While the words British Airways Economy Class don’t scream luxury, the carrier is trialing a new cost cutting move that feels extremely cheap.
British Airways May Remove Individual Water Bottles in Economy Going Forward
The flag carrier of Great Britain is reportedly in the middle of a trial that is cutting individual water bottles from Economy passengers on select routes. According to a thread on FlyerTalk, the carrier is removing individual water bottles on flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and Boston (BOS), Los Angeles (LAX), and Miami (MIA). All of these routes are served by the carrier’s A380 superjumbo.
Instead of individual water bottles for Economy passengers, the carrier is reportedly loading more large water bottles and paper cups on the routes listed above. Depending on customer feedback, this change could become permanent.
This Seems Like More Work for the Crew
While we don’t yet know if this change will be made permanent, this seems like a cheap and short sighted move by British Airways. While I’ve had great experiences with them in Business Class, long haul Economy on the carrier isn’t anything to get excited about. This change would further erode the product for passengers.
Hydration on a long haul flight seems like one of the last places a carrier would want to cut corners. Providing passengers with individual water bottles helps them stay hydrated throughout the flight and also helps minimize the workload for the crew. With this change, the crew is going to spend a ton of time walking back and forth down the aisle providing water and refills to passengers. This will take away from the time they have to perform other duties as well as rest.
Hopefully the carrier decides not to move forward with this change after the trial period begins. For now though, bring an extra water bottle onboard when flying to Boston, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Summary
British Airways is currently in the middle of a trial in which it has removed individual water bottles for Economy passengers on its flights between London-Heathrow and Boston, Los Angeles, and Miami. Hopefully these changes don’t become permanent as it seems like more work for the crew and a worse onboard experience for passengers.
Not a fan of boxed water, but they could even try that. It’s just bizarre that BA has so many issues.
Yeah, this seems like a stupid move. It’s not like passengers don’t need to drink water anyway. Water bottles cost less than 10 cents each, so making the flight attendants spend more time serving water seems penny wise and pound foolish.