British Airways Cutting Water Bottles In Economy? A Trial Run

Intro

Over the past 24 hours, there has been nonstop chatter in the Avgeek forums about British Airways potentially cutting back water bottles for those sitting in economy, and I figured that I would provide the details on this trial run, as well as whether this makes sense or not. Spoiler alert: it doesn't...

The Details

For the next two days, until June 22nd, British Airways has been running tests on select flights from London Heathrow to Boston, Los Angeles, and Miami where they have cut back on giving out water bottles to passengers seated in premium economy and economy.

Even their First Class product has gone downhill in recent years, with the cutting back on LPGS...

So, what does this mean for travelers going forward in the next few days?

• If you are interested in having a cup of water, British Airways has decided to add more larger bottle on flights, instead of the smaller ones to individually give out to passengers.

• While flight attendants will be more than happy to hand out cups of water during meals and beverage service, if you want a cup of water outside of these times, you will have to visit the galley.

It's a good thing this is a trial...

My Thoughts

Honestly, I am a little bit perplexed at the decision-making here by British Airways. While I know that airlines around the world sometimes don't offer bottles of water to passengers in economy, I feel like almost every premium economy offers this.

However, what really kills the mood here is that BA claims this is "for the environment", when in fact it is just a cost-cutting measure. Have the margins become this small in terms of transatlantic flying that the airline has resorted to this??

Gone are the days when British Airways used to be that "premium carrier" in Europe. I remember the stories my dad used to tell me about the Concorde experience. Oh how far we have come...

Final Thoughts

For the past two weeks, British Airways has trialed cutting back on small water bottles on select routes from London to Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston. While BA has claimed that this is to do with environmental causes, it is clearly about cost-cutting measures. One day, I hope British Airways will return to its former glory.

What's next? Charging to use a champagne flute at the Concorde Lounge?