Plane food is often slated for being bland and tasteless, due to the effect on the taste buds whilst 30,000 feet in the air.
However, an annual study by Dr Charles Platkin on DietDietective.com has revealed which US airlines fared the best and the worst when it came to the in-flight meal options.
He analysed the meals from the leading airlines, requesting the nutritional value to determine who offered the healthiest and least healthy food.
One airline meal had a whopping 1,480 calories in it.
The airline that came out on top was Delta which had great healthy options on offer.
It found that the average meal had just 559 calories, whist snacks had 164 calories.
He commented: “Delta is doing an incredible job focusing on improving its food, transparency and communication.
“It is the clear leader among the big carriers by a long shot.”
Virgin America was joint first, joining the health score of four out of five, and is the only airline that “provides nutritional information (not just calories) for all items”.
The worst airlines fared poorly, with Hawaiian Airlines being awarded just one star.
One of the meals of penne pasta with mushrooms, meatballs and cheese, along with a bean salad and sweet snack had nearly 1,500 calories.
Platkin revealed that the airline “does not respond to requests for food information” nor is there ”much choice either in terms of health or in the way of food system consciousness.”
An Oxford professor also analysed how many calories passengers consume on a flight, in his book Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating.
Charles Spence, who led the study, found that passengers eat as much as 3,400 calories during a flight.
This is nearly twice the daily allowance recommended for people.
It can be down to a number of reasons, such as adding salt and sugar due to our taste buds changing, as well as the stress that can cause more people to eat.
Best and worst airlines for healthy meals
Delta: 4 stars
Virgin America: 4 stars
Air Canada: 3.75 stars
JetBlue: 3.75 stars
Alaska Airlines: 3.5 stars
United Airlines: 2.75 stars
American: 2.5 stars
Frontier Air: 2.25 stars
Southwest Airlines: 2 stars
Allegiant Air: 1.75 stars
Spirit Airlines: 1.75 stars
Hawaiian Airlines: 1 star
