pI told the booking agent, I called customer service, I used the automated system, I e-mailed customer service, I told the agent at check-in and I told the gate agents, and STILL they served peanuts on board our flight. My daughter experienced a systemic reaction to the airborne peanut particles. I sent a comment card to Northwest airlink and received a letter stating "our records do not indicate your request." and going on to tell me "a little bit about how this process works." I am extremely dissappointed in Northwest Airlines. Please keep my terrible experience in mind as you make travel arrangements. You may also wish to contact Northwest airlines at nwa.com to encourage them to improve their process. I appreciate their efforts (i.e. the 1-800 request line for peanut-free flights) but they need to assure that the information is placed on record and provided to the appropriate people./p
Sadly Dissappointed by Northwest Airlines
Posted on: Fri, 04/12/2002 - 9:33am
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Thanks for letting us know. We flew Northwest last summer and had a great experience both ways. Because they even went so far as to make announcement on board asking passengers to not open anything they brought on board with peanuts, I actually changed long distance phone carriers to rack up those frequent flier miles on Northwest. Now I see that just because we had two good experiences doesn`t guarantee that the next one will go smoothly. Have you thought about going to the media with this? I have found that calling the corporate office, asking for the CEO (you won`t get to speak to the CEO, but it gets their attention and they will give you someone high up on the totem pole), and threatening to call the media if there is no resolution is VERY effective.
It would be so helpful if you would describe the circumstances in the plane, the reaction, and how you dealt with it. I am so sorry that your family was put through such a frightening ordeal.
I have come to dread flying, but luckily have not had any bad experiences so far with my son. We stick to United and American, even if it means renting a car on one end of the trip or the other to drive a few hours to the final destination.
What has your experience been with American? We never fly them because when I ask about the peanut free flight, they always tell me that after I buy the ticket, then I get a phone call from the Special Assistance Coordinator to find out whether they will or will not make the flight peanut free. The problem with that is if it is not peanut free we can`t fly, so I want to know before buying the ticket.
kstreeter,
The details for you. We had of course made all the preliminary precautions, including cleaning the area around her seat, tray and window with antiseptic wipes and having her sit in her car seat. We also thought the peanut-free request was in place.
About 3/4 of the plane had been served peanuts by the time my husband, who was seated three rows ahead of us realised and asked the flight attendant to stop. She was apolopgetic and served pretzels to the rest of us. My daughter ate only snacks that we provided on this flight. Within about 10 minutes my daughter began sneezing and coughing, broke out in an itchy rash all over, and complained of burning eyes. She had just had her pm asthma meds prior to boarding (thank goodness) that included zyrtec, flovent, serevent, and singulair. I gave her Benadryl when her symptoms appeared. In retrospect I know that I should have administered her epi-pen, but she is highly traumatized by needles so I did not do that.
This was the first time I had ever seen her react significantly to airborne particles, but it was so concentrated in a small space, and the air is recycled so I guess it is not surprising.
To Carefulmom, of the four flights making up our journey, only one actually adhered to the policy by removing all peanuts from the plane and making the announcement. The other two did not serve peanuts but failed to make the announcement (and one of the gate agents treated us with contempt). On one of these flights a person three seats away from us did eat peanuts. My daughter got an itchy rash, but I was not sure if it was from that or just dry airplane air. I treated her with Benadryl. It was our last flight that served the peanuts. I was just grateful we were almost home where I knew how to get medical treatment if neccessary.
Contacting the media may be a next step. I am awaiting further response from customer service. So far I have been sadly dissappointed.
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with Northwest Airlines.Thankfully, ours was good.My daughter and g-daughter flew NWest from Detroit to Orlando and return March 9th and l6th, having called the 800 number previous to trip. On the trip down to Fla., all the right announcements were made and the attendant requested all passengers with any peanut product deposit them on a table andthey were all confiscated. One older gentleman had to give up his homemade cookiesand my daughter felt badly for him and thanked him personally. He replied he would have it no other way. She was surprised that none of this stuff was returned after the flight. All passengers were very co-operative. On the return flight,when it was announced that it was a peanut-free flight, only one passenger sort of complained by saying "They just don't want to serve us any peanuts." However, most were very pleasant, the rules were followed and we were happy everything went well. My daughter chose N-West because of positive things she had read on this site. It is always such a big decision to fly or not and who to choose. Each time is a challenge it seems.
