Which Carrier Serves the Least Healthy Food? DL & WN Score Poorly

Generally, economy class passengers are more concerned about the food on-board being edible than its nutritional contents, however each year DietDetective.com publishes a list of those airlines with the healthiest on-board fare. They start by contacting US based airlines to request nutrition information for the foods they serve economy class passengers on domestic flights and then perform an analysis of the options available per flight. The survey includes health ratings, average calories per airline, cost, comments, food offerings, calories and exercise equivalents.

There are not too many major changes from last year, but as an overall observation, the good seem to have gotten better. Virgin America and Air Canada are tied as they were two years ago for having the healthiest food in the air. Virgin America has the ONLY Travel Light menu and on-demand ordering (eat when you want). Air Canada has better individual snacks, and the airline prides itself on the freshness and quality of its ingredients. The airline contracts with a company called Food with a Conscience to help create its menu. Alaska Airlines has real meals that are reasonable in terms of health and calories; and United and JetBlue seem to be moving in a better direction. American is not terrible, but it’s not improving, either. The average number of calories per food item last year was 388. This year it’s 360 calories per item – a drop!

Airline Food Survey Rankings
Virgin America – 4.5
Air Canada – 4.5
Alaska Airlines – 4
JetBlue Airways – 3.5
United Airlines – 3.25
American Airlines – 3
US Airways – 3
Delta Air Lines – 2.75
Frontier Airlines – 2.75
Southwest Airlines – 2
Allegiant Air – 1.5

Check out the full ratings, sample menus, and calculations for each carrier here.