It’s been almost six years since the last time I did an airline food investigation, and much has changed. No longer are airlines serving those high-calorie, tasteless meals that used to have as many as 1,500 calories. Now they are serving prepackaged snacks and sandwiches, and some are even offering healthy selections.  Keep in mind that in-flight food service should be viewed as a convenient alternative for passengers who don’t have time to bring food from home or buy it in the airport. If you plan ahead, you can avoid being “stuck” with foods that are not as healthy as those you would typically choose. 

Here are what some of the airlines are offering in terms of snacks, along with comments, Diet Detective ratings

Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Very helpful.

Health Score: (*****) United really has the best variety and most healthful offerings. The only negative is that they're not offered on flights of less than three hours.

Best Bet: Go for the Ritebite or the Smartpack (which is all-natural, trans-fat free and vegetarian-friendly). Keep in mind the Smartpack is best if you're sharing; it has a lot of food and can be high in calories for one person.

Total Calories: 895 (Smartpack), 550 (Minimeal), 650 (Quickpick), 580 (Ritebite)
 

Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) 231 minutes (Smartpack); 142 minutes (Minimeal); 168 minutes (Quickpick); 149 minutes (Ritebite)

Cost: $5 per box

Snack Choices:

Smartpack
- SunGold Creamy SunButter (1.5-ounce container, 266 calories)
- Bear Naked All-Natural Fruit and Nut Granola (1/2-cup bag, 280 calories)
- Vermont Village Cannery Organic Peach Applesauce (4-ounce container,
80 calories)
- Glacier Ridge Farms White Cheddar Cheese (0.75-ounce package,
50 calories)
- Pita Shack Multigrain & Honey Lavash crackers  (0.9-ounce package,
120 calories)
- Hero Strawberry Preserves (1/2-ounce package, 64 calories)
- Bali's Best Latte Candy (1 candy, 15 calories)
- Emer'gen-C Fizzing Drink Mix - Tangerine (1 packet, 20 calories)

Best Bet: Both sandwich options are fine; the light mayo is a nice touch.

Total Calories: 285 (turkey), 316 (ham)

Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn it off the calories) 
73 minutes (turkey); 81 minutes (ham); 21 minutes (peanuts);
13 minutes (pretzels)

Cost: No charge

Snack Choices:

Flights over two hours:
- Turkey sandwich (170 calories, including packet of Hellmann's light mayo) or
- Ham sandwich (201 calories, including packet of French's yellow mustard)
- Small bag of carrots (35 calories)
- Fun-size candy bar (80 calories)

Flights under two hours:
- Honey-roasted peanuts (1.5-ounce bag, 80 calories)
- Mini pretzels (1.5-ounce bag, 50 calories)

JetBlue Airways (800-538-2583, www.jetblue.com)

Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Very helpful.

Health Score: (****) The individually packaged snacks are portion-controlled (however, you can ask for as many as you want).  And get this -- they're trans-fat free.

Best Bet: If you're really hungry, try the nuts; they have protein and good fat and will give you satisfaction. Eat them one at a time. If you want munching food, the animal crackers are for you.

Total Calories: See individual choices below.

Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) see individual choices below

Cost: No charge

Snack Choices: (not a snack pack, distributed separately)

- Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Wheat Thins Minis (1 package, 100 calories, 26 minutes of walking)
- Chocobillys Chocolate Chunk (4 cookies, 130 calories, 34 minutes of walking)
- Doritos Munchies Mix (1-ounce bag, 140 calories, 36 minutes of walking)
- Mama Says Biscotti Gingerbread Grande
(1 cookie, 210 calories, 54 minutes of walking)
- Mama Says Biscotti Pistachio Grande (1 cookie, 150 calories, 39 minutes of walking)
- Mrs. GoodCookie Jungle Crackers (1-ounce bag, 120 calories, 31 minutes of walking)
- Terra Blues Potato Chips (1-ounce bag, 140 calories, 36 minutes of walking)
- All Nuts Jumbo Cashew Halves
(1-ounce bag, 170 calories, 44 minutes of walking)

American Airlines (817-963-1234, www.aa.com)

Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Helpful.

Health Score: (***1/2) The meat, nuts, raisins and cheese in the snack box have enough protein and fat to give you a level of satisfaction. Available on flights of three hours or more.

Best Bet: Skip the breakfast muffin; it's good but very high in calories and fat. If you have nothing else to eat, split it with your seatmate. The breakfast sandwich is a better choice. If you buy the snack pack, get rid of the cookies and the Goldfish, and you're in pretty good shape. As far as the morning sandwich, it's a better choice than the muffin by far.

