As the three-one-one liquid rule limits any beverages that travelers can bring aboard their flights to containers of no more than 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters, any hydration needs to either be purchased at inflated airport prices post-security or taken from what is provided on the flight.
Business travelers are typically presented with a large selection of soft and alcoholic drinks, while economy passengers usually have to wait for the beverage cart to roll by their seat.
To minimize the number of times passengers press the call button for water, airlines will sometimes either hand out water bottles during boarding or have a flight attendant periodically pass through the aisle with a pitcher for anyone who needs to quench some thirst on long-haul flights.
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‘The response astounded me’: traveler on Miami-London British Airways flightÂ
As first reported by aviation site View From The Wing, some passengers on United Kingdom’s flagship airline British Airways reported asking for a water bottle and being told that the airline is testing a policy of no longer providing them.
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“All I asked for was a bottle of water and the response astounded me,” a traveler on the airline’s flight between Miami and London’s Heathrow Airport wrote on the forum FlyerTalk. “I thought I had heard it all. Clearly not. I was told that there were no bottles of water they could give me as BA is trialling not offering any bottles of water for two weeks now.”
British Airways, which is under the International Airlines Group (BABWF)  that also owns airlines like Spain’s Iberia and Ireland’s Aer Lingus, could not be immediately reached for confirmation of whether it had launched the trial program. The reasoning — whether it is part of the airline’s cost-cutting measures or a transition to a different way of serving beverages for either practical or environmental reasons — is not yet known.
Image source: Shutterstock
Passengers left ticked off: ‘a cost-saving measure under the guise of saving the polar bears’
Other commenters on the forum expressed displeasure over the change that follows a number of other cost-cutting measures made by the airline in the last year. In February, British Airways reversed an attempt to extend the brunch period on long-haul flights until 11:29 a.m. over traveler outcry about its quiet attempt to simplify and downgrade the menu to include only a few waffle and egg dishes.
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“For ‘saving plastic’ please read ‘saving money,'” another FlyerTalk commenter wrote on the water bottle post.
“I’ve become well used to the bare minimum from BA, but this is a new low even for them,” the original poster wrote further. “Obviously a cost-saving exercise under the guise of saving the polar bears.”
A number of airlines have rethought their drink menus in recent months. At the end of May, Spirit Airlines (SAVE)  signed partnerships with drink brands such as Coca-Cola, Stash English Breakfast Tea, Samuel Adams, and Voodoo Ranger IPA and launched an expanded menu from which travelers can order during the flight.
After last year’s launch proved particularly popular, JetBlue Airways (JBLU)  also recently brought back the Scribe Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir wine, which earned it the Cellars in the Sky silver medal for best business class rosé offered to its Mint passengers.
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