…or, sometimes you’d rather have pretzels. On our Southwest flights, you always have that option, but right now, we just might be making that decision a little bit harder for you with the return of that perennial favorite--honey-roasted peanuts! Each year at this time, we begin to transition our peanut selection, so as the old year ends, we are singing “Auld Lang Syne” to our dry-roasted nuts, and “ringing” in 2009 with the honey-roasted variety.
One thing you may not be aware of is that Southwest Airlines can actually designate a flight as a “non-peanut” flight if we are alerted to the fact that we have a Customer with a peanut dust allergy traveling with us. After receiving this type of accommodation request, we will make every effort to suspend service of packaged peanuts on that Customer’s scheduled flights. We do ask the Customer to advise our Customer Service Agent each time at checkin for a flight (at least an hour in advance of departure) of his/her allergy to peanut products. Our Agent will then complete a Peanut Dust Allergy Form and advise the Customer to present the form to one of our Flight Attendants upon boarding. Of course, we cannot guarantee that another Customer will not bring their own peanut products onboard the aircraft or open a package they’ve saved from an earlier flight. We will try to do everything possible to accommodate these types of requests, however, as our Customers’ wellbeing is of great importance to us.
Even Customers without peanut allergies can opt for pretzels, which it appears many of you are doing, judging by the fact that our pretzel usage is on the rise. (Just my opinion, but maybe the low-carb craze is coming to an end.) Whichever product is your favorite—pretzels or either of our two varieties of peanuts—all of us at Southwest look forward to serving you in 2009.
Comments
I'm curious to know when the pretzel usage increase began. Perhaps about this time last year? :)
Three cheers for the return of bee-kissed nuggets o' protein!
So is the rotation yearly, quarterly, or something else? I much prefer the dry-roasted peanuts, so I'm curious when I have them to look forward to again. ;) (We fly Southwest at least once a year.)
Bring on the honey-roasted peanuts!...but not all my attendants on SWA flights offer the current full selection...they just hand me the peanuts. Now, I will know to ask! Keep up the great work, SWA! Why does anyone fly any other airline?? No fees...and now, honey roasted peanuts. Does it get any better?? :)
I hate honey-roasted peanuts and am trying to follow a low carb diet. I think those of us who want salted peanuts should always have the choice -- what I eat is my concern alone; if you don't want to eat peanuts, that's fine, but removing one food in the name of health reasons doesn't account for diabetics, like me, who for health reasons must have the very food you are removing in favor of a higher carb food. It is not right that one affliction is used as an excuse to belittle those who suffer from another affliction and treat them as if their health issues are inconsequential. Diabetes is not something I enjoy coping with and it is a struggle to watch what I eat and having my choices artificially limited (and diabetes can and does have severe consequences if patients aren't careful) smacks of "your disability isn't as important as mine".
THANK YOU for keeping your fees for bicycles at $50! Almost ALL the other airlines have raised their prices so that it costs at least $100 ONE WAY for a bike to fly! Anyway, you have totally won me as a customer because I do a lot of travelling with my bicycle. I wish you flew to more cities. You guys are awesome--and by being the best airline to fly with a bike---you reward those passengers who are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. I *heart* SWA.
Erin,
We rotate peanut flavors once a year. So honey-roasted peanuts will be making the rounds until next January. We hope you'll still LUV to fly with us!
Buran,
We're sorry to hear that honey-roasted peanuts are not a part of your diet. If pretzels are too high-carb for your personal dietary needs, you are more than welcome to bring your own snacks with you onboard. It’s important to keep in mind that, from a procedural standpoint, an allergy to peanut dust (triggered by inhaling) is handled differently than an allergy to or medical need to avoid peanuts or other snacks (triggered by ingesting), and the differentiating element is whether or not the person has influence over inciting the reaction. Naturally, it’s nearly impossible for individuals who have an allergy to peanut dust to avoid triggering a reaction if peanut dust is in the air (obviously, people have to breathe), whereas a person whose allergy or aversion is activated only by ingesting the food item can completely prevent a reaction simply by avoiding the food in question.
Anonymous,
Thanks for the kudos! Southwest loves their bike-friendly Customers, and offering them lower fees. Way to reduce your carbon footprint!
Coming over from JetBlue, and the big thing I miss are flights to places like Puerto Rico, Bahamas, and other Carribean or Mexico destinations. The 3 roundtrip awards I picked up under that program were fantastic because I could go somewhere nuts :) If Southwest offered Hawaii / Mexico or Carribean flights, it would be fantastic. MX might be the best fit given no ETOPS required. Consider just running a once a week "award" flight to a fun place, and throwing open the availability :)
Looking forward to my first SWA award in a while, and hope the availability isn't too restricted.
Honey nut peanuts are my favorite. :)
- August
You mention more Customers are opting for pretzels instead of peanuts and theorize this is maybe the end of a craze. May I suggest another theory?
King Nuts peanuts are pretty lame tasting, and they've been going downhill for a while now. Grab some Southwest (King) peanuts and then next time you are in a grocery store, buy a jar of Planters peanuts and do a taste test. Southwest's nuts are going to lose - badly.
I enjoy peanuts and snack on them regularly. But I've stopped eating them while flying SWA, they just aren't very good tasting.
Just wondering if the honey roasted peanuts contain any wheat products as I have gluten intolerance. If they do, I'll just bring my own snacks. Seems that in the past I read the label and they did, but I can't remember for sure.
Also, a suggestion. I have tried to find an e-suggestion box on the website, but can't seem to find anywhere to leave an idea (so actually, that's my first suggestion :). So I'll put it here and see if it results in anything.
I fly a lot, and I get a lot of Rapid Rewards and free flights, so I have a TON of those little drink coupons accumulating in my flight bag. I might get a glass of wine once in a while, but there's no way I will ever catch up! I was thinking that it would be really nice to be able to use my award drink coupons at the Starbuck's in the airport, before I get on the plane, to get a coffee drink, since we can't take any liquids through security. I would think that Starbuck's, being the progressive company they are, and Southwest, being the progressive company you are, could come to an agreement of some sort so that we could use our coupons there.
Just a thought. Hopefully it will get to someone who can look into it.
Thanks! Keep up the great work!
Honey-roasted peanuts taste the best, please keep them going year round, thanks! Oh yea, Southwest rocks.
Post new comment