Now Boarding ... Chicken or Beef?

[Melburnian1]

Space on board is limited.

That said, apart from the extra collection 'runs' down the aisle or separation when meals are collected from passengers, why do airlines generally not separate recyclables and general rubbish on board?

Is it because of extra work for the crew, lack of discernible benefit for the airline apart from community kudos, or because crew could not be bothered?

A few - QF is one - hand out water bottles in lieu of plastic cups. There is enormous waste on board though and little seems to be recycled.

There are of course always arguments about whether recycling is viable.

What do you think?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Space on board is limited.

That said, apart from the extra collection 'runs' down the aisle or separation when meals are collected from passengers, why do airlines generally not separate recyclables and general rubbish on board?

Is it because of extra work for the crew, lack of discernible benefit for the airline apart from community kudos, or because crew could not be bothered?

A few - QF is one - hand out water bottles in lieu of plastic cups. There is enormous waste on board though and little seems to be recycled.

There are of course always arguments about whether recycling is viable.

What do you think?

probably gets sorted on the ground.

I don't know whether it would be more environmentally friendly to give water out in paper cups though.

 

[k_sheep]

You need to have somewhere to accept the recycling once you land; I've read somewhere (apologies for lack of source, will post if I remember) that most places will effectively quarantine any rubbish from a foreign country, so basically no recycling possible

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You need to have somewhere to accept the recycling once you land; I've read somewhere (apologies for lack of source, will post if I remember) that most places will effectively quarantine any rubbish from a foreign country, so basically no recycling possible

good point. I think Germany might be one of the exceptions. When i used to fly there regularly about 10 years ago (transit stop BKK-FRA-LGW) they would take off waste that had been pre-sorted on board (paper/plastics etc). IIRC thy were quite strict in demanding recycling. Not sure if that's changed.

 

[Bjet]

Most airlines do have a machine (at the galley) that can smash the plastic stuff and then sent it to the recycle bin after landing.

I have seen that flight attendants (all airlines) took some plastic cups and put them on the top of the trolley... I guess that they are gonna to re-use them again - (wash them at the catering factory and then put them back again for the next flight)

 

[milehighclub]

Not sure if you're still around here milehighclub (and other cabin crew members)... hope work has been alright for you and your colleagues...

Anyway, question is about drinking water on board, particularly with respect to long haul flights. (No, this is not a question about that QF1 incident).

How is potable water stocked onto a flight? I assume there are several bottles of water for pax, but there is also water used for making tea, coffee, rehydrating stuff etc. which is drawn from taps in the galley (assumed). Is the water which is used in the galley treated in any way, e.g. filtered, tested, etc.. Or is it just the local drinking water (if certified potable) pumped into tanks which is then fed through the galley?

I assume the water used in the galley and water used in the toilets (vanity basin) are separate supplies from different sources (because one is potable and one is not)?

What is the standard procedure if a passenger wants water? OK may sound silly but hear me out. I suppose water bottles are handed out at the start of service and during service there are larger bottles of water (Mount Franklin, etc.) where you pour these for pax. If pax later want another bottle of water, I commonly hear these are just refilled from the galley tap. Is this correct? Do you refill the Mount Franklin bottles from the galley tap in preparation for next service / next round of intermediate drinks?

My answer is different to the other answer given, but rest assured all the water onboard QF aircraft is safe to drink. You can even use the water in the toilets from the tap. We provide the little cups! All water comes from the same tank that is used throughout the aircraft.

There is usually enough large water bottles in F and J that the potable water shouldn't have be to be used, but depending on how much everyday drinks it is sometimes necessary to use it. Due to the large volume of passengers in economy, any additional water comes from the galley taps.

Rest assured that the tanks are regularly look after so drink potable water on QF flights with confidence. I have been for over 10 years and I'm fine.

 

[milehighclub]

Space on board is limited.

That said, apart from the extra collection 'runs' down the aisle or separation when meals are collected from passengers, why do airlines generally not separate recyclables and general rubbish on board?

Is it because of extra work for the crew, lack of discernible benefit for the airline apart from community kudos, or because crew could not be bothered?

A few - QF is one - hand out water bottles in lieu of plastic cups. There is enormous waste on board though and little seems to be recycled.

There are of course always arguments about whether recycling is viable.

What do you think?

Well we do recycle on domestic flights. This is because the food and other products come from here and are disposed of here.

Internationally there are very very strict regulations about the disposal of airline food. In Australia the regulations are so strict that even a bottle of water that has come from say Japan without English nutritional labels, cannot be used out of Australia on a Qantas flight. So most products that arrive into Australia are not used on other flights again. To prevent waste they are used in the catering centre staff rooms. Again strict regulations make it difficult to donate them. But all airlines manage catering by monitoring waste closely to limit the amount that isn't used as well as crew feedback to what isn't being used onboard.

