US Airways No Longer Serving Free Water

Charging for checked luggage and legroom isn't enough for some carriers -- starting today, coach passengers flying aboard US Airways Inc. must pay for a drink of water.

This morning, US Airways began charging fliers $2 for bottled water and sodas and $1 for teas and coffees. First class members, trans-Atlantic passengers and a select group of others are exempt from the extra fees.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[jwatso7]

I don't care which of the major carriers goes under first, but as long as it's not Continental, I think it would be a blessing for one of these bloodsuckers to go under.

[rextrek]

stewardess.."I'm sorry your choking mam...but IF you want water, that will be $2.00"

[thegirlnextdoor]

Airlines and cars have ruled since the subsidies to rail beds disappeared. If you want reasonable and carbon free mass transportation, get trains back on the track.

[MWChris]

Why don't the airlines simply raise ticket fares, instead of further annoying customers with nickel and dime charges? Notably, the best-run airline in the business, Southwest, does not impose those ridiculous incidental charges. They don't know what customer service is....

[doctorwang]

I agree. It's painful enough when you purchase a ticket these days. Having to pay extra charges for baggage and snacks and now even water is like rubbing salt into the wound. Add a few extra bucks to the fare and try treating us like guests instead of just another source of revenue.

[sullydog]

I do not understand the outrage. They are losing money hand over fist and are trying to stop the bleeding. They are trying to turn a profit you know. Where is all the outrage about $5 sodas at the movie theaters? So you are no longer entitled to a free soda on a fight. Get over it.

[AustinCynic]

An essential difference is that you run far less a risk of dehydration sitting in a movie theater. If you're desperate, there are water fountains at a theater; you can leave a theater if you feel ill. None of these things are possible cruising at 35,000 feet.

The biggest difference is that movies don't cost $300-500 a piece, either. At least not yet.

[belikejeanvaljean]

This makes them seem disrespectful to the customers. They could raise the price of a ticket by $1 and use it to buy bottles of water that cost them $.20 apiece or less and no one would notice. Now potential customers are miffed and the airline gets a public black eye.

From what I have seen of this airline, there is little respect for flyers.

A year ago, my boyfriend's 11-year-old daughter was flying from Phoenix to Kansas City to visit her grandparents. Just before her flight boarded, the gate attendant announced to the crowd, sounding like a bossy mother, that there were no working bathrooms on the plane (!) and that everyone should use the bathroom before they got on the flight because it would be several hours before they landed and had a chance to "go" again (!!)

I took the girl to the restroom but told her father to insist she take another flight. (Geez - isn't there some FAA regulation about this?) The girl said she would be ok, could "hold it" if necessary, and her father let her board with everyone else.

Someone then apparently complained to the pilot about it and the next thing we knew, everyone was getting off the airplane and another one was located that had working bathrooms. My view of this airline has never been the same.

Now that I think about it, maybe US Airways figures: less water consumed, less need for bathrooms!

[JRandomPoster]

The airlines may be for profit, but they are also part of the infrastructure. As such, they have been bailed out by the taxpayers many a time. So this nickel dime stuff with charging for a freaking drink of water is incredibly annoying to most people. Far better to just raise the price of a ticket, and go with a business model where ticket prices are greater than expenses, instead of just adding petty annoyances and costs.

[republicanfreezone]

It's time to open the domestic routes to international airlines. Stop taxpayer dollars supplementing American corporations. The corps line the pockets of their directors/shareholders and all the while treat the consumer like crap.

[smags72]

What a GREAT idea! Maybe the 'free market' would work if they had to actually COMPETE for our money instead of fixing all the prices and grabbing government money (from us, the taxpayers) to bail them out all the time. It wouldn't bother me if one or more of them went under - maybe the ones left will actually learn what EFFICIENCY is.

[Anonani]

This has gone too far....it is time to vote with our wallets, CCs, and whatever little cash that we have left. You can't bring water through the security gate, you buy it at $3.00/bottle at the concessionaire, and now no free water on the plane. Is this for domestic flights only?

I am furious!

[fleaba]

Bring an empty waterbottle and fill it up at a drinking fountain.

[JRandomPoster]

You can't do that either. Any container in one of the restricted categories - empty or full - gets taken away.

[DannyEastVillage]

I frequently fly between LaGuardia and Charlotte. Most often it has been on US Air, but at times on American Eagle. I've been unable to help noticing the difference in the culture of the two airlines--particularly in terms of courtesy and willingness to be accommodating--you know--Service. AE uses commuter craft--about 48 seats--for that run, which makes for better service, believe it or not: quicker on-and-off the plane; and they very willingly and courteously provide valet baggage check AT THE GATE, reducing the likelihood of your luggage gonig astray! And you can catch up with your luggage faster, thus getting you out of the airport faster. And they're actually nice about it!

Two or three times I've asked ticket personnel at US Air about providing such service. THE REPLIES I GOT! HOLY S****! I was spoken to as if I were an impertinent child who had said something unworthy of notice; and one time--whoa...you'd have thought I had insulted their grandmother's virtue! Anyway, all that by way of saying I'm done with US Air. American Eagle, say hello to your newest Frequent Flyer.

[DannyEastVillage]

oh and i almost forgot--US Air forces you to listen to minute after minute of stupid, noisy commercials before and at the beginning of the flight. You dont have any choice cuz the audio is by the overhead speakers--NOT headsets. So you HAVE to sit and listen to idiotic commerical after idiotic commercial. Forget reading. Forget what a nice retreat from the noise of everyday life flying used to be. not on US Air. I hope they lose their f****** shirts.

[PatA]

HerbTee ..........I sure am glad that you are flying with sweet and nubile flight attendants rather than the "matronly" ones. High fives for your priorities!

[Susej]

We all must claim that the airline maintain a relatively comfortable level of humidity on board then.
I fly often, and on the long hauls the dry air inside the cabins really gets to me. Without drinking water dehydration settles in and could be fatal for the weak.
Is this enough ground for a law suit? Anybody knows?

[Susej]

This sounds like the now famous anecdote about the exec who suggested they reduce the number of olives they served in the salad back in the ... oh, I don't know...last millennium?! By doing so the airline industry claimed they saved Gazillion dollars a year.
You know what bothers me about this story? It's the fact that those creepy execs think they are smart for coming up with such ideas while taking advantage of the restriction of liquids that can be taken aboard.

[KMan1]

Didn't we already pay for the water when we purchased the ticket?

[wadenelson1]

No water, fine. But when they ran out of the $2 tokens you need to unlock the lavatory door I got pissed and peed in the aisle.

[Susej]

LOL! good one.
You do know that some people do #2 on the plane, right?

[BlueZoo]

I have one question: Does this mean my scotch & water will cost $2 more?

[racetoinfinity]

Just from a market-PR orientation, didn't they know this story would be a disaster for them? How stupid!