This article is part of our airport food survival guide, which includes tips and tricks—even a hot take or two—that challenge the notion that airport meals are always dull, overpriced, and tasteless.
Facing an obnoxious airport delay? No time to down a power bar from your pantry before hitting the airport at the crack of dawn? Too hangry to decide where to sit and eat near your terminal? No matter the situation, preflight grab-and-go Hudson News is the old reliable. With over 1,000 stores across 37 states in the US, the stalwart stocks everything from the random to the reliable. As professional travelers (with, I’ll say, great taste), we’ve rounded up our favorite snacks from Hudson News that are variously convenient, delicious, and—most often—a combination of the two.
Pad out the protein
In case you haven't heard, we're in a beef jerky renaissance—the road trip snack is back baby! Long journeys require large doses of salty snacks (I tell myself it forces me to drink more water, which is good?), and while I used to be all salt and vinegar chips, I'm now prone to the pricey, grass-fed jerkies that line the walls at Hudson News. They're all targeted toward a very keto/paleo/etc audience, which is not me, but hey, they're the closest thing to a burger that you can keep in your bag, and if the in-flight meal doesn't hit (it rarely does), you know you can fill up on little smoky beef bits. I wash it all down with a gigantic cold seltzer (if they have glass bottles that is) otherwise I dutifully fill my reusable water bottle at the fountain. —Megan Spurrell, senior editor
On my latest trip, I happily discovered The Perfect Bar at the Hudson News in the Raleigh Durham International Airport. It’s a protein bar, but get this—it’s refrigerated. That’s because there are no chemicals or artificial preservatives, which means a shorter shelf life, but if you check out the ingredients list it’s all whole foods like nut butter, coconut, and honey. It’s the best tasting protein bar I’ve ever had, and with 20-plus superfoods and up to 17 grams of protein in one bar, it’ll keep you full for at least a few hours. I found out afterward that the founders based the recipe off a road trip snack their dad would make for the family after finding a deficit of healthy travel bites, so it’s no wonder that it’s so traveler-friendly. —Hannah Towey, Associate Editor
I hate eating on airplanes, but the only thing that’s worse is being trapped when the blood sugar starts to tank. For this reason, I buy a good amount of jerky at the airport—keeps it simple, packs that quick and easy protein punch that will actually make you full. Megan puts it well above so I won’t belabor the point. But I will add that, because so much of air travel for me is done in a fugue, a mint or peanut butter chocolate whey protein bar can pass pretty easily for candy when you’re out of it enough. The CLIF options are my favorite, but can be quite dry, so I like to hold each bite in my mouth with a sip of water for a few seconds to let it soften. I’m realizing as I write this that it sounds pretty sad. —Charlie Hobbs, associate editor
I may like to put my taste buds to the test during road trips, but when I'm at the airport, I'm as boring as it gets. I try to pack my own snacks, like trail mix or apple slices—if I'm not rushing out to hail a cab at the last minute—but my most consistent Hudson News purchase is *drum roll* a small cup of yogurt. Because I'm most often browsing as the sun rises, I'm usually on the hunt for breakfast items that don't come from a fast-food chain. There may not always be fresh produce or a protein snack pack available, especially at smaller airports, but I know I can always find a cold cup of Chobani to give me at least the illusion that I've had a nutritious and filling breakfast before I inhale the minuscule bag of snack mix in flight anyway. —Taylor Eisenhauer, editorial operations manager
Artificial reality
I’m a sucker for any crispy and salty (and usually alarmingly bright in hue) snack—Doritos, Cheetos, BBQ corn nuts, those weird fake cheddar and peanut butter crackers that you ordinarily only find in vending machines. I see them and I want them, but I’ve learned my lesson: I will eat the entire 8-serving bag or package on the flight and arrive at my destination queasy, dehydrated, and with a stubborn orange residue under my fingernails that is impossible to scrub away in the airplane bathroom. Lately, my go-to has been a regular (not king-sized) bag of peanut M&Ms. They are satisfying (the nut factor–good fats–even makes me feel a little virtuous) while still feeling like a treat, even if I pound the whole bag, I don’t land feeling ill, and, as everyone knows, they melt in your mouth and not in your hands. —Rebecca Misner, Senior Features Editor
