SW has beverage service, right?

[jenjersnap]

Never flown with them before. With two small kids who are not allowed soda and me exclusively breastfeeding an infant, we drinks LOTS of water and I usually carry on a few bottles. Now, with the new restrictions I can't do that, so just confirming that I will be able to get BOTTLED water on a SW flight, even if we have to pay for it?

 

[jodifla]

Never flown with them before. With two small kids who are not allowed soda and me exclusively breastfeeding an infant, we drinks LOTS of water and I usually carry on a few bottles. Now, with the new restrictions I can't do that, so just confirming that I will be able to get BOTTLED water on a SW flight, even if we have to pay for it?

Southwest has beverage service, but I think the water issue is going to be a problem for a few days, at least until they can adjust.

Fact is, they don't carry that much water on board...I've always carried on two bottles of water and a bottle of juice for us and DS. When I've asked for water from FA's, you get a small glass with ice and a few sips in it.

This is going to be a big problem for families with small children. I've seen 1 FAA note saying you can bring juice, and another saying just milk.

 

[jenjersnap]

My other issue is that the non-bottled water (tap water) is supposedly often contaminated so I really want bottled water.

Can you post the link to the FAA note about juice? I am wondering, if it turns out to be true that we can bring on juice, if it has to be in clear containers or if it can be juice boxes, etc. Thanks!

I guess we all will see how things shake out over the next few days. Thanks for answering.

 

[disneyldwjr]

My other issue is that the non-bottled water (tap water) is supposedly often contaminated so I really want bottled water.

Can you post the link to the FAA note about juice? I am wondering, if it turns out to be true that we can bring on juice, if it has to be in clear containers or if it can be juice boxes, etc. Thanks!

I guess we all will see how things shake out over the next few days. Thanks for answering.

http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/threat-change.shtm

 

[jenjersnap]

Ah, they added juice and breastmilk since the last time I saw the wording - thanx.

 

[CarolA]

SW does get thier water out of a can. (I guess that qualifies as bottled LOL!) You can ask for the can. (However, as others have pointed out it's first come first serve so they may run out.)

I suggest sending your elected reps an email and asking WHY bottled water you BUY after the security point is a THREAT???? There has been nothing to suggest that any of these chemicals explode when mixed with water, this makes no sense and is not protecting you UNLESS they are admitting that they aren't catching all the beverages at checkpoint one.

 

[NotUrsula]

SWA does not have bottled water; it is actually canned (yes, odd I know.) It is provided via the beverage service, so you should get it halfway through the flight. The taste is a little off, kind of metallic.

If you are flying in the next couple of days be prepared for the possibility that all the water will all be gone by the time you get on the plane. People are waiting for several hours without access to water in some airports. A blog entry posted this morning by NBC producer Clare Duffy contained the following statement: "On board the plane now, a member of the flight crew is relating how even they were forced to throw away their lunches. There's no water on board, and we weren't allowed to bring any on board. This should be a fun six hours." The flight she was on was from JFK to LAX, she didn't say what airline, but with that route it was not SWA.

My personal guess is that in a few days the rule will be relaxed to say that you will be able to bring beverages on board if they are either 1) tasted in front of the TSO and airline staff as you enter the jetway, or 2) are still factory-sealed when you board.

 

[jodifla]

SWA does not have bottled water; it is actually canned (yes, odd I know.) It is provided via the beverage service, so you should get it halfway through the flight. The taste is a little off, kind of metallic.

If you are flying in the next couple of days be prepared for the possibility that all the water will all be gone by the time you get on the plane. People are waiting for several hours without access to water in some airports. A blog entry posted this morning by NBC producer Clare Duffy contained the following statement: "On board the plane now, a member of the flight crew is relating how even they were forced to throw away their lunches. There's no water on board, and we weren't allowed to bring any on board. This should be a fun six hours." The flight she was on was from JFK to LAX, she didn't say what airline, but with that route it was not SWA.

