Healthy Meals in the Sky? Air Canada Ties for First

There will be more than 47 million passengers traveling during the holiday season (Dec. 19 - Jan. 5) according to Airlines for America (A4A). Knowing the "best" and "worst" choices is a valuable tool for any traveller, so Dr. Charles Platkin, editor of DietDetective.com and the Executive Director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, once again studied the best "Calorie Bargains" and "Calorie Rip-offs" at 35,000 feet.

DietDetective.com and the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center have released the 2020 Airline Food Study, rating foods for eleven (11) airlines. The study assigned a “Health Score” (5 stars = highest rated, 0 star = lowest rated) based on criteria including healthy nutrients and calorie levels of meals, snack boxes and individual snacks, level of transparency (display of nutrient information, menu online & ingredients), improvement and maintenance of healthy offerings, menu innovation and cooperation in providing nutritional information, overall sodium levels, availability of meals on flights under 3 hours, and our Airline Water Health Score. The study includes health ratings, average calories per airline, comments, best bets, food offerings, costs, and nutrition information (e.g., calories, carbs, fats, protein, sodium and exercise equivalents). See the full study at dietdetective.com.

“This year Alaska and Air Canada share the top spot as the airlines with the ‘healthiest’ food choices in the sky, with Delta and JetBlue tied for second,” says Charles Platkin, Ph.D., JD, MPH, the executive director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center and editor of DietDetective.com.

Here are the major airline food headlines:

Air Canada and Alaska Airlines pull to the top for a tie this year as the healthiest airlines.

Average Calories Same as Last Year: The average number of calories per menu item was 373 calories in 2018 and this year it is almost the same at 375 calories. But keep in mind, calories are not everything; the study also looks at the nutrient content of these foods, as well as innovations moving towards healthier, tastier, less expensive and more sustainable choices.

Alaska Airlines is the clear leader in making strides to minimize its environmental impact. It was the first to replace plastic straws with paper ones and continues to look for eco-friendly substitutions. Alaska has also launched a #FillBeforeYouFly campaign to encourage flyers to bring their own water bottles and fill them up at water-filling stations in the airport to reduce the use of plastic cups and water bottles on board.

Shame On You Award goes to Hawaiian for not providing ALL their nutritional information for the study, and to the EPA for not providing penalty information on galley water violations when requested.

Sodium Matters: Sodium is often used by food providers to boost flavour, especially in the air where senses can be dulled. The average airline meal contains more than 800mg of sodium, which is more than 40% of the daily limit of 2000mg set by the World Health Organization. Also, note that in addition to health-related concerns, sodium can make you feel and look bloated because you retain extra water. Watch out for high levels of sodium throughout all airline menus.

Mini-Meals: Full meals or “mini-meal” options are better bets than eating individual snacks, which generally have little nutritional value.

Short Flights Matter: We urge airlines to provide meals or allow for preorder on shorter flights so that passengers have the option to eat a healthy meal no matter how long they’re in the air. Keep in mind that a 90-minute flight can easily turn into a 5 or 6 hour travel experience when you include getting to the airport, security lines, waiting for the flight to take off, deplaning and getting to your final destination.

You Need to Know: We believe transparency around food is important for airlines. This means providing an up-to-date version of its menu online with all nutrient information (i.e., calories, fat, carbs, sugar, fiber, protein and sodium), including ingredients.

Taste Changes in Air: Research shows that our taste perception changes while in flight. Dr. Charles Spence from the University of Oxford found that the three factors impacting taste at such high altitudes are the lower cabin air pressure, lack of humidity and loud background noise. In-flight, air is recycled every few minutes and humidity is normally about 20% (compared to indoor relative humidity of 40%). With lower humidity and air pressure, we’re likely to be thirstier, and there’s naturally less moisture in the throat, which slows the transport of odours to the brain’s smell and taste receptors. Drink a lot of water. More salt, sugar and flavour enhancers (i.e. spices and herbs) are necessary to make meals inflight taste the way they do on the ground.

