The advantages of air-chilled chicken

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Air-chilled chicken is cooled with cold, circulated air instead of being submerged in chlorinated water. This method helps the meat retain its natural flavor and texture, avoids excess water absorption, and reduces the risk of cross-contamination during processing. As a result, air-chilled chicken typically cooks more evenly, browns better, and tastes less diluted compared to water-chilled options. While air-chilled options usually cost more, this is one of the cases where spending a little more may give you better cooking results and a slightly higher-quality product.

Source

Belk AD, Duarte T, Quinn C, Coil DA, Belk KE, Eisen JA, Quinn JC, Martin JN, Yang X, Metcalf JL. Air versus Water Chilling of Chicken: a Pilot Study of Quality, Shelf-Life, Microbial Ecology, and Economics. mSystems. 2021 Mar 2;6(2):e00912-20. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00912-20. PMID: 33653941; PMCID: PMC8546986.

Additional Reading

https://www.foodrepublic.com/1403532/air-vs-water-chilled-chicken-grocery-store/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-03/why-you-should-cook-air-chilled-chicken

https://www.today.com/food/air-chilled-chicken-hot-new-trend-super-markets-t116352