These US Airlines Serve the Healthiest Food on Board

What's the deal with airline food? Well, an investigation conducted by a nutrition expert might have just gotten to the bottom of it. Charles Platkin, 'diet detective' and executive director of the Hunter College Food Policy Center, has made an official ranking of the top healthiest airline foods in the US and Canada.

Looking at 11 airlines, the quality of inflight meals were scored on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the most nutritious and 1 at the least). Platkin based his ranking on various criteria including the average amount of calories, transparency of nutritional information, improvement and innovation of the menu and food and water safety.

According to the study, the No. 1 most healthy airline cuisine is served by Alaska Airlines with a 4.25 out of 5 stars. "The clear leader this year, Alaska Airlines purchased Virgin America, (named the healthiest airline over the last few years) and has definitely taken on some of VA's healthy approach to food," stated Platkin in his study.

TPG's Jessica Puckett flew Alaska in October and found that the healthy food on board -- particularly the protein platter -- was one of the flight's highlights.

Alaska also took TPG's top spot for the best overall airline in 2018 for the second consecutive year.

At the bottom of the list, we have Frontier Airlines. The budget airliner pulled an abysmal score of .85 out of 5 Stars and also received what Platkin penned as the "Shame on You" award. Most issues with Frontier's ranking had to do with a lack of transparency. "Frontier's communications team didn't do a great job responding," said Platkin. "We reached out multiple times before we finally received confirmation that nothing had changed on the airline's menu since 2017. Additionally, Frontier did not answer the food and water safety questions."

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The rest of the ranking goes as follows:

• Alaska Airlines (4.25 stars)
• Delta (3.7 stars)
• JetBlue (3.55 stars)
• Air Canada (3.45 stars)
• American Airlines (3 stars)
• United Airlines (2.75 stars)
• Hawaiian Airlines (2.65 stars)
• Allegiant Airlines (2.1 stars)
• Southwest Airlines (1.6 stars)
• Spirit Airline (1.1 stars)
• Frontier Airlines (0.85 stars)

To check out the study for yourself, click here.