. It is widely recognised that serving peanuts on a plane is a bad idea, as the mere scent of peanut can make certain allergic passengers have an attack - and this would likely mean that the plane would be diverted- causing every passenger to be inconvenienced, and thousands of dollars in lost revenue for the airline - not to mention the sick passenger may well die. The United States Department of Transportation have made rules effectively banning peanuts being served on planes. Qantas fly to the USA so someone in the organisation will know about this issue and ruling. From a business perspective it is a stupid decision to serve any nut product on commercial flights- due to the inconvenience, and costs associated with any incident. There are also rules about heavily pregnant female travellers- I guess for similar reasons - avoiding having to divert a full plane for medical reasons eg: a premature delivery. Out of any Australian airline Qantas/ Jetstar are in the best position to know this information, and to have policies and staff training surrounding this and other health and safety issues. I am just a humble traveller - and I 'get it'.. how come Jetstar management evidently don't 'get it'?

Jetstar don't sell peanuts. Its a mix of almonds and cashew I think. The cookie I had on a different carrier stated contains traces of nuts.. Surely in this day and age where people are so hypersensitive that even the scent of a peanut could kill them, this product should be removed as well? Do their management not get it too then?

@ Anonymous - you do work for Jetstar don't you. This is turning into an intelligence test.. so I will explain in even finer detail- Other airlines shouldn't sell peanuts also- this is not an exclusive rule for Jetstar.
This complaint is about Jetstar not other carriers, the person complaining on this "Don't Fly Jetstar" website claims Jetstar were selling peanuts. Maybe they were, maybe this traveller was mistaken, I don't know I wasn't there. I think the average person knows what a peanut looks like - so I'd say they were selling them.
But arguing that Jetstar is somehow justified because other airlines do this or not is completely irrelevant.
If you think the cookie is a problem - go find some "Dont Fly Virgin" website to complain- oh that's right - there's no such URL.. I wonder why?

The original poster does make it sound as though Jetstar is the only airline on the planet that sells nuts. I honestly didn't think they sold Peanuts.
Unless Jetstar ASIA do, wouldn't know. Would have thought it would be a similar menu though.
Even if they stopped selling them the airline doesn't have an allergy free policy, so can't stop other passengers bringing them onboard at all.
Agreed this site is Dont fly Jetstar, not Dont fly some other airline. But again the original post implies that Jetstar is the only airline out of touch with the 21st century by still having nuts available for purchase. Emirates is a 4 star full service airline, and they don't offer nut free flights, period. If your allergy is so severe that merely the scent of a peanut could kill you, contacting the airline beforehand to get advise with regards to their allergy policy and discussing it with your medical advisor would seem like a better idea than just booking tickets getting onboard and finding that you could be in a spot of bother.
Most of the posts on here seem justified and I agree with them, this one just doesn't sit right.

I think it's referred to as a hyperbole - such as "this bag weighs a ton" - you know the bag doesn't actually weigh a ton, but you understand that the bag is heavy. Similarly "Jetstar is the only airline selling peanuts" - it means that most airlines know better than to serve peanuts and Jetstar should know better.
Jetstar Asia (actually Jetstar Pacific) & Jetstar Australia- it's all Jetstar. If they all use the Jetstar logo - they can be regarded good or bad and as all the same company by customers. The fact that they are different companies trading under the same Jetstar name is irrelevant. Coke is Coke, Ford is Ford, Colgate is Colgate and Jetstar is Jetstar. Carrying peanuts onboard isn't illegal- although those in the know shouldn't do this as they might find their flight diverted. It would be in the interests of airlines to promote passenger understanding of this problem - to avoid difficulties. If any of you actually work for Jetstar - ask yourself why this wasn't included in your company training.

Phil - It was not me who posted on Sunday 13th at 08:49. It was another anonymous. How dare he/she steal my name! I was at 00:45 and on the 12th at 00:43

So Anonymous on Sun, 13/02/2011 - 17:17- so you work for Jetstar and you don't know the difference between wheat allergies and nut allergies when it comes to air travel? if you do work for Jetstar you pretty much prove my point that Jetstar staff training is poor.

Looks like most airlines in AU serve nuts :) So which other airlines know better again?

@ Anonymous - wear that knowledge with pride.. but as I previously wrote - it is a stupid management decision by any airline to do so. All Australian airlines should know better- including the two airlines that have around 70% of the market. Ignorance is still ignorance.

Probably is a stupid decision, but the aviation industry is reactionary rather than precautionary. Until something really serious happens nothing will change.

Anonymous -like someone has to die on an Airplane before they provide different snacks on a menu? Most Australian children get 12 years of education.. and this is the best thinking we can come up with?

Alright, that's stupid. Just because an airline in Canada or America has banned nuts onboard, doesn't mean every airline should.

I'm a coeliac and have a SEVERE reaction to wheat, oats, rye and barley. Even crumbs can result in me being rushed to the ER due to massive pains that simply cannot be fixed with tablets. I've been through acute appendicitis and that pain doesn't even compare.

