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Hi everyone...
 
This thread reminds me of an experience I had a couple of years ago.
 
My wife and I flew to Australia to see some friends for Christmas; it
was booked up quite late (most Christmas flights to Oz are booked
around August), so we ended up flying with Britannia Airways.  This is
a UK-based charter airline that deals mainly with short-haul package
holidays, such as UK->Canary Isles & UK->Lyon (for the Alps).  However,
at Christmas, their Boeing 767s undertake the long-haul to Oz.
 
A side-effect of using a 2-engined plane is that frequent stops are
required, during which meals are taken aboard.  As a result, our return
flight had food supplied from the following places:
 
London Gatwick
Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) - twice
Singapore - twice
Cairns
Sydney
 
Each time there was a "non-conformance" with my requested GF meal, I
notified the Cabin Staff Manager (aka Chief Steward).  I'm sure that,
towards the end of the flight, they were thinking "What's he going to
point out with this one?", each time a meal was served.
 
On the whole, the included non-GF food was a pre-packed biscuit or bread
roll.  I found out that sometimes, special meals are combined - for
example, the diabetic special meal is also GF.
 
It depends on your airline, but it is certainly worth ensuring that the
Cabin Staff Manager is informed if the meal isn't GF, as they have to
fill in a report at the end of each flight.  I guess the larger airlines
do their own catering - British Airways do so at London Heathrow, whereas
the smaller ones contract out at each airport they use.
 
Apologies if any of my assumptions are incorrect...
 
Regards,
 
Martin
[log in to unmask]
 
p.s. The best?  Sydney - even included GF crackers and a GF bread roll.
The worst?  Both ways, the meals from Sharjah were lactose-free, not GF.