A lack of a sign does not mean the water is not contaminated. Planes are filled up with water all over the world and getting bacteria out of the tanks is difficult.

Any contaminants in the water may not impact a healthy adult, but airplane water is not a good choice for those with compromised immune systems or for young children.

This is why I said in theory.

As for heating/boiling the water, water boils at a lower temperature at altitude so it does not get hot enough to kill bacteria.

I swear to you that we noticed that our water wasn't as hot after than infamous McDonald case where the woman won this huge settlement after being burned by her coffee.

It did steam but it was just the minimum temperature for making tea and coffee.

I did put plane water in my son's bottles on long haul flights and he never had any problems. He only started bottles at 4 months old and was weaned at about a year so I realize this is not the same situation as a formula fed infant whose immunities are different.

As for filtered tank water, last I knew (which is when the studied were being done) Boeing only offered a filter for taste; there was no filter for bacteria.

Would welcome any information you have on this subject. Start a separate thread as many parents/passengers would be interested. I can say that the water was restocked in stations with reliable supplies so in theory, if we had had problems on board, the local inhabitants of that community would have too.

Just a reminder to parents who use formula, not all water brands are suitable for babies so find out which are at whatever layover station you pass through and want to restock. Waters with minerals sold as diet aids are especially suspect. I can say that French waters Evian and Vittel are sold worldwide and can be used in baby bottles.

There are stories of FA's filling up brand name water bottles from the taps when the brand name stuff runs out.

That happened on my flights! Hopefully they've cracked down. Not only is this misleading to the passengers but it's also a copyright violation. Some F/A's would pull off the label in an attempt to be more honest about it but I, for one, as a passenger wouldn't notice it. I also figured they started doing it again once I went back to the front of the plane

Our supervisors came into briefings and read us the riot act on this. Even using the bottle is a copyright violation. Of course, some of you reading will think that the copyright is less important than the health and honestly reasons. It's all valid so if you see this, report it. Say something to the purser on board. Mention the copyright issue to crack any "...just for convenience and our water is fine..." arguments.