"to fill up from the airplane's tap to keep yourself hydrated"

[shudder]

I know, but I have to confess, I do this all the time.

Eeeuw! You Brits.

I get altitude sickness. One way to prevent it is to drink a lot of water. I wonder if the airlines will now be carrying more water. Any flight attendants care to weigh in?

PS A substitute for not enough water is giving me oxygen when I start seeing stars and hurling. My seatmates and I will thank you to keep me properly hydrated so it doesn't get to that point.

Believe me, if you want to drink the water from an airplane tap, then being prevented from doing so by outlawing empty bottles is truly saving you from yourself!

"The empty plastic bottle: terrorism's scimitar!"

The TSA: terrorism's sheath.

Amy- you always post such well-thought opinions and views on this site, but I have to ask two questions:
How dehydrated can you get on a flight? Ususally I'm just stuck sitting there, reading or napping.
Can't we all just drink our water--I prefer mine Dewar's flavored-- prior to boarding?

Amy - I read that airlines are stocking extra water and other beverages.

Triteon - "How dehydrated can you get on a flight?" VERY. Particularly going overseas. I have real dry skin, so I notice it a lot, like, on my arms. Itchy and flakey. Some people are more or less bothered. On very long flights, you can feel almost like you have a hangover from the dehydration if you don't drink water diligently.

Also for people who have motion sickness or ear issues, a little water in the stomach sometimes helps with the nausea. (But sometimes it's just that much more to throw up.)

Triteon- First, she specifically said that she has altitude sickness that can be prevented with water. Dehydration isn't her issue; it's that she vomits when she doesn't get enough water at high altitudes. Second, I can put up with not having something to drink for 3 or 4 hours if I have to, but flights can last a lot longer than that, particularly if you have delays on the runway.

Remember that some flights are long...try SFO to Sydney (13 hours I think) and sometimes you bounce quickly from one flight to another.

Hey, I'm not trying to start an argument, I'm just asking a question. But I also can't remember being on a plane where the flight attendants didn't have water available. Whether your Dasani is bought on the ground or in the air it still costs twice as much as gasoline.

"How dehydrated can you get on a flight?"

Some medications can dry you out.

Keeping hydrated... overly so, even... is the only sure way I know to prevent not getting ill on a long flight. I'll drink a couple liters of water on an average trans-Atlantic flight.

.....I purposely try to get dehydrated on flights. Yeah, Amy's right about the motion-sick issue, but I can live with a queasy stomach a lot longer than with a full-to-bursting bladder! Last few flights I was on (United), they used the "turbulence" excuse (bight, sunny day, few clouds) to keep everyone belted in the entire flight. I'd rather use the bag for its intended purpose, than as a urinal...

An aircraft cabin's humidity is generally less than 25% which is extrememly low (A house with the airconditioner running is around 35%). That would explain why people feel dehydrated and have dry noses, etc, while flying.

I fly overseas at least once a year, and never have a problem getting enough liquids on international flights...though the flight is usually 11-13 hours long..so they better serve them.

Domestic flights are a different story, and if the government is going to ban drinking water, then they need to provide a suitable in-flight replacement.

Okay, two things:

First of all, I can't imagine that the airlines would actually insist that you stay in your seat if you have a bathroom emergency, unless it was a situation where even the flight attendants had to stay belted. After a certain point, "I can't" becomes an unavoidable rejoinder to "Hold it."

And second of all, my aunt's girlfriend used to be a mechanic for United, and she CAN. NOT. STRESS. ENOUGH. that you should NEVER drink the water from the tap in airplane bathrooms. She demurred to a "you really don't want to know" when I asked why (after finding out that I'd done so in the past), so technically it's heresay, but...yeah. I have never seen her so adamant on anything, ever, & for what it's worth, I never do it anymore. I'm pretty sure that stuff ain't completely sanitary.