Between the TSA ban on liquids and US Airways $2 fee for bottled water, if you want a drink, you’re probably going to pay for it. It may be annoying, but is it also wrong?

According to US Airways policy, coffee and tea are $1, but bottled drinking water is $2. So, can you order tea and ask them to “hold the tea” and save a $1? Shouldn’t you be able to get a boring old glass of water for free?

Jeanne Leblanc from the Hartford Courant thinks so:

It’s hard to understand why the laws that require free potable water in such public places as movie theaters and amusement parks don’t seem to apply to airlines. But then, it shouldn’t have to be a law. It should just be a matter of common decency.
…
Now, I’m not saying US Airways should have to hand out free bottles of water, although that would be nice. I’m saying it should pour a cup of water out of a quart bottle for any passenger who’s thirsty. And for no other reason than that they’re thirsty.

US Airways says that if you’re “desperately thirsty” and you don’t have any money, they might give you some water… so that you don’t try anything embarrassing like drinking out of the bathroom sinks.

“Frankly, [drinking from the sink is] just not classy,” a US Airways spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.

So what do you think? Should there be non-fancy water for anyone who is thirsty?

US Airways’ Fee Too Far [Courant]
Starting Today, No More Free Water on US Air [WSJ Middle Seat Blog]
(Photo: caseywest )

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