My personal guess is that in a few days the rule will be relaxed to say that you will be able to bring beverages on board if they are either 1) tasted in front of the TSO and airline staff as you enter the jetway, or 2) are still factory-sealed when you board.

I'm curious what airline wouldn't have water onboard....the lunch thing is odd, too. Not like they serve food on the plane anymore!!

The thing about it is, yes, they can restrict whatever they like, but business travelers and family travelers will only put up with so much before the trip simply isn't worth it to them. This will have a ripple effect on the economy.

Who wants to be with a child who hasn't had enough to eat and drink for hours and hours?

 

[faindrops27]

Well, the simple solution is this, if the water is all out. Nurse on the plane, and drink the juice provided. Simple. If, they run out of juice. You may have to let the kiddos have the forbidden sugar syrup soda.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm curious what airline wouldn't have water onboard....the lunch thing is odd, too. Not like they serve food on the plane anymore!!

This is a guess on my part, of course, but I think that what may have happened is that in some cases, the airline's supply of bottled/canned water may have been suspected of having been tampered with, and so was not allowed to be loaded. They may have done it with other beverages, too, for the same reason; some of the British press is reporting that a source implied that the explosive was to be disguised as a soft drink.

If the FA was carrying a box lunch that included a beverage, presumably she ditched it rather than stop to try to unpack it at the checkpoint to remove the beverage.

Reports are coming in on news shows that in some airports, airside shops were simply refusing to sell bottled drinks this morning, so the only option was water fountains. Frankly, I'm surprised that they haven't turned those off to stop people from filling empty containers with tap water.

 

[jenjersnap]

Well, the simple solution is this, if the water is all out. Nurse on the plane, and drink the juice provided. Simple. If, they run out of juice. You may have to let the kiddos have the forbidden sugar syrup soda.

Huh. Thanks for the implied criticism of our parenting style. Funny how even the simplest question here can't be answered without judgment.

You can fill your kids to the brim with the high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks and I won't care. But it is not an option for my children. Different parenting styles and priorities. So backatcha.

Water in a can is fine, LOL! I am not a gourmand when it comes to water, just keep me hydrated and don't make me sick, thankyouverymuch.

I am traveling in a month so I think everything will settle down before we get on a plane. I really feel for the people traveling in the next few days!

 

[clkelley]

Nothing that is done in the name of "security" surprises me any more.

Case in point, 2005 National Boy Scout Jamboree. President Bush is coming to speak at an evening outdoor show. It has been 115 heat index all week. They have to move 70,000 (yes thousand) people into an outdoor theater and through Secret Service Security. To help the process, everyone was told to only bring 1 clear water container, and had to empty that container just before entering the theater. No camelbacks, no extra bottles, no extra nothing. Some of these guys had to walk several miles to just reach the outdoor theater. So of course, the guys that had to walk the farthest left the earliest (about 3:00 in the afternoon), then had the longest wait inside the theater. They were woefully underprepared for this, and didn't have enough water inside the theater to refill the one container everyone was allowed to have, and didn't have enough water on the walkway to the theater to fill the bottles on the way. (To keep fully hydrated during that time span and in that heat, each person should have been consuming 4-5 QUARTS of water during that 6 hour period).

To say many folks dropped that afternoon from heat related problems is an understatement.

Granted, most airports are air conditioned, and falling out from dehydration won't be a big problem, but I am hoping somebody, somewhere remembers and has bottled water available for passengers inside the sterile area, and hands each passenger a bottle of water as they board the plane.

 

[CarolA]

Allowing your children to only drink "juice" does not make you a better or worse parent then someone else. So let's just let that die now.

As for some of the posts on here about beverages and the "security" I have gone out and read most of the major news media outlets today. So far I haven't seen anything about catering not being allowed to provide water and beverages to planes. That may be happening, but it's not widespread in the US (Britan is whole different matter)


As to airports that weren't selling water. Well, I guess they just admitted that thier security is lousy and they didn't properly screen.. otherwise they have no excuse except "panic" and "panic" is NOT admirable in your airport authority! (And doing stupid things leads to panic and that's not good leadership)

 

[jodifla]

Allowing your children to only drink "juice" does not make you a better or worse parent then someone else. So let's just let that die now.