Should airlines stop selling products made with gluten?

What about those with severe lactose intolerance or deadly shellfish allergies? My nephew swells up like a balloon if he's exposed to certain sulphites.

I believe that there should ALWAYS be a food option for someone with an allergy (nut free, gluten free, dairy free, sulphur free, shellfish free, sugar-free, etc) but banning everything that contains the ingredient in question is totally ridiculous.

OK - so this is my last post on this subject - if people can't read through the comments to find out the facts, or have a reading comprehension problem I can do nothing about that.. @ ANONYMOUS 18:14- the problem ISN'T passengers EATING peanuts, the problem is that the SMELL of peanuts in an enclosed space with recycled air cond can cause an attack. An attack in this case isn't just feeling ill - it's life threatening. So this information may be OK if you're non peanut allergic- but it will quickly become YOUR PROBLEM if the plane has to be DIVERTED because someone is suffering a near fatal attack. It is also a bad business decision for the airlines to serve peanuts, if they have to suffer loss of revenue due to a diverted flight. The US authorities didn't make this rule for no good reason. Why is it so difficult for Australian authorities to understand this problem? So can we all understand that it is the strong smell of peanuts - in snack peanut form, or as a sauce on airline meals that causes the problem. People who have lactose intolerances don't suffer from smelling milk, it's by eating and drinking dairy.

Maybe it hasn't been an issue yet? There must have been over 13000 flights since Jetstar started in NZ and not one has diverted because someone had a reaction to peanuts. Hence reactionary rather than precautionary. The plane could divert because someone has a heart attack, or asthma attack or whatever. Seeing as you are so passionate about the subject Phil maybe you could organise a nationwide rally to educate the dumb airline coporate types and Australian authorities about the dangers of allowing peanuts and people carrying peanuts onboard. :)

Actually I'm trying desperately not to post on this issue anymore. I am not passionate about this issue.. but it seems that almost no-one on this post understands the issue- so I've been trapped into explaining the bleeding obvious time and time over. I'm not sure what is happening in Australia these days - seems like everyone has an opinion before finding out the facts. The issue has been known for years - there was a girl who died after kissing her boyfriend who had eaten a snickers bar. I once had a girlfriend with this problem - she claimed she would die within minutes if any restaurant food was cooked in peanut oil. Google some key words- check these things out for yourself. The thing is that QANTAS AND JETSTAR BOTH ALREADY fly to the USA. So BOTH companies ALREADY know about this issue, because they would have to COMPLY with the new rules from the US DOT. All it takes is the relevant middle management safety and operations manager to make a directive to those who order F&B to ban all peanut products - they would have to do this ALREADY for Jetstar flights to Hawaii and Qantas flights to USA. - so currently they must have dual directives - surely a single no peanut directive would be easier. Ask almost any primary teacher and they can tell you about nut allergies.. ask any airline cabin staff and evidently they can't. Airline staff training obviously sucks.

Actually, coeliacs can have violent reactions (though perhaps not death) to sources of flour in the air as well. These reactions could result in the flight being diverted also (violent, persistant diarrhea and vomiting, huge pains and profuse sweating - think most airlines would land if a passenger suddenly began to suffer like that). This kind of reaction has even been known to be caused by people nearby cutting bread - though like with peanut allergies, it is rarer than ingesting the food itself.

So I'm all for cutting the peanuts, if we cut gluten too :D

Crew know about peanut allergies im sure, but they aren't in charge of catering the aircraft.

So Anonymous - it is impossible for any delegation from the cabin crew to ever have formal communication with the catering management about this or any other health and safety issue? If the answer is no.. I'm thinking that airline management is living in some Dickensian era.

Why the hell would they though? Unless Casa or some other aviation authority issues a directive wrt having peanuts onboard aircraft it probably won't change. Across the tasman, longhaul, domestic NZ and AU don't sell peanuts and don't use them in the preparation of meals but like Emirates, Qantas and Virgin can't offer allergy free flights. My sister has a peanut allergy, not as hypersensitve as some, she just can't eat them so when she went on holiday she rang the airlines and asked first.

Why would they? Job satisfaction Self pride. Promoting a better and safer workplace/industry

Because once the sources of these allergies are terminated from air travel, where will it end? There are so many allergies that afflict people (mildly or severely), and peanuts and gluten are not the only things that don't be ingested to have an effect.

People that are allergic to certain ingredients in perfume and deoderants, to latex, to certain fabrics and I am positive there are many more.

Don't get me wrong, I support this website and have argued in favour of unhappy Jetstar customers (I'm actually about to respond to the 'weep for the English language' post) but I think such a ban could easily result in further bans as time goes on and could potentially end up at a ridiculous extreme.

I'd also like to add, have you ever had gluten free airline food? I travel on Etihad, Emirates and Qatar when I go overseas and have gone gluten free food on all of my flights - and it is just disgraceful; boiled white fish with boiled green beans, boiled chicken with boiled tomatoes (never been given any kind of sauce - I suppose they won't run the risk of any trace elements?), undressed bitter vegetable and fruit salads and dry, tasteless gluten free olive bread. I've never once had an impressive gluten free meal, and research on the internet shows I'm not the only one.

