You probably know that sitting on an airplane isn’t the cleanest environment to be in. But let’s face it — neither is an airport, a subway, a bus, a train, a public restroom — the list goes on. All public places carry germs and can potentially make you sick if you’re not careful. Carrying sanitary wipes with you while you travel may not be a bad idea. Wiping down the airplane seat, armrests and seatback pocket could help prevent you from walking off the plane with a new tickle in your throat. But what about airplane beverages? How safe are they to consume?
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A recent study examined the water quality of popular national and regional airlines to determine how safe the water was to consume. If you’ve traveled recently, you may know that airlines only used bottled water when you request drinking water onboard. However, a coffee or tea request requires the use of the plane’s water, which is also what you’re washing your hands with in the airplane restroom. The study used a scale of zero to 5 and ranked the airlines based on different factors, including fleet size, federal violations and confirmed reports of E. coli in water samples. Plane drinking water was determined relatively safe for airlines that scored 3 or higher. Here’s how they measured up:
National Airlines
- Alaska Airlines: 3.3
- Allegiant Air: 3.3
- Hawaiian Airlines: 3.1
- Frontier Airlines: 2.6
- Southwest Airlines: 2.4
- Delta Air Lines: 1.6
- American Airlines: 1.5
- United Airlines: 1.2
- JetBlue: 1
- Spirit Airlines: 1
Regional Airlines
- Piedmont Airlines: 4.33
- Sun Country Airlines: 2.78
- Envoy Air: 2.11
- GoJet Airlines: 2
- Trans States Airlines: 1.78
- Compass Airlines 1.22
- PSA Airlines: 1.22
- SkyWest Airlines 1.11
- Endeavor Air: 0.78
- Air Wisconsin Airlines: 0.68
- ExpressJet Airlines: 0.56
- Republic Airways: 0.44