Over the summer British Airways tested removing water from meal trays in coach on long haul flights. Instead of water bottles, passengers had to request water in small plastic cups.
- Paper cups hold a lot less water than individual bottles. Flight attendants don’t pass through the cabin doing drinks often during the flight. Some passengers will go to the galley for an additional cup of water, but many won’t.
- British Airways claimed that replacing individual plastic bottles with large plastic bottles was being done for the environment. They could have moved to individual cardboard packaging, or redoubled recycling efforts. It was 100% about cost.
Customers have tired about being lied to, with fake moral justifications being used to cram down product enshittification, expecting them to just accept the change because otherwise you don’t care about the environment. British Airways is an airline and plastic is the smallest element of their environmental footprint. They weren’t concerned about the plastic cups that the bottles were effectively replaced by.
The move was reminiscent of BA’s 2017 move under CEO Alex Cruz to only offer cold airplane tank water for free on intra-Europe flights – even hot water for customers to make their own tea was charged. In 2018 they began testing offering water as a free perk to elite frequent flyers. And flight attendants are instructed not to apologize.
The customer reaction against water being cut was so strong that the airline has decided to scrap the project.
BA soft product (other than Do & Co catering) is crap. Hard product (other than Club Suites) is crap. The only constant in my opinion, is the humor and generally good service provided by the FA’s. I know. It counts as soft product. Or lumpy in some cases.
For me it’s Air France all the way on TATL flights from YYZ.
Clueless people in the executive suite who are isolated from the real world of everyday people traveling were looking for any cost cutting thing they could think of and the whole idea blew up in their face.
It’s just a basic human expectation, good for health, hydration. Next thing they’ll try charging US for bringing aboard our own snacks and water!. Agree with the conclusion it’s about money not environment….although it might add weight, why not get some water filtering pitchers filled on the ground to take up, along with a few bottled waters for emergencies as in medical. When is enough enough? Let’s cut the meal service, and get rid of the heavy carts that burden the amount of fuel used? Stop painting the pains for the weight the paint adds. Wasn’t it Bob Crandall who did away with olives on salads and salt/pepper shakers?
I always thought that the letters BA stood for Best Avoided. Was I wrong?
IAG has worked so hard to make BA an afterthought which is such a shame for a company with such a storied history.
As a nurse who flier a minimum of 150K miles per year, the most frequent in flight medical issue I’ve help treat are 1. Dehydration
2. Low blood sugar
The thought process of eliminating water or food on long haul flights is ignorant to the potential medical and legal consequences.
Any company no matter how slightly connected to American Airlines will eventually get their cheaper to the death & hoing out of business effect.
That is perfectly obvious.
Love it when you see a bureaucratic-bloated airline have to backtrack and Eat Crow…..LOL
Charging for hot water? That water comes from the same tank as “cold” water. It’s heated by the coffee machine. Just a money grab.
I’ve been disappointed in BA lately due to their lack of transparency and intransigence when it comes to resolving well-documented customer complaints. If you are deadlocked with BA, consider the CEDR independent review process (https://www.cedr.com/consumer/aviation/make-a-complaint/). Their findings are binding on BA but you must do your part. Remember to save receipts, call logs, notes, letters, and transcripts/screenshots from all BA support chats.
An airline lying, how unusual (sarcasm). Lying is part of airline culture worldwide. Some do it more and some do it less.
@jns — Probably more of a human (or a ‘business’ thing), though, we really should be better than that.
@ Gary– Word of the Day — “Enshitification”. Love it!
Speak through your pocketbook – dont choose BA unless you have no competing options. Let the staff know they work for an irresponsible company that places a few bucks over customer comfort and health. If BA is indifferent to the public health advisories about staying hydrated during air travel, its licensing should be terminated.
YyyyyyAaaaaaaawwwwwwwnnnnnnnn. Clickbait from Gary. He supports the oligarchy.
As someone that medically requires water… It’s actually frightening when the gaslighting greenwashing goes this far.
The amount of pathetic people moaning about trivia whilst jetting across the world over countries where people struggle to survive disappoints me. If you can’t survive a nine hour flight without being bosomed all the way then you probably really shouldn’t be leaving the house.
Booked my first BA flight from LAS to Europe. Was shocked to find out that I had to pay an extra $500 for seat assignments in business class. Had I found out sooner I would have cancelled and rebooked on another. I liked the Best Avoided moniker of MGHOW .
I liked the made up word too. Will use shittification going forward.
What is interesting is despite people commenting how terrible BA are, never fly them etc….they are massively profitable. Hugely. So people obviously are choosing to fly them.
And it is not a random one off – it is consistent large profits year on year (COVID aside) for a long time now.
I don’t think BA is even aiming to be ‘the best’ of anything anymore. It is aiming to generate as much profit as possible and obviously there are enough people willing to purchase their tickets to help them out with that.
I got a couple of questions from friends about the CEDR process. Here is what I learned. If I misstated anything please correct me.
CEDR Aviation Complaints Process
When an airline will not resolve a complaint, passengers can turn to the CEDR Aviation Adjudication Scheme. British Airways and several other carriers are signed up to this independent process. It is simple, low-cost, and decided only on the documents you provide — so how you present your case matters.
You do not need to live in the UK to use it. If your flight was operated by a UK airline like BA, or it departed from the UK, you can file from anywhere in the world.
What adjudicators pay attention to
• Did you give the airline a fair chance? They expect to see that you went through the airline’s complaints process or waited the required time.
• Clarity and structure. Keep your story short, logical, and easy to follow. Use labelled exhibits (A, B, C) so the adjudicator can check your evidence quickly.
• Evidence over assertion. Chat transcripts, letters, and receipts carry more weight than long narratives.
• Transparency issues. If key terms or penalties were not disclosed at booking or cancellation, that is compelling.
• Proportionality. Adjudicators look at whether the airline’s response was fair and reasonable compared to what happened.
• Be specific. Asking for “reinstatement of points” is stronger than simply asking for “fair treatment.”
Bottom line
Wherever you live, the most compelling submissions are concise, evidence-based, and framed around fairness.
@747always — Take a nap!