<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
We flew Northwest Airlines from Detroit to San Fancisco in March with our
preschool GF daughter.  When we made the reservations, I spent more than half
an hour on the phone with the agent at Northwest figuring out how to handle
the GF meal.  We went through definitions of GF, meal options, etc., and I
felt good about our plan (to have plain chicken breast, plus whatever veggies
were available).
 
When I called back to confirm the reservations and meal, they had no record
of the meal request.  So we went though it all again.  This time, I was told
I could not request a specific item (chicken) and would have to trust that
they would provide an appropriate meal.
 
When we actually got on the very long flight and lunchtime rolled around, the
only difference between the regular meal and the "GF" meal was that instead
of bread, a rice cake was taped haphazardly to the top.  The meal itself was
billed as seafood salad.  It featured crabmeat.  I had read that imitation
crabmeat, called Surimi, was made with wheat.  So I asked if this was real
crab or surimi.  Sure enough it was surimi.  The salad dressing was also
unacceptable.  So basically, Northwest provided a few shreds of wilted, dry
lettuce for all the time and trouble I had taken on the phone.
 
The flight attendants had no other suugestions and did not even check back
with us after we told them that this was not acceptable for a GF meal.  I
realize that not everyone pays much attention to small children and their
needs, but I expected better for the price you pay to an airline.
 
Fortunately, we had packed plenty of other food, anticipating that we might
need it, but it was a pretty pathetic attempt from Northwest.  I recommend
avoiding them for GF purposes.