A man was furious with All Nippon Airways (ANA) after being given only a banana during a nine-and-a-half-hour flight from Tokyo to Sydney. The man ordered a gluten-free breakfast for the flight and was expecting something more substantial.
According to a report from The Telegraph, Londoner Martin Pavelka was already on the second leg of his £1,200 ($1,545) trip to Australia. He was served a proper meal the night before and was expecting a more significant breakfast before being served the lone banana.
The fruit was served with a sticker that says "GF," which stands for gluten-free, together with a packet that contains a knife, a fork, and some salt. Pavelka is suffering from a digestive condition called coeliac, thus he needs a gluten-free diet.
"All other passengers were served a full breakfast meal consisting of eggs, sausage, mushrooms, bread, and yogurt," he said. He adds that, though the banana is gluten-free, it's not enough to keep him full during the nine-hour flight.
He also said that the stewardess seemed to realize something was wrong as well with the food that they served him. He adds that "the fault" might be with the management of the airline.
Independent reports that ordering a "special" airline meal can usually lead to varying results. There are moments that the meal is far better than what was normally served, other times it could be worse.
Pavelka is not new to this kind of results, saying that sometimes his meals are bland, while other times they taste better than what the airline originally serve. But this incident of being served only a solitary banana has left him "speechless."
The Londoner already filed a complaint to ANA about the incident, but has yet to receive a response. John Walton, a writer for Runway Girl Network, said that serving only a banana to Pavelka for his gluten-free diet "doesn't seem right," considering full meals were served to other passengers.
He adds that it would surprise him if this was the norm for the airline, as they offer a wide variety of carefully designed special meals. Check out the video below to have an idea on how airlines prepare their on-plane meals.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
