On August 1, US Airways began charging Economy class passengers for water, soft drinks and coffee. There have been reports that passengers may not have to pay for drinks after all, but only if they protest.
That compassionate concession was leaked as the unprecedented legacy carrier charge for water and soft drinks was imposed at US Airways. Even airline management, clueless in many cases it seems about customer service, knew this was going to be a shocker.
The front line representatives were wary as well. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)-CWA says that they object to collecting the fees for non-alcholic drinks and, if the passengers resist, they probably won’t have to pay.
Mike Flores, president of the US Airways AFA chapter said that flight attendants are trained to keep order and try to avoid confrontation.
“We’re trained to keep order on an airplane and defuse confrontation,” Mike Flores, president of US Airways’ A.F.A. chapter, said in an interview Thursday. “If it takes giving a free beverage to somebody to do that, so be it. I expect there will be flight attendants who just give everything away.”
Even US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant said that it has told 6,700 Flight Attendants to “err on the side of the customer” if it looks like there’ll be a confrontation. According to the WSJ travel blog,
After all, the airline wouldn’t want its customers drinking tap water from the aircraft bathroom. That water is safe to drink, just not very palatable, according to Durrant. “Frankly, that’s just not classy,” he says.
So if you’re dying of thirst and you don’t have any money with you, speak up. Classy flight attendants may be on your side. Or, as a desclassé friend of mine often does, bring an empty bottle through security and fill it up on the other side. A WSJ blogger comment suggested the same thing.
For water do this: Bring an empty water bottle with you to the airport. Fill up once you pass TSA and in the departure area. TSA does not permit liquids but empty bottle should be OK!
The blog space has been filled with comments on both sides of the issue. Some feel that there is no reason for passengers who don’t want soft drinks to have to subsidize others who do. Others are outraged at US Airways.
Heck, I haven’t heard of even one report of a protesting passenger scoring a free drink, though I’m fairly sure it has happened. Not very often.
As the practice of paying for drinks takes hold (many airlines, including flag carriers, in Europe have already been charging for drinks for some time) the clamor will die down and passengers will meekly fork over an extra $2.
