catocony

1) I've seen FAs refill empty water bottles from the galley tap.
2) The dry ice contamination of ice cubes is a bigger worry than the tap water in the coffee, which at least has been heated to near boiling.
3) Back in the TED days we got tap water with our Crystal Light lemonade and we all survived to tell the tale.

Halo117

On the Erj-145 the FA refills the coffee line water with bottled water. Unsure about other aircraft types.

fumje

I did not read extensively to understand each item. But this is a good point. I think there is a lot of fudge. In each apparently substantive metric -- 'Total ADWR Violations', 'Avg # of ADWR Violations per Aircraft', 'Total Water Samples Testing Positive For E. Coli', 'Total Water Samples Testing Positive For Coliform' -- UA scores better than DL. However in the headline 'Onboard Water Health Score' metric, UA scores worse than DL. AA scores worse than both in all. So I don't trust the report very much.

On all aircraft the issue is going to be the line or reservoir, not the source water.

scracer14

Making coffee essentially boils the water, doesn't this eliminate bacteria risk?

I personally have not gotten sick from on board coffee (that I know of). Interesting that you have a forum of people who would probably tell someone who is afraid to fly, "Its less safe to drive to the airport than to fly." Who are afraid to drink on-board water...

ekwang

Just ordered my n Amazon: Thanks!

SFO_LHR_NRT

I wonder if there is any correlation on where these Airlines are based in. Alaska being based at SEA, Hawaiian at HNL, and JetBlue at JFK should tell you something.

United having hubs in some of the largest US metros should be a factor in their score

GUM_elite

Just think of it as UA® Signature™ Kombucha℠©℗
Boosts immunity

transportprof

Newark, NJ's water quality appears to be about as bad as that of Flint, Michigan:

Newark's lead tainted water crisis

Chiro1979

Honestly I don’t worry about this stuff. If it was really an issue, millions of people would be falling ill on a daily basis. The way I look at it, unless we live in a sterile bubble, we are all going to ingest bacteria from all the various surfaces we touch, air we breathe, etc. That’s what the immune system is for. In fact, by exposing our immune system to various pathogens, we are really just helping to strengthen it! That’s what I shall tell myself next time I have the coffee!!!

SanDiego1K

Nostalgia time. The issue with contaminated water on planes was first reported by the then 12 year old son of one of our members. You can find a discussion of the work here.

https://spectrum.mit.edu/summer-2007...83kb-za7tkckp8

He posted the news on FlyerTalk where it was picked up by the WSJ.

... on an online bulletin board he posted the results, which were spotted by a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. “They couldn’t take the word of a 12-year-old,” says Bjornson-Hooper, so the newspaper hired a company to test the water and confirmed the child’s results. Later, the EPA heard of it and conducted 165 of their own water tests, all positive. The EPA then presented results to the U.S. Congress, which made it illegal for airlines to serve contaminated water.

franic

I was going to write the same. For instance, I’m watching all these videos on @passengershaming ‘s Instagram channel of people using hand sanitizers or wipes to clean their seats and I always wonder if does make sense.
Having said that, it seems to be the case that the “hygiene hypothesis” (the idea that the proximity with germs boosts the immune system) applies only to children, hence it might do no harm to adults being overly zealous with hygiene.

Aussienarelle

The plane is a flying bubble of germs!

I have no issue with pax who use wipes to clean their area except for those who use three of four and give me an asthma attack in the process. The smell of the cleaning agent on the wipes triggers the attack. (There is a theory that asthma is caused by not being exposed to enough germs as a child, i.e. the home was too clean). I am a huge proponent of exposing children to germs and diseases to build immunity (and I also vaccinated my child for prventable communicable diseases for the same reason).

I drink the coffee and tea on flights. The water has been heated although I am not certain "boiled" is the right phrase. I also clean my teeth on international flights using the water in the bathroom tap. I have lived to tell the tales! 🤩

narvik

Well that seems like you live your life on the edge!

chavala

Coffee makers don't boil the water enough to purify it.

fezzington

All mainline aircraft use potable water for coffee, tea, galley spigots, and the sinks. Some fleets use a bit to flush the toilets as well.

1) They're not supposed to, but if there's no more bottled water...

It's not anywhere near boiling, and iirc, the water temperature was lowered in some of the recent models of coffee makers (but I might be making that up in my head. it's been a long day.) Maybe I'll grab a food thermometer before my next trip...

But also, the pots themselves can often times be dirty... you can sterilize water but if you put it into a dirty pot to serve from...

I don't drink the coffee or tea, I avoid the lavs when I can, and NEVER go barefoot onboard. I'm still good for ~3-4 sick calls per year (I was never a sickly person before...). Maybe you're onto something, science be damned...