Requesting special meals on ANA and JAL business class

Choose the meal before choosing a code

Begin with the airline's current description. Common codes include VGML for vegan, VLML for lacto-ovo vegetarian, MOML for Muslim, and KSML for kosher meals. A code is a reservation label; it does not describe every ingredient, preparation detail, or suitability for an individual passenger.

Write down the meal name alongside its code when organizing a couple's or family's bookings. Keep ordinary Japanese or Western menu preferences separate from dietary requests. The ANA versus JAL guide can help with the broader cabin comparison while you resolve meal requirements directly with the operating airline.

• Compare ANA and JAL business class

Match the deadline to the channel

The following deadlines refer to time before departure of the relevant airline-operated flight. They are the published cutoffs, not suggested moments to start. Request early enough to resolve an unavailable option or an incomplete application. Recheck the official page for your meal and flight before relying on a deadline.

Keep a usable confirmation record

On JAL, use the meal-service selection within the booking details; the requested meal should then appear in the flight information. ANA's website distinguishes an application still being processed from an applied request. Save the completed result with the passenger name, flight number, departure date, and meal name.

For a reservation made through an agency, ask who will submit and verify the request. A message to an adviser is a useful starting point, but the practical checkpoint is the meal recorded against the airline booking. For travel with colleagues, collect each person's preference privately and check requests individually rather than sending one group instruction.

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Recheck after a flight change

Both airlines instruct travelers to reconfirm special meals after changing a reservation. Treat a new flight number, date, or operating airline as a prompt to reopen the meal details. Keep the return flight on the same checklist even if you have already completed the outbound journey.

Before accepting a last-minute itinerary change, ask what can still be requested for the replacement flight. A successful meal request on the original service does not answer that question. The fare-rules guide helps organize the separate ticket-change questions.

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Handle ingredient questions directly

Do not treat a vegetarian, gluten-related, or lactose-related label as an allergen-free guarantee. Describe the relevant ingredients to the airline and ask which request category applies. This guide covers booking administration, not whether a meal is medically appropriate.

For codeshares, identify the carrier operating the aircraft before following a meal policy. Put any unresolved question on your predeparture checklist and retain the airline's response with the reservation.