Flying (strictly) Gluten Free on ANA Airlines

Not all that long after I got diagnosed with Celiac, I had the opportunity to travel quite literally around the world. Now I admit, the timing was rough: I was just really getting gluten free rhythm going, had done some local and some short trips but planning for months of travel? To all sorts of easy and not so easy spots? It sure felt like a lot.

But while Celiac has certainly changed how I travel, I was adamant it would not change that I traveled. So while I am certainly not suggesting this to any sane Celiac, jumping right on in to the deep end for me was a good way to force that. No more 100% safe kitchen bubble, it was go time.

Flying with ANA:

Anyhow, the first legs of that adventure were with ANA flying from LAX to Bangkok via Tokyo. I’d used points to book my tickets in business class through a shockingly cheap RTW (that’s round-the-world) program that sadly no longer exists which definitely helped ease things for me on my first-ever GF longhaul flight though I’m not sure the meals were any safer, just more elaborate and on fancier plates.

As this was my first time doing a long flight, I didn’t have enough snacks, certainly not enough plans if things went wrong and yet, thankfully, it all went right. ANA was amazing, even if the food was bland. Keep scrolling for all the details.

The plane food:

All said, I had 3 meals with ANA across two flights. All were simple in taste, ample in portions, amazing in presentation, and I reacted just fine (I am mildly symptomatic, but certainly do react, just not right away).

Before I jump into what I ate, I should explain the safety. Simply put, ANA service is incredible and few meal services will ever rival the care and confirmations of this experience. Nothing was ever presented to me that was not specifically catered and while unwrapped, I have no doubt they did everything they could to ensure it was prepared entirely on its own, whether they knew the need or not.

I should also note that I called ANA to order this meal. Their website is, let’s just say rough, though it’s improved and the phone seemed safest.

And onto what I ate:

The first flight from LAX started with a proper looking dinner and was nothing like some of the combo GFML/LFML/NLML/VLML meals I’ve had on flights since given that you know, steak (sorry to my readers who are also veggie/vegan, that has to be a real struggle given the usual one-option GFML meals).

While it looks pretty impressive and let’s be fair, it is pretty impressive vs the many boxed up economy dishes I’ve had since, like all the ANA meals I would have, they clearly played it waaaaay safe on seasoning. There was a starter chicken skewer, a shrimp salad with rice cake, and then the steak, but not much in the way of dessert.

Many hours later, at a time somewhere between I should be asleep and am I just dreaming, the second meal arrived. Breakfast felt right. Maybe eggs? Yogurt? But no, it was chicken, veggies, fruit, and another rice cake. You know what, it worked.

My third meal was on my much shorter Tokyo to Bangkok flight now in the middle of the night local time and who even knows home time. This meal was again chicken driven, with some rice, and some mushrooms and veggies. But this time, and most exciting, the rice cake was gone, replaced with two gluten free rice flour rolls. Maybe it was the utter lack of sleep or of carbs but it’s been a few years since this trip and I still crave those rolls.

One thing I have quickly learned going GF is that when you’re traveling and there is safe food, eat it. You never do know what comes next.

The airport food:

If the flights were an easy time, the airports were anything but. You’ll find little at LAX now and even less then — a Jersey Mike’s in one terminal that’s quite small and a highly contested PF Chang’s as well as the usual overpriced yogurts and chips. I chose to trust the PF Chang’s and their GF marked menu which was admittedly bold to do before 10+ hours on a plane. Can’t say the GF Beef and Broccoli was impressive but it was flavorful and most importantly, turned out to be just fine.

If I thought LAX was sparse, Haneda airport made it look impressive. Granted, I landed late at night and was shuttled to a small terminal so options were sparse in general but beyond risking the white rice at the ANA lounge or some Peanut M&M’s in a gift shop, I don’t think I saw a single GF item around.

The bottom line:

I’ve flown ANA before my Celiac diagnosis (on the same kind of fancy seat ticket) and I know how much I missed of their usual delicious food.

I also have no doubt the fancy business seat did mean bigger meals than back in economy but even still, the service, the care, the quality, it was amazing and I am sure that’s true in any seat with them. 9.5/10 and only dinging the 0.5 because no wrapping meant no final check on ingredients.

Flight: September 2024