Total Calories: 710 (snack pack) 440/420 (breakfast muffin)

Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) 183 minutes (snack pack), 108 minutes (blueberry muffin); 113 minutes (chocolate muffin)

Cost: $4, snack box; $2, muffin; $5, sandwich

Snack Choices:

The following comes in a snack box and is served in the afternoon and evening:
- Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (0.75 ounces, 100 calories)
- O'Brien's Cured Meat  (32 grams, 110 calories)
- Lorna Doone Cookies (2 cookies 140 calories)
- Kings Raisins (28 grams, 90 calories)
- Carr's Table Water Crackers (7.5 grams, 2 crackers, 30 calories)
- Le Petit Fromage Cheese Spread (0.75 ounces, 70 calories)
- Emerald Deluxe Mixed Nuts (1 ounce, 170 calories)

Breakfast Snack:
Otis Spunkmeyer Chocolate Muffin (4-ounce muffin, 440 calories) 
Otis Spunkmeyer Blueberry Muffin (4-ounce muffin, 420 calories)

US Airways (480-693-0800, www.usairways.com)

Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Not helpful. "We do not provide nutritional data."

Health Score: (**) Not much variety and not much in terms of nutritional value. The snack pack is offered on flights of 2.5 hours or more.

Best Bet: Eat the fruit and nut mix and the cheese; skip the crackers and cookies.

Total Calories: 470 (snack pack)

Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories)121 minutes

Cost: $3 per snack pack

Snack Choices: (snack pack)

- Azar Fruit and Nut Mix (1-ounce bag, 110 calories)
- Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies (4 cookies, 150 calories)
- Austin Cheese Crackers with Cheddar Cheese
(1.38-ounce package, 210 calories)

Delta Air Lines (866-715-2170, www.delta.com)

Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Least helpful. In fact, they were evasive and didn't provide any information. Probably why they're in bankruptcy.

Health Score: (*) You'll be very hungry even after eating Delta's entire snack pack.

Best Bet: Travel another airline, but if you get stuck, keep the granola bar and the peanuts. Dump the rest.
Total Calories:  766

Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories)   197 minutes

Cost: $5 per box

Snack Choices: Snack basket

- Frito-Lay SunChips (1-ounce bag, 140 calories)
- Quaker Granola Bar (1-ounce bar, 120 calories)
- Dry-roasted peanuts (1 ounce, 30 nuts, 170 calories)
- Biscoff Cookies (5 cookies, 146 calories)
- Lance Honey Peanut Butter Crackers (1 package, 190 calories)

Looking for tips on making your airline travel healthier? Go to www.dietdetective.com/food/fat-birds-dont-fly.html

Bring Your Own Snacks

Even if you ate before you left home, you are still going to get hungry. We often underestimate the amount of time a trip can take. A two-hour flight could mean four or five hours of travel. 

Here are some ideas for snacks you can bring:

- Water: Buy it after the security checkpoint to take onboard. Dehydration can cause or exacerbate hunger, jet lag and fatigue.
- Cereal: Kashi (a variety of healthy versions) or Cheerios are both portable, low-calorie choices.
- Beef jerky: Especially if you're a low-carb fan -- but not if you're watching your sodium.
- Fruit: Apples, pears and grapes are durable, and almost any other fruit can be stored in a container.
- Rice cakes: Be selective, since calorie and fat content vary widely.
- Energy bars: Although they tend to be high in calories and fat, they often are better than a slice of pizza or a candy bar at the airport.
- Nonfat yogurt: Yogurt is a great portable snack (although it is perishable). You can pack a 3-ounce container or less in an insulated bag or take a small cooler, but understand that this can be counted against carry-on bag limitations.
- Sandwiches: Pre-cut them into portion-controlled sections so you can pull them out at different times during the trip without making a mess. Chicken, turkey, cold cuts and cheese (on 100 percent whole-wheat bread) are all great options for sandwiches on the go.
- Soy chips: These are yet another portable, low-cal, high-fiber snack.
- Make sure to check with the Transportation Security Administration for the latest in-flight rules on bringing food and water.

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written by Emily, December 08, 2006

Thanks for the comprehensive report. We mention your findings in this week's blog post on Inside Traveler

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written by Emily, December 06, 2006

I recently had a very poor experience on Continental. For a cross-country flight (of 6 hours) the meal they served was a swiss cheeseburger, potato salad, potato chips, and cookies. Talk about unhealthy!! I'd take the half-ripe fruit cup any day.

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written by Kayvon, December 06, 2006

I always fly northwest...what about them?

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written by The Diet Detective, December 05, 2006

United offers a veggie only snack--the Smartpack

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written by Barb, December 05, 2006

How about the choice in vegetarian food?

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written by Richard Serbin, December 02, 2006

You need to add a Disgusting Index. For instance, I would rate all but the last of United's offerings a 10 on my disgusting chart.

Your advertising covers some of your text.

You don't tell us whether United's Tuna offering id light or white.