BA Trials Removing Water Bottles in Economy on Long-Hauls

British Airways has quietly rolled out a trial on select Airbus A380 routes between London and Boston, Los Angeles, and Miami, where passengers in economy class, branded World Traveller, and premium economy, branded World Traveller Plus, no longer receive their own bottled water. Instead, flight attendants offer water poured into small paper cups from oversized bottles, and only in response to requests. This trial runs through June 22, 2025.

While BA touts this move as a way to reduce single-use plastics, the cut feels cheap and is clearly about squeezing costs. One frequent flier shared on Flyertalk that on his Miami-Heathrow flight, he declined Champagne and asked for water, only to be told, “We don’t have bottles.” With small cups and more work for cabin crew, this strikes me as a disaster.

My Thoughts

For an airline that, as recently as 2017, proudly served hot full English breakfasts on domestic flights—sausages, bacon, beans, mushrooms, eggs, even in economy class—this signals yet further decline. BA once held itself to a standard of hospitality. A hot fry-up at 35,000 ft on a one-hour flight between Edinburgh and London was both tradition and pride. What happened? Fast forward to 2025, and even basic hydration is being removed under the guise of sustainability. This is gaslighting and this is just plain stupid.

> Read More: The Death of the English Breakfast on British Airways’ Domestic Flights

As I mentioned above, it is not just inconvenient: it creates needless extra work for flight attendants and annoys passengers. Bottles of water allow you to hydrate on your terms, without worrying about spilling your cup. Whenever I get a cup of anything onboard in economy class, my tendency is to drink it quickly because I’m afraid it will spill. That creates more waste and ironically makes me drink more over the duration of the flight since water comes in sudden spurts.

Frequent flyers are calling it “Watergate,” accusing BA of greenwashing what is clearly a cost-cutting move. This is just the latest in a long list of irritants for BA travelers.

CONCLUSION

British Airways is trialing the elimination of water bottles on some longhaul flights in its economy and premium economy cabins. If BA truly cared about sustainability, it would notify passengers in advance, suggest bringing refillable bottles, or test boxed water. Instead, it is opting for stealth cuts that aggravate everyone. Hopefully, this trial will show British Airways the foolishness of removing such small amenities that make a longhaul flight just a little more bearable.

Hat Tip: One Mile At A Time