British Airways trial on removing water bottles in World Traveler and World Traveler Plus

I just don't buy into today's whackadoodle environmental ideology. And then the idiot corporate world decisions using environmentalism as cover.

So now the expectation is that flight attendants are going to run up and down the aisle distributing cups of water that then must to be immediately consumed, rather than held onto and sipped.

Seems the effort would be more effective using their corporate buying power to get bottlers and vendors to switch over to aluminum bottles. Aluminum doesn't degrade with recycling, actually gets recycled, and retains an economic value. On my desk at work is the "single use" aluminum bottle that was the bottle of water I bought at Windsor Castle.

I know what you mean about using greenwashing to cover up cost cutting, but I think the tide of public opinion is moving against single use plastic bottles, especially in Europe. There’s become something slightly grotesque about seeing these bottles being used and discarded quite unnecessarily.

I'm generally against plastic water bottles but knowing how little the cabin crew comes through economy and economy plus, I feel for the passengers. Last flight in PE, to London the FAs came only once or twice between meals and their cups are pretty darn small.

There's going to be a lot of call button pushes. And of course it's only people flying in cattle class that are affected.

I'm sorry, I wont drink from a paper cup. Maybe some stores need to open in the departure halls; stores that sell bottled water.

Or - SHOCKING - bring an empty bottle and fill it from a dispenser?

I actually think this is a good idea. Those tiny bottles airlines give you are just 'waste" I might feel different if they were giving liter bottles but... People needing 10 of those little bottles????? How do they even get them? And yes it's a ton of waste.

(And why won't people drink water out of a paper cup? You see them pour it from the bottled water on their cart?)

I never depend on the carrier for water even when I am flying business. I bring a bottle and fill it at the airport unless I am someplace where water is not potable and then I just buy a bottle in the gift shop. I prefer to bring my personal bottle because apparently I am a whackadoodle who believes that plastic waste is out of control LOL

@VAP not everyone remembers to get an empty reusable bottle. And filling stations are not always as ubiquitous in every airport (although they have added many in LHR in the last 5-10 years or so). It seems to be more the optics not being great for BA. And I'm unsure about how added usage of paper cups as a replacement will be an environmentally friendlier solution.

On a separate note, I wonder how this will impact the water company Harrogate up north in Yorkshire if this trial is carried out on a larger level (if their brunch removal is anything to go by, BA might remove this rather quickly). Could cost jobs.

My question....will the water the flight attendants hand out come from larger plastic bottles or are they going to fill the water tanks in the galley. The latter not being the most hygenic.

I believe that the bosses at BA are trying to make BA the "Ryanair" of the UK. Only Ryanair has their act together.

@Carol it's not that people don't want to drink from a paper cup. But it's just more inconvenient to just be offered just 1 cup and be dependent on the cabin crew to be attentive enough to keep coming around with extra afterward (BA are quite notorious about not doing so these days, especially on the night flights heading to the UK). It might mean far more people heading to the galley for extra water, making it much more inconvenient.

It might make sense to reduce the amount of plastic water bottles when the liquid restrictions go away (in the UK at least) and hence more people can bring water bottles through security. But until that happens, this is a move extremely antithetical to common sense and more in line with the cost cutting mentality plaguing British Airways in the last 8-9 years.

On my last round trip flight to the UK in April, Delta was not providing bottles of water in main cabin where I was -- just cups of water. It didn't really bother me. To be honest, I kind of appreciated the reduced plastic waste. In May, I took a transpacific flight in Delta One -- got a bottle!

Wow, I guess I'm learning people travel differently than I do. I thought pretty much everyone brought their own water bottles on board a flight. Didn't know there were some who relied on the airline to provide them water. But then, I wonder if perhaps it's just the international flights I take from the West Coast which are at least 10 hours long, so bringing a water bottle or two is just the smart thing to do. And talking about dispensers at airports, if you cannot find one, there is always the faucet in the bathroom. Nothing wrong with that water.

And kinda related to this topic, I also bring my own snack food. Not depending on airline food either. But, I'm happy just to get from point a to point b safely. Not too picky about the rest. When I pick an airline, their safety record is more important to me than them providing a bottle of water. But I guess everyone has their own priorities.

Another day, another piece of evidence depicting the decline of British Airways

Feels more like a post depicting the decline of this forum.

Webmaster, if you read this, is there any way we can move this forum back to a place where travelers can help other travelers instead of voicing grievances about trivial matters?

I think BA are making the right choice here. Handing out those little plastic bottles of water was never a good idea environmentally. BA are right to scrap them.

Unless you're the King, you'll probably spend an hour or two in the departure lounge. Why not use a few minutes to fill up your reusable water bottle?

@Nick although it could mean WH Smith or Boots will start selling more overpriced water bottles to passengers, no? This could also mean more plastic being used on the aggregate. Another thing is that many people will probably trust mineral bottled water over that provided at the airport in various parts of the world that BA does serve (think South America, Africa, parts of Asia, etc.). I wouldn't want to get sick due to drinking unhygienic water during my travels.

To be sure, this is just a trial, and the final date of the experiment could be the end of this initiative supposedly driven by "customer feedback" if the passenger surveys filled out are overwhelmingly negative.

Thats it no more BA for me .... unless it's the cheapest or most convenient. Another travesty against the working classes of the world. How many will suffer before governments step in!