As much as I and many others would love a totally gluten free flight, I wouldn't wish that kind of suffering on everybody onboard. :P

I've explained this so many times - I can't explain it anymore. The problem is people with nut allergies can have an attack with the mere smell of peanuts. Sufferers should carry an epi-pen as I believe this needs to be applied when they have an attack- I am no medical expert. I'm just an average bod on the street. We are talking about severe reactions, and not for their comfort, life threatening stuff. People with unusual food needs can survive almost any flight without eating and not die, but a nut allergy sufferer can die from the odour.
Airlines can ban a bottle of water - but can do nothing about this? Reasonable steps are all that's required.
We've flogged this topic to death - it seems that working for the Airline is like working at a factory.. the production lines do their job and get out at 4, and never dare speak to managers. Having worked in innovative industries where the employees feel valued- I'm starting to feel sorry for airline staff. There is probably more job satisfaction working for the Post Office.

You watch this space- over the next few years if there are some expensive plane diversions, the airlines will ban peanuts. It will be for financial reasons. Jetstar is profit driven, it seems to care less about customer satisfaction, and doesn't seem to care much about employee's job satisfaction either.

Should we ban asthmatics too? They can be bothersome when they have attacks and the plane has to divert....
Maybe a conditon of carriage should be that only those with no health issues can travel.
Ban peanuts sure, but how about aerosols? Perfumes etc can trigger asthma attacks. What if someone enjoyed a wee bag of nuts prior to boarding and sat next to someone with a nut allergy? Should passengers have to sanitise themselves before boarding? Once you put a ban in place how far do you take it?
LMFAO I can just imagine all of Jetstars employees going home and whinging that they have no job satisfaction because people are still allowed to bring peanuts onboard.
I think the ban on liquids over 100ml was more than just an airline decision too.

Apparently my last comment was moderated, despite it being in no way aggressive. Perhaps it was because of multiple links I used to reference my sources?

Phil, you appear to believe that an anaphylactic (anaphylaxis is the condition which requires someone to carry an Epipen) reaction to smell is exclusive to peanuts, when it is not - your argument is based on the fact that those with peanut allergies can react to smell which makes them the exception to the rule. The reaction caused by scent is not actually a physiological but a psychological response (meaning you don't even have to breathe in airborne protein particles - these reactions occur with no physical contamination whatsoever) and has been known to also happen in those with allergies to eggs, fish and other seafood, even cinnamon or peppermint;

"Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, crustaceans and soy are the most common food triggers, which cause 90% of allergic reactions, however, any food can trigger anaphylaxis. It is important to understand that even trace amounts of food can cause a life-threatening reaction. Some extremely sensitive individuals can react to even the smell of a food (e.g.fish)" - allergyfacts.org

Any allergy can prompt anaphylaxis, any allergy can prompt an anaphylactic reaction to the smell of the thing in question alone; the body registers it as a threat, goes into a state of panic then the individual reacts out of what is basically habit. It is no more common in peanut allergies percentage wise either. You can research the facts online.

The fragrance of perfume, hairspray, deoderant, cleaning products such as bleach even chewing gum can cause deadly asthma attacks, as the anon poster above me has written.

I am still sticking with the 'when does it stop' argument.

Sorry your argument is no argument at all.
The topic for this thread is Nut Allergy
The basis of the discussion is along the lines that the Dept of Transport in the USA (the country that invented and pioneered air travel) has basically banned the sale and serving on peanuts on flights.

You are trying to complicate something that is quite simple.

Maybe other products should be banned, maybe not. Bread. flour, eggs are part of a staple diet. Peanuts are never regarded as 'the staff of life'. Have any opinion you want.. but the point still remains that it's dangerous for some people when peanuts are served in an enclosed space.. and it's easy for any airline to ban nuts - harder to ban the other food-stuffs listed in your list.

So then you would agree with the ban of all potential triggers of anaphylactic shock or asthma attacks that aren't a part of a 'staple diet' (dried fruit, fish and shellfish, various spices, soy products, fragrances, chocolate, etc)?

Then I would see your argument as being more valid and agreeable (even though there are technically many reasonable low-allergen alternatives to flour, bread and whatnot I can understand why most western countries would consider them almost crucial).

Well one thing is for certain.. if we banned air travel no-one would get hurt.. but that's hardly an argument either is it.

I've made my position clear.. I don't agree with you at the present point in time. I don't need your approval either. I don't see any need for further discussion.

So... it's perfectly okay to ban one unneccesary food item because it's a risk to some people, but not others that pose the same risk, and the hypocrisy in that is excused because America did it (though in actual fact the Dept of Transport backed away from the ban because it was in violation of another act, and only some airlines chose not to serve peanuts but still served other foods that may contain them)?

If that is the wholly position you've made clear, then I agree. There certainly is no point in further discussion.