Is the water used on planes cleaner than it used to be? I'm flying to London next week and don't think I'll survive 9 hours without coffee!

I know of no valid reports of anybody having a problem with coffee on an airplane.

Since the flight to London is an overnight flight I always try to get some sleep, so coffee isn't in the mix for me until the morning anyway.

AFAIK, airlines use bottled water for coffee/tea and anything that's requested by the passengers.

The only problem they had was with the water being used in the toilet sinks. Passengers using it when the brushed their teeth or possibly even drank some of it.

I believe that was corrected but I still would not use it for anything else except to wash my hands.

I ask for a small bottle of water and use that to brush my teeth.

AAFF-I don't know of any airline that uses bottle water for coffee or tea. The water tanks are filled at each location and the water is used both in the lavs and in the galley. Most airlines offer bottle water for drinking,brushing your teeth,etc.

I believe that the water used to make the coffee is heated to a temperature that would kill any of the germs that could make you sick. So, hot coffee or tea should be safe.

If the flight attendants offer you water and you are unsure of where it came from, simply ask them if it is "potable water" or "bottled water." The potable water is from the aircraft storage tanks and can have issues. (There are filters in the tanks, but I still won't drink it.)

Here's where a dictionary comes in handy.

Bottled water *is* potable water:

po⋅ta⋅ble
   /ˈpoʊtəbəl/ [poh-tuh-buhl]
–adjective
1. fit or suitable for drinking: potable water.

Ok fuzzypuppy1234,

Yes bottled water is potable water, but what an airline calls "potable water" (which comes from their storage tanks) isn't what I would drink!

Then just ask where the water comes from.

Asking if it's potable or bottled will probably get a response like mine

Water must be boiled for a number of minutes to kill bacteria - so if that is what you are concerned about, coffee is not hot enough for long enough to kill germs. (I drink coffee on planes)

thanks everybody. I did ask where the water for coffee came from while on a flight to maui a few weeks ago. The flight attendant looked at me like I was crazy! I wasn't sure about the cleanliness then so it was 9 hours without my coffee. I was hoping to avoid that. I know it's an overnight flight but I can have two cups right before bed and sleep like a baby!