Hope your future trips are much better and that you get satisfaction and results when you contact Northwest. Best wishes.
MPeters,
Sorry to hear of your bad experience. We had one when my son was 3 1/2, so I can really, really sympathize.
I would urge you to contact the FAA, FAAN and Chris directly. If there is no documentation of these reactions, we have no hope of ever getting the dreaded legumes off of planes (where they have absolutely no business being, IMHO).
Amy
mpeters -- How scary! When your child began to have reaction, did you notify the flight attendant(s)? At any time was the flight crew (attendants & cockpit crew) made aware of the reaction & its progression?
Thx,
EB
Thanks for the details. Did the benadryl work? My son seems to be airborne sensitive too, but we have only had one reaction so far to airborne and that was to nuts cooking on the street by a nut vendor we passed before knowing of this allergy. Since then, we have steered clear of exposure and I am sure my son has no idea what peanuts/peanut butter smell like. I have no idea if he will have a reaction being in the same room as someone eating peanut butter...
Anyway, my heart goes out to you. That must have been so difficult. You must have felt so trapped and helplessness!
As far as American Airlines...my understanding of their policy is that if they are contacted by a passenger who is allergic to peanuts, then the flight WILL be made peanut free with respect to the snack served. That is how it has always worked for us. Plus they rarely serve peanuts for snack anyway, so it has not been a big deal for them to arrange it. (Altho, some recent posts indicate that some snack mixes now do contain nuts and peanuts.) But that is why we have preferred American to other airlines in the past. Seems like there must an accumulation of residue from frequent service of peanuts, if they are served regularly.
American will not guarantee that the cabin meal will be peanut free, so we travel as early in the day as possible to minimize the possibility that something will be served with peanut anything. Morning flights are usually bagel, yogurt, cereal. There is some potential for cross contamination there, but it seems minimal altho I get antsy about the muffins. The cereal has been pretty plain though, in my experience. We often fly when no meal is served. I bring food for my family regardless and we take up 4 seats so nothing dangerous will be within touching distance. Altho, my son touches everything he can on the way to the bathroom and everything in the bathroom. It is impossible to clean every surface, so I am always concerned and wash his hands a lot.
I have also been told my the reservation agent that they know nothing of a policy regarding peanuts, and have had to make several calls sometimes to talk directly to "special services". But the special services folks have all been consistent in acknowledging a policy and doing whatever was necessary to inform the flight crew.
Just a side note...on one flight we took, I asked the flight attendent whether they were planning to serve peanuts. The blood drained from her face, she totally tensed up and apoligized profusely that this flight would not be serving peanuts. When I thanked her profusely for NOT serving peanuts, she almost hugged me with relief. She said that you would not believe the attitude and hassle some folks have given her in the past when they do not provide peanuts as a snack.
So amazing...
[This message has been edited by kstreeter (edited April 13, 2002).]
Thanks for your support. I had expected a good experience with Northwest based on their protocols and my correspondence with them. That is why I am so dissappointed.
The flight attendent was aware of what was happening and checked on us. She kept us posted on how long until landing. I tried to keep the panic down for my daughter's sake.
Amy, your suggestion to contact Chris FAA and FAAN directly is great. I will work on that.
I still think as many of us as possible should ask Northwest to improve their system and communication lines to protect future travelers. They seem to think it was my problem, not theirs, despite all my efforts, and the fact that I followed their instructions to the letter. If they do not realise they have a problem, they will do nothing to fix it.
Referring to my previous post, I was not
defending Northwest necessarily. There certainly is room for lots of improvement. Thank God, we were fortunate enough to not have had any serious difficulties. Wishing you best of luck in your protest.
Everyone would benefit and I fully agree that Northwest Airlines should be made aware of any problems.
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