Just what's in that airline snack?

usatoday.com

Airline food is getting healthier, but there's plenty of room for improvement.

So concludes Charles Stuart Platkin, a nutritional expert who has analyzed nine U.S. airlines' snacks and meals for coach passengers. United Airlines, the USA's No. 2 carrier, serves the most nutritious food and was given Platkin's highest "health score," 4½ stars on a 5-star scale.

"In general, foods are getting somewhat healthier, but the consumer has to go in with open eyes," says Platkin, whose DietDetective.com website provides health information. "Like airline tickets, airline food is becoming more complicated."

In 2000, when full meals at no extra charge were the industry norm, Platkin released a similar study that showed many airline meals were unhealthy.

That study said it was healthier to eat a McDonald's (MCD) Big Mac, fries and a strawberry sundae than to eat most airline dinners.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, airlines began cutting costs by eliminating meals.

Many carriers have since re-introduced food service and charge for it.

In Platkin's newly released analysis, he assigns each airline a score based on the variety of food, nutritional value, calorie count and the airlines' willingness to provide nutritional information.

The airlines' scores reflects their full range of in-flight food offerings.

Snack choices fall into a wide range

All airlines offer coach passengers nuts or another snack item for free. Some airlines also sell snack boxes or meals, usually depending on flight length.

Midwest Airlines (MEH) sells meals on flights longer than 90 minutes, while some other airlines sell food on flights exceeding 2½, three or 3½ hours.

Continental (CAL) serves meals on flights exceeding three hours and is the only airline providing them for free.

Platkin praises United (UAL) 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.

All the items in the box add up to 810 calories, so he advises sharing the snack box.

United, which started offering "healthy" snack boxes about three years ago, says it will introduce new items in its Smartpack on Saturday. It now has four different snack boxes and sells about 3 million of them per year, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski says.

The airline's biggest seller is the Minimeal box, which includes salami, cheese spread, crackers, applesauce, potato chips and cookies. Platkin says he likes the amount of protein passengers get from the salami and cheese spread, but he's concerned about carbohydrates such as potato chips and cookies that have little nutritional value.

Continental, which earned Platkin's second-best score, rates highly because it serves a bag of carrots and turkey and ham sandwiches that are low in calories. It's "impressive that they offer light mayo" with the turkey sandwich, Platkin says.

In Platkin's latest study, Southwest (LUV) and Northwest (NWA) have the lowest health scores. Southwest's snacks have little variety and "not much nutritional value," Platkin says.

The airline's Snack Pack contains cookies, cheese sandwich crackers and dried fruit and nuts. It's given free to passengers on flights at least 2½ hours long.

"We offer peanuts, which are a great option for protein," says Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger. "We also offer 100-calorie packs of our snacks, which are a great option for customers watching their calories. Customers can also bring snacks on board."

Bringing your own food can be a big help

Northwest sells snack boxes on flights exceeding two hours and sandwiches on some long-distance flights.

Its $5 snack box, which includes smoked sausage, crackers and trail mix, "is in line with the rest of the industry," says airline executive Tammy Lee.

"No one is offering a Mayo Clinic diet snack box."

Airlines are "not health food stores," Platkin says, "but they have a captive audience and a responsibility to have a variety of foods that are healthy."

He says passengers should consider bringing their own nutritious food — such as cereal, energy bars and fruit — on their trips. Airports may also sell healthy fare that can be brought aboard, he says.

"Even if you ate before you left home, you are still going to get hungry," Platkin says.

"We often underestimate the amount of time a trip can take. A two-hour flight could mean four or five hours of travel."

In-flight food ratings

Charles Stuart Platkin, of DietDetective.com, awarded United Airlines the highest health score for its food. It won 4½ stars in a one- to five-star rating system based on variety of food, nutritional value, calorie count and the airline's willingness to provide nutritional information.

Airline Rating Healthiest food choices

United ****1/2 Yogurt and mixed fruit; snack boxes; Hawaiian chicken salad

Continental **** Turkey or ham sandwich

Delta *** Dry-roasted peanuts, Kashi cereal with fruit, grilled Mediterranean shrimp salad

Midwest *** Chicken salad in pita pocket; cheese omelet

American **1/2 Assorted nuts, Asian chicken wrap

JetBlue **1/2 Cashews

US Airways **1/2 Mini muffin platter with fruit; tomato & mozzarella salad with Italian meats

Northwest ** Raisin-nut mix

Southwest ** Dry-roasted peanuts; dried fruit-and-nut mix

Source: DietDetective.com

Printable Version | published Nov 27, 2007

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