Tuesday, March 10, 2009
I received the following e-mail regarding the AFAA meeting with Northwest Airlines regarding their decision to reinstate peanuts as the in-flight snack.
Please note that they are still taking survey responses until March 15th. Use the link within this post--if you continue to have link problems, let me know. Hopefully you won't! :)
Peanuts on Airplanes Survey garners 500 responses in 3 days!
The survey, which is still open, also elicited nearly 250 comments that were printed and given to Northwest/Delta Airlines and U.S. Congressional Members, and will be given to the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.AFAA plans to share the survey results with national food allergy organizations and medical associations, and with AFAA readers.
The article Peanuts on Airplanes can be seen in AFAA's January/February Food Allergy E-magazine. The issue also has links to other food allergy articles.
Peanut-Snacks on Airplanes - An Update from the Anaphylaxis & Food Allergy Association of MN (AFAA)
Negotiations Begin with NWA/DeltaAn AFAA delegation - consisting of medical director Dr. Allan Stillerman, AFAA Executive Director Nona Narvaez, retired Star Tribune Travel Editor Catherine Watson, and Minnesota State Senator Jim Carlson - met with the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Northwest/Delta Airlines on Friday, March 6th. Also attending the meeting was an aide from U.S. Representative Oberstar's office.The delegation presented medical information about food allergies; letters, comments, and e-mails from over 270 people; preliminary results of the Peanuts on Airplanes survey; and an extensive list of policy recommendations for the airline to adopt."
AFAA's goal is to create safer flying conditions for food allergic passengers, and there are a number of improvements that can be adopted by airlines," said Dr. Stillerman, "including - but not limited to - reduction of the presence of peanut allergens on the aircraft." Some of the provisions advocated by AFAA received favorable reception at the meeting, but all provisions are being evaluated internally by the airline before they officially respond."This is the first step in negotiations with the airline," explained Ms. Narvaez. " We will meet again with the airlines to discuss progress on our policy goals."
In the meantime AFAA representatives will continue working with Senator Klobuchar's and Representative Oberstar's staff on this issue, and will keep Minnesota Legislators apprised of developments.Interested individuals and families are encouraged to take the Peanuts on Airplanes survey, which is open through March 16th, when final results will be tallied. Final results will be shared with policymakers, the airline, the media, and other organizations.
More than 600 people have taken the Peanuts on Airplanes survey. Their comments and the preliminary results of the survey were shared with Northwest/Delta Airlines, with U.S. Congressional Members, and with the Minnesota Legislature. Final results of the survey will be distributed after the survey closes.
Your opinion Matters!AFAA is encouraging all food allergic individuals and family members to participate in a survey and forward it to others affected by food allergens on airflights. The survey results will be helpful information to relay to the airlines in AFAA's efforts to influence them to accommodate passengers with food allergies.AFAA is also continuing to collect e-mails and letters to deliver directly to the airline and to the U.S. Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division.
You are encouraged to submit your opinions and share your experiences on the survey page or at airplanes@minnesotafoodallergy.org. Or click http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2h2368hfrsnb0e0/start
The survey will be open until midnight, March 15th.