A Valentine's Day Thank You to JetBlue, From the Mom of a Child With a Peanut Allergy
Dear JetBlue,
I realize this is a bit unorthodox, but I wanted to officially declare my love for your airline on this Valentine’s Day. You have given back to our family the gift of travel. Let me explain.
My son, Joshua, has a life-threatening peanut allergy. After a bad experience with another airline where we were told in response to declaring his peanut allergy “if you think he’s going to die, just don’t get on the plane,” we were admittedly wary about flying with him again. And then we found you…
When booking our first JetBlue flight after our traumatic airline experience, I was immediately impressed that there was a box I could check off identifying us as having a nut allergy. The reservation agent spoke kindly to me and informed us we could request pre-boarding to wipe down our seat for past nut residue. This was a tremendous relief to me as an allergy mom. Many times, I had to fight the large crowd during general boarding to rush and clean the seat area where my son would sit and would only hope I had enough time to do a thorough job cleaning my area for past nut residue. She went on to inform me that JetBlue carries EpiPens (easy to use auto-injectors) on all its flights. I always carry my own set of auto-injectors, but it was heartening to know there was back up if necessary.
When we arrived at the airport, I reminded the gate agent of my son’s nut allergy, and she personally came to pre-board us. The flight crew was so kind and was already informed about his nut allergy. When we were seated, as per your policy, the flight attendant made an announcement to our immediate area to please not consume nuts and that no products with nuts would be sold in our area. My son was 9 years old at the time, and the tone of your staff as they spoke made us feel that you had our back. I realize you can’t guarantee a nut-free environment, but you took multiple steps that help us reduce the risk of his exposure to nuts while in the air.
When it came time for snack service, I had packed my own. I never rely or expect an airline to provide safe food for my son. I also carry a variety of gluten-free, dairy-free and other snack options because I try to be mindful that there may be someone in our immediate area who only has nuts for a snack and may need another choice. The flight attendant told me this was unnecessary on JetBlue, as they too had a variety of choices to offer passengers. Then, to my son’s delight, she offered him a bag of certified nut-free cookies (Skeeter Snacks). His joy was contagious.
Food allergies affect at least 15 million Americans, many of whom are small children. These children will grow up to be the future business travelers of the world and will choose to fly airlines that treat their food allergy (a legitimate medical condition) with dignity and respect. They will discover, just like I did, that JetBlue is worthy of their business, love, and support.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
A Grateful Food Allergy Mom.
This post originally appeared on HuffPost.
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Lianne graduated Phi Beta Kappa from SUNY Albany in 1991, and earned an M.S. in Physical Therapy from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1997. In Nov 2013 , following a negative travel experience, launched The No Nut Traveler, http://www.nonuttraveler.com, a website with resources and advocacy tools for those flying with food allergies, stories from passengers and a petition drive http://www.nonuttraveler.com/SignPetition.aspx with over 90,000 signatures urging action. Married and has three children: one allergic to nuts. She was the recipient of the 2013 FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) leadership award and 2017 FARE Vision Award. She is a member of a FARE led coalition formed to present a unified voice regarding the steps that the airline industry can take to better accommodate passengers with food allergies. This coalition is responsible for championing Bill S1972 introduced August 2015 in US Senate- which would put easy to use auto-injectors on-board airlines. She has been a regular panelist for IFAAA (International Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Alliance) presenting on the myriad of challenges passengers face when flying with food allergy. Lianne is also a regular presenter for FABlogCon (Food Allergy Bloggers Conference). Her tips for flying with a food allergy were featured in a piece for the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research at Stanford. Most recently, Lianne has worked with Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex County, an organization that houses homeless families in churches and synagogues to help train and educate volunteer coordinators and staff on how to host families who come into the network with food allergies. In addition to her advocacy work, Lianne also serves as the co-chair of FARE’s New York Food Allergy Ball, helping to raise funds in support of FARE’s mission. She is the co-coordinator of the Social Outreach Team at Temple B’nai Jeshurun for Interfaith Hospitality Network and will be honored in the spring of 2018 for being one of the founders of this program at her synagogue. She is responsible for creating and successfully executing a toy drive benefitting sexually abused children who receive therapy at RDTC in Newark, NJ for the past 8 years.
nonuttraveler