NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 30, 2005: Vegetarians travelling on Virgin Atlantic (VA) flights might have been misled into eating chicken and fish toppings served in the ‘Hindu Meal’ they ordered. Vipul Shah, a vegetarian, was shocked when the Hindu meal he ordered on his VA Washington-Mumbai flight came topped with what he calls a ”big smelly part.” The flight attendant informed Shah that it was probably fish or chicken. Other vegetarian passengers on that flight were stunned, too, when they heard about it, said Shah.
Shah had taken the flight on April 26 this year after confirming that a ‘Hindu Meal’ offered on VA ”contains no products derived from pork, beef or veal” and that ”this meal is vegetarian” and ”of spicy nature.” While this information was posted on the VA website, Shah confirmed the same with the VA desk agent on April 20 and was told that the Hindu Meal was vegetarian.
VA’s customer relations, however, argued that the information on their website was as per International Air Transport Association (IATA) norms even as they admitted their oversight in the matter. ”In IATA guidelines, a Hindu Meal refers to a Hindu non-vegetarian meal (HPI adds: more precisely, it is a meal without beef). However, we have rectified the incorrectly displayed information on our website and have taken cognizance of this oversight on our part. We as an airline take extreme care of customer preferences and sensitivities and upgrade our in-flight catering services to serve them better,” said the VA spokesperson.
While VA has now updated its website to clarify that a Hindu Meal is non-vegetarian, they have listed another option called Asian Vegetarian Meal for vegetarians like Shah. This meal, the website mentions, is only available on Delhi/Mumbai-London flights and is vegetarian.