Watch Your Carbs: Eating lots of heavy carbs such as pasta with thick, dense sauces, breads, muffins or cakes will leave you feeling lethargic, cranky and not full or satisfied. Your blood sugar levels will spike and then fall, which will negatively impact your mood. The fact that food impacts mood, attitude and behaviour has been well documented in scientific literature.

Water Watch: This year we published an Airline Water Study highlighting the quality of water provided onboard. Each airline was given a Water Health Score, which has been factored into their overall score in this study. The study revealed that the quality of drinking water varies by airline, and many have provided passengers with unhealthy water. In general, it’s probably best to avoid drinking coffee and tea on board since they are made with galley water.

Here are the food-service offerings from several of the more popular airlines, along with Diet Detective's comments, ratings (Health Score: 5 = highest rating), calories, exercise equivalents (amount of walking required to burn off the food consumed) and personal favourites.

Summary of Health Ratings (5 is highest): Air Canada 4.0, Alaska Airlines 4.0, JetBlue 2.9, Delta 2.9, United Airlines 2.7, American 2.7, Frontier 2.0, Allegiant Air 1.9, Spirit Airlines 1.9, Hawaiian Airlines 1.9, Southwest Airlines 1.7

Here's what the study had to say about Air Canada's offerings

Air Canada

Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Very Helpful

Health Score: 4.0 / 5

Fleet Size: 372

Onboard Water Health Score: N/A

Average Calories Overall (Individual Snacks, Snack Boxes, and Meals): 347

Average Individual Snack Calories: 308

Average Snack Box Calories: 590
Average Meal Calories: 376

Average Sodium Content Overall (Individual Snacks, Snack Boxes, and Meals): 544mg

Comments: The good news is 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. These are great mini-meals, much better than a traditional snack, and are low in calories with great nutrient content. Air Canada also offers a Bento Express sushi California roll. And then there is the Freshii menu, which provides lower-calorie and higher-nutrient meal choices packed with more vegetables than many other airline options. Air Canada’s meals are relatively healthy and available for trips that are more than 2 hours long. Providing real meals starting at 2 hours is not typical; most airlines start offering real meals at 3 or 4 hours, which is not great if you want to avoid unhealthy snacks. The bad news is that Air Canada needs to include all nutrient information and ingredients on its menu and online - there is no reason not to.The average sodium content of 544mg for all of Air Canada’s offerings is almost ten percent higher than the average among all airlines. However, the average sodium content for meals, at 620mg, is lower than the overall average for all airlines, which is 823mg. Air Canada also has a larger selection of food items overall, which allows for several healthy options.

Best Bets: For breakfast, the Liberte Greek yogurt is still a good choice and will probably fill you up. The Avocado Smash Box, with fresh guacamole, hard-boiled egg, green apple slices, and multigrain muesli bread sounds amazing and also offers 23g of filling protein to keep you energized. You might want to skip the cheese though. Other best bets would be the new Grilled Chicken Summer Salad and the Wild Rice Superfood Salad, both of which are relatively low in calories and high in protein for a mini-meal. The chicken salad has 220 calories and 14 grams of protein (which helps to keep you full longer), and the wild rice is a close second with 260 calories and 8 grams of protein. The Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup is a low-calorie choice for a snack that will fill you up, but be wary of the 950mg of sodium if you are salt sensitive. The Celery & Carrots with Ranch Dip (if you use no more than half the dip) is still an OK choice. The Sabra Hummus is an OK choice if you share it, and the Sabra Guacamole appears to be healthy, but the Tostitos offer little nutritional value. The Krispy Kernels Natural Almonds come as a large portion but are still a better choice than most of the individual snacks.If meals are available, the sushi California roll is a good choice. The Pangoa Bowl and the Sriracha Lime Wrap are both high-nutrient/ low-calorie choices. Skip the Smoked Meat Sandwich, since it has nearly an entire day’s worth of sodium along with a high calorie content. And Air Canada needs to offer at least one healthy kids' meal.