Thread: AS Has the best food domestically, survey says

There will be more than 30.5 million passengers traveling during the 12-day Thanksgiving season according to Airlines for America (A4A). Knowing the “best” and “worst” choices is a valuable tool for any traveler, Dr. Charles Platkin, the executive director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center and editor of DietDetective.com once again studied the best “Calorie Bargains” and “Calorie Rip-offs” at 35,000 feet.


The Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center and DietDetective.com has released the 2018-19 Airline Food Study rating foods for eleven (11) airlines. The study assigned a “Health Score” (5 stars = highest rate, 0 star = lowest) based on eleven criteria including health and calorie levels of meals, snack boxes and individual snacks, level of transparency (display nutrient information & ingredients), improvement and maintenance of healthy offerings, menu innovation, food and water safety and cooperation in providing this information.
The survey includes health ratings, average calories per airline, comments, best bets, food offerings, costs, nutrition information (e.g., calories and exercise equivalents.)


“This year Alaska Airlines wins the top spot as the airline with the ‘healthiest’ food choices in the sky with #Delta right behind, as well as #Air Canada and #JetBlue,” says Charles Platkin, PhD, JD, MPH, the executive director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center and editor of DietDetective.com

The average number of calories per menu choice in 2016 was 392, in 2017 it was 405 calories, and this year it is 373, a 32% calorie decrease over last year. Keep in mind, calories are not everything; the study also looks at the nutrients in these foods, as well as innovations moving towards healthy, tasty, inexpensive, sustainable foods.