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The coming dehydration crisis for airline passengers

June 17, 2008

Let’s fast-forward to Aug. 1, when US Airways begins to charge for soft drinks on its flights, including bottled water. How’s that going to go over?

Not very well. In fact, over the long term, depriving passengers of basic necessities like drinkable water could cost the carrier more than the revenue it will generate.

Let’s clear up a few things first.

The “free” water on the plane is city tapwater that’s been sitting in the tank for hours. It’s gross.

We can’t bring bottled water through a TSA screening area under the agency’s ineffective and widely misunderstood 3-1-1 rule. So you basically have to buy the airline’s water at $2 a bottle, which is a steep markup from the grocery store price.

If you’re a budget traveler, you could find yourself strapped in an economy class seat on a long flight with nothing to drink and no money to pay for essential water. And that, say passengers like James Hammett, can be extremely dangerous.

He ought to know. On a recent international flight, his sister became dehydrated and had to be treated by a doctor.

In the era of free drinks, she had not drunk enough to avoid this problem. If people start having to pay for water, their natural inclination is going to be to reduce their consumption. How long until the airlines start getting claims for reimbursement for doctor or hospital visits — or lawsuits?

I have no problem with charging passengers for sodas and fruit juices, nor do I think most passengers would mind paying for those items. But drinkable water? That ought to remain free.

Common sense tells you that. Alas, common sense appears to be in short supply.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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56 comments

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  • http://www.tedsimages.com Ted

    The last time I flew, I had to wait for some time at the otherwise uncrowded TSA checkpoint as someone passed about a dozen cases of bottled water through the X-ray machine. It was destined to be sold at inflated prices by the concessionaire in the sterile area, which I verified as the very same brand and size I saw in the shop.

    It appears that the TSA considers an ordinary X-ray sufficient to ensure the safety of bottles of liquid that, when sold by an authorized airport concessionaire at an extortionate price, can be carried on an aircraft. But that procedure isn’t sufficient to ensure the safety of an identical bottle, purchased at a normal price, when carried by passengers themselves. I did my very best to maintain a blank poker face while witnessing this scene, since I could get in trouble if I showed signs of disloyalty. But I think I’ll write my Congressman and ask him why this policy makes any sense, and why it does anything to protect aircraft.

    There’s clearly nothing resembling common sense in anything the TSA does. But the TSA invariably responds to questions about the Emperor’s invisible clothes by insisting it’s all perfectly sensible based on classified intelligence. Since divulging anything more would harm national security, we’re supposed to accept their assurances on faith (and pay no attention to the man behind the curtain).

    I actually think the TSA is telling the truth on this. But the implementation resembles the children’s game of “Telephone.” They may indeed have started with valid intelligence; but by the time it wends its way through the Homeland Security bureaucracy and gets translated into rules and procedures simple enough for screeners to follow mindlessly, it degenerates into an arbitrary, pointless, and inconsistently-applied hassle to travelers that does nothing to protect anyone or anything.

  • Felicia

    I’m a business traveler who only sits in economy. Unfortunately, my employer will not pay for the upgrade…. Shucks!

    Who said you can not board the plane with bottled water or juice in your bag? I have done this ever since the regulation passed. How it works:

    1. After you go through the screening you ARE ALLOWED to take the airports food & beverage on the planes.

    2. I mean there have been just a few times I brought my own drink from outside into airport and it passed security…(A good example of security not doing their job)… But on a particular trip I was questioned by the officers, they pulled me aside, asked me to sip it, I told them it was my “diabetic drink”. I guess they didn’t see me gag to death and realized it was safe and allowed me to go through.

    3. Some airlines provide drinks for free. Not all of them charge. I travel 3 x a week and I would say Delta, AA and Southwest did not ask for money when I sat in my 23C seat!

  • Pingback: US Airways Now Charges for Bottled Water - What Next? | Travel Tattles

  • Tim

    I don’t even bother with carrying my own bottle. . .instead I stop at Starbucks and ask for a venti ice water, which even airport locations will give you for free. The water is filtered and cold and the cup can even be reused/refilled at your next stop if you are trying to be green. Granted not every airport has a Starbucks, but most have at least something similar, even smaller, regional airports. I’ve only had the misfortune of flying through Kansas City once, and it was enough to make me avoid it in the future; my condolences to those who have no other choice. . .

  • http://www Connie M. Bauer

    This is easy…bring your stainless steel or plastic empty bottle along and fill it in the airline bathroom sink, if it fits….or bring a funnel? What are your choices? very few…that is why I only fly if I Have to….TaRa….

  • Karen

    On a return trip from Hawaii to Phoenix I was stuck in the dreaded middle seat. My husband was at the window, a businessman had the aisle seat. When we arrived at the airport it was 10:30 P.M. with our departure at midnight. The gift and snack shops at the airport were all closed by this time and we could not take a bottle of water through TSA. The men to my left and right were sound asleep and I was experiencing bad cramps in my legs and a great amount of thirst. I did not want to disrupt the men and when the flight attendant came down the aisle with the drink cart I whispered that I would like a bottle of water. He whispered back “that will be $2.00″. I pointed to the overhead bin to indicate that my money was “up there” (no room to keep my purse where I had to stuff my feet) but I would happily pay for the H2O ASAP without disturbing the sleepers. The flight attendant lip synced “Sorry” and continued down the aisle. It was a miserable flight and I was in dire straits by the time I arrived in Phoenix…US Air….never again.

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