As for some of the posts on here about beverages and the "security" I have gone out and read most of the major news media outlets today. So far I haven't seen anything about catering not being allowed to provide water and beverages to planes. That may be happening, but it's not widespread in the US (Britan is whole different matter)


As to airports that weren't selling water. Well, I guess they just admitted that thier security is lousy and they didn't properly screen.. otherwise they have no excuse except "panic" and "panic" is NOT admirable in your airport authority! (And doing stupid things leads to panic and that's not good leadership)

But airline passengers got used to carrying on their own water and juice, because of all the cutbacks. I wouldn't be surprised if the airlines didn't stock nearly enough for all the passengers on board.

This kinda stuff doesn't bother me if I'm traveling alone so much, but traveling with kids, NO WAY! My DS is always dying of thirst/starving the second we get on a plane.

 

[NotUrsula]

Huh. Thanks for the implied criticism of our parenting style. Funny how even the simplest question here can't be answered without judgment.

I didn't think it was a criticism of your parenting style at all. I read it more as a "needs must when the Devil drives" kind of comment.

If my child is becoming dangerously dehydrated and the only potable liquid available on the aircraft is something I normally don't allow him to have, I'll make an exception (unless a life-threatening allergy makes dehydration the lesser evil.) Heck, I'd give him beer if it was all they had. Depending on the length of the flight and how long you had gone without while waiting to board, serious dehydration could be a possibility in some situations, especially for a small child or a nursing mother. Not really likely, but a possibility.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Airlines are increasing the amount of beverages they board on each flight. Catering services at each airport are being screened, same as passengers. Airlines are doing what they can to increase the comfort of passengers as they comply with the new TSA directives. Every station Manager of every airline at every airport was in meetings all morning with TSA officials to address all these concerns and more. I was there.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

And, for the record... uniformed airline crew are exempt from the current banned liquids requirement. Can you imagine what they would look like without hair gel?

 

[Bird-Mom]

I'm nursing and worried about the water situation too. My children do not drink juice (or any sugary/carbonated drinks) or formula and I am not about to pump milk (I would never be able to pump enough in the days remaining and we don't do bottles anyways), so hopefully the water restrictions will be lifted by the time we go (a couple of weeks). We are on a cross country flight, so it will be a long time to go without my normal water consumption. We are also on the red-eye, so even if there is water on the plane, the flight attendants are going to be mad to see my button again in the middle of the night. If severe dehydration were setting in, of course I would have to make an exception, but I won't have any toothpaste to brush their teeth! And soda isn't a great re-hydrator anyways.

I guess we will just have to wait and see...

 

[CarolA]

And, for the record... uniformed airline crew are exempt from the current banned liquids requirement. Can you imagine what they would look like without hair gel?

Perhaps they could CHECK thier luggage like the rest of us. If the airline employees had to deal with the mess that is MOST baggage claims maybe they could complain to their managment.

Sorry, I don't think that just because you are a FA or a Pilot you should get to carry this mess on. I dont' think you are a security threat, I KNOW I am not and I PAY your salary. Playing by the rules will NOT kill them in spite of thier whining about it! Pilots and FAs are NOT better then their passengers and don't deserve "Special' treatment on this issue. This is just another example of the TSA and thier inconsistent and not well thought out policies.

(And don't tell me it's because they are screened.. I have a TSA clearance for my Clear Card so can I bring on MY stuff???)

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I called SW today and was told that they are making exceptions for baby items (ie: formula, juice, baby food). I too am a bit concerned as I am a nursing mother as well. I also wanted to make sure that my dd will be able to have her milk in her bottle. I was informed that it should not be any problem. Of course I am sure that it is like calling CRO and depending on who you speak to you get a different answer.