Remember the name Charles Stuart Platkin… because he’s the guy who can answer that question.
Platkin is a nutritional expert and I’ve been visiting his DietDetective.com website since I stumbled upon it years ago when I was doing a news story. It’s a useful site that provides health information and recently a new link was added that reveals just how healthy (or unhealthy) those meals you get on airplanes really are.
Platkin analyzed nine U.S. airlines’ snacks and meals for coach passengers. In the end he found United Airlines serves the most nutritious food at 35,000 feet.
Platkin has been reviewing airline meals for nearly a decade and his most noteworthy find is that when airlines were serving meals at no extra charge, nutritionally they were beyond unhealthy. In fact, Platkin once said it was healthier to eat a McDonald’s Big Mac, fries and a strawberry sundae than to eat most airline dinners.
However, since September 11th, the majority of airlines has revamped their food service and now charges for it. These days almost all carriers offer coach passengers nuts, pretzels or another snack item for free. Other airlines also sell snack boxes or meals, depending on flight length.
So what did Platkin find? Take a look:
Platkin gave United Airlines high marks for its “vegetarian-friendly, trans-fat-free” Smartpack snack box, which sells for $5 and contains granola, organic peach applesauce, cheddar cheese and other items. However, since all the items in the box add up to 810 calories, Platkin advises sharing the snack box or saving some of the items for later.
Continental earned Platkin’s second-best score. He says the carrier received bonus points for serving bags of carrots and turkey and ham sandwiches that are low in calories (even the mayo is “light”).
Coming in at the bottom of the list are Southwest Airlines and Northwest Airlines. According to Platkin, both carriers offer snacks with very little nutritional value. For example, Southwest’s Snack Pack contains cookies, cheese sandwich crackers and dried fruit and nuts. Meanwhile, Northwest sells snack boxes filled with smoked sausage, crackers and trail mix.
Bottom line, according to Platkin: BYOF—-Bring your own nutritious food such as cereal, energy bars and fruit on your flight so you are not tempted to purchase the unhealthy choices.
Related Articles:
In-Flight Meals–What You Will (Or Won’t) Be Getting
No Such Thing As A Free Ride… Or Free Pretzels
New Menu Options at 35,000 Feet