Peanut M&Ms on every flight! It might sound basic but it is the perfect sugar lift, right when you need it most. And it has actual substance to quench the appetite without ruining your first meal upon arrival. Pro-tip, get the ones in a resealable bag. The only downside comes when the pilot announces a nut allergy onboard, which has happened to me once or twice. —Eugene Shevertalov, Associate Entertainment Editor
Pass the salt
When I hit up Hudson News, I do it right: salty, sweet, and semi-substantial. Clif Bar’s White Chocolate Macadamia nut bar is a regular companion. No other flavor or brand does the trick. Buttery, filling, and not too sweet, it is most delicious on morning flights. For later or longer flights, I snag Sabra’s hummus and pretzel cups. As a lover of the salty, it's a compromise on other options I would otherwise impulsively buy—namely, a large bag of Kettle’s delicious and crunchy and messy and loud-to-chew Jalapeño chips. —Jessica Chapel, editorial assistant
I love primarily salty snacks for travel, and ones that lean a bit on the healthier side (if only to make me feel better about the bag of Salt and Vinegar Lays we will also no doubt crush). Lately, SunChips of the French Onion variety have caught my eye at the Hudson Newses of the world and are really doing it for me—they’re so zingy and minimally messy compared to some other flavored chips with too much of that flavor dust happening (plus, on the healthy side, they’re whole grain). But sometimes I like to go back to basics and stick to the potato variety: If I’m in Greece, there’s always a bag of oregano flavored potato chips in my beach bag. I've also been known to throw Twizzlers or any generic peach ring gummies into a haul, because if you have your salty you’re inevitably going to want your sweet, too. —Shannon McMahon, destinations editor
I do my best to bring snacks from home for long flights, but occasionally, the rush-to-the-airport chaos gets the best of me and I wind up at Hudson News looking for something to bring on board. After perusing the magazine rack, I’ll usually grab one of those mini packaged charcuterie spreads that resemble a grown-up Lunchable, or if I’m lucky (I’ve only seen them in some airports), a pack of Oh Snap!’s Hottie Bites pickle packs. It sounds like a weird plane snack, but they’re spicy, crunchy, and fresh. If I’m in the mood for something sweet, it’s always a pack of some worm or bear from Trolli. —Madison Flager, senior commerce editor
Eating as entertainment
I have to preface this by saying, I don’t usually find myself racing over to Hudson News for snacks. I’m typically there to buy a mag for my plane ride or a bottled beverage because I’ve managed to forget to bring my refillable bottle. But once I'm there, it’s hard to ignore the tiny bags of snacks that offer the most luxurious of benefits on a long plane ride—something to pass time with. So it’s less about sustenance and more about breaking the monotony of, say, a 21-hour flight to India. Once I’ve convinced myself of this, I typically lean on a hummus and pretzel cup (or two), sometimes a bag of dried fruit (mango is my favorite—they don’t always have this), and then, invariably, a Kind bar that I find uneaten weeks after in my handbag. —Arati Menon, Global Digital Director
Agent Cooper once said: every day, once a day, give yourself a present. On travel days, waiting to board is an excuse for me to gorge on what I usually try to roll past in the grocery snack aisle: salty, umami pleasure bombs like Combos or cheese puffs make me instantly more patient about any sitting around I have to do. I also grab Welch's fruit snacks for nostalgia if the strawberry ones are in stock. Snapple iced tea is an imperative antidote to all this delicious sodium. —Alex Sanidad, research director
Flying with a one-year-old means snacks, snacks, snacks—it’s the best form of entertainment! Considering my son only has four teeth right now, my go to Hudson News snack is that bright yellow tub of Cheerios. Each cheerio in that yellow container is one second of a great activity to combat the impatience of a 12 month old. For myself however, I keep it simple with a Kind bar (I try to steer clear of the chocolate ones so I don’t end up with a melted mess half way through my flight.) The salty-sweet aspect of the maple-glazed pecan and sea salt flavor is perfect when you only have one snack because I always need a bit of salty and a bit of sweet to complete a snack. —Andrea Edelman Kay, Digital Photo Editor