Air Canada shared the first place ranking for the healthiest in-flight food options with Alaska Airlines in a recent study of North American airlines.
DietDetective.com and the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center have released the 2019-20 Airline Food Study, which ranks 11 North American airlines based on their overall health score. Each airline's health score is based on criteria including healthy nutrients, calorie levels, level of transparency, improvement, menu innovation, sodium levels, meal availability on short-haul flights and water quality.
Of the airlines studied, Alaska Airlines and Air Canada emerged the leaders, each pulling off a four out of five score. Report authors noted that Air Canada has added several new items, "that show some serious health innovation, including the Grilled Chicken Summer Salad and the Wild Rice Superfood Salad." The Freshii menu was also highlighted, which provides lower-calorie and higher-nutrient meal choices packed with more vegetables than many other airline options.
Air Canada was also noted for providing meals for flights over two hours, rather than three or four. In contrast, report authors add that most airlines start offering real meals at three or four hours, which is not great for those who want to avoid unhealthy snacks. Air Canada's meal's are an average of 590 calories while snacks are 376 calories each.
Air Canada has ranked in first place for healthiest in-flight food options. Photo: Air Canada / Facebook Alaska Airlines, who shared the top accolade with Air Canada, was lauded for its transparency on nutritional information and for being the "clear leader" in the industry when it comes to sustainable initiatives: it was the first to ban single-use plastic straws, replacing them with paper alternatives, and launched a campaign asking flyers to bring their own water bottles.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Hawaiian Airlines landed at the bottom of the heap for failing to disclose nutritional information or galley water violations for the study. In addition, the airline was criticized for its unusually high levels of sodium, with an average sodium content of 775mg, which is way above the average across all airlines.
Here are the results:
1. Air Canada, Alaska Airlines
2. JetBlue, Delta Air Lines
3. United Airlines
4. American Airlines
5. Frontier
6. Allegiant Air
7. Spirit Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines
8. Southwest Airlines
Report authors recommend avoiding excess carbs like pasta, breads, muffins or cakes which cause blood sugar spikes and drops, that tend to leave travelers feeling lethargic and cranky.
- With files from Relax News.