The rules for disposing of food from the international lounges here in Australia was treated as international waste and only recently was changed to domestic waste since the food came from Australia (and the disposal of international waste is more expensive)

Another issue onboard is that there just wouldn't be the space to separate waste. We have to compact our rubbish onboard international flights because there is so much. Domestic flights can afford to separate as they are mostly single catered flights.

Not only does the airline need to implement a recycling program, but the airport catering would also need to have the facilities to do it and the only airport I know of that recycles airlines waste is Osaka.

Perhaps in the future it might become more viable for airlines to recycle.

 

[under the radar]

My answer is different to the other answer given, but rest assured all the water onboard QF aircraft is safe to drink. You can even use the water in the toilets from the tap. We provide the little cups! All water comes from the same tank that is used throughout the aircraft.

There is usually enough large water bottles in F and J that the potable water shouldn't have be to be used, but depending on how much everyday drinks it is sometimes necessary to use it. Due to the large volume of passengers in economy, any additional water comes from the galley taps.

Rest assured that the tanks are regularly look after so drink potable water on QF flights with confidence. I have been for over 10 years and I'm fine.

+1 to that..i did so over my 25yrs with QF

 

[MEL_Traveller]

+1 to that..i did so over my 25yrs with QF

be that as it may, there is no way I would drink tap water loaded in china*, or probably several other destinations. there should be sufficient bottle water carried for all passengers, regardless of class.

(* even if it was certified as pure water I wouldn't trust it. I'm not sure how anyone could give a guarantee as to the safety of the water??)

 

[under the radar]

be that as it may, there is no way I would drink tap water loaded in china*, or probably several other destinations. there should be sufficient bottle water carried for all passengers, regardless of class.

(* even if it was certified as pure water I wouldn't trust it. I'm not sure how anyone could give a guarantee as to the safety of the water??)

feel free to substitute the word 'water' with anything else you consume or activities you undertake in your day to day existence....then ask yourself..are they all 'guaranteed safe' to consume/undertake?? btw, you used the word 'guarantee', not me)... there's only one real/true guarantee in life.... ironically

 

[under the radar]

feel free to substitute the word 'water' with anything else you consume or activities you undertake in your day to day existence....then ask yourself..are they all 'guaranteed safe' to consume/undertake?? btw, you used the word 'guarantee', not me)... there's only one real/true guarantee in life.... ironically

also i suggest you do the 'math' (cost/space/weight) on ANY airline loading/providing 'sufficient' bottle water for ALL pax on ALL flights...

 

[under the radar]

be that as it may, there is no way I would drink tap water loaded in china*, or probably several other destinations. there should be sufficient bottle water carried for all passengers, regardless of class.

(* even if it was certified as pure water I wouldn't trust it. I'm not sure how anyone could give a guarantee as to the safety of the water??)

im on a roll here...in OZ do you ONLY drink bottled water.. use bottled water to brush your teeth..use bottled water to wash your fruit n veg ... ??? the list goes on!!!...oh!!! and dont forget to keep your mouth closed when you take a shower!!!! :shock:

 

[MEL_Traveller]

My answer is different to the other answer given, but rest assured all the water onboard QF aircraft is safe to drink. You can even use the water in the toilets from the tap. We provide the little cups! All water comes from the same tank that is used throughout the aircraft.

There is usually enough large water bottles in F and J that the potable water shouldn't have be to be used, but depending on how much everyday drinks it is sometimes necessary to use it. Due to the large volume of passengers in economy, any additional water comes from the galley taps.

Rest assured that the tanks are regularly look after so drink potable water on QF flights with confidence. I have been for over 10 years and I'm fine.

+1 to that..i did so over my 25yrs with QF

be that as it may, there is no way I would drink tap water loaded in china*, or probably several other destinations. there should be sufficient bottle water carried for all passengers, regardless of class.

(* even if it was certified as pure water I wouldn't trust it. I'm not sure how anyone could give a guarantee as to the safety of the water??)

feel free to substitute the word 'water' with anything else you consume or activities you undertake in your day to day existence....then ask yourself..are they all 'guaranteed safe' to consume/undertake?? btw, you used the word 'guarantee', not me)... there's only one real/true guarantee in life.... ironically

im on a roll here...in OZ do you ONLY drink bottled water.. use bottled water to brush your teeth..use bottled water to wash your fruit n veg ... ??? the list goes on!!!...oh!!! and dont forget to keep your mouth closed when you take a shower!!!! :shock:

milehighclub said we can relax because the water is safe to drink. You agreed with that.

I stated there is no way i would drink water loaded in China, and i questioned how a member of cabin crew could guarantee it's safety.

Bottled water, coming sealed from a factory or production plant is far different to water which is pumped in to a central storage tank. You don't know where that water has come from, and even if it were to be 'guaranteed' pure - unless a representative of Qantas was with the water from source to delivery, you have no idea if that water is what it says it is. There are known problems with the quality of some food and beverage products in China. (and tap water there is certainly not safe to drink, and bottled water is the norm).

There was no mention of water in Australia, or whether I drink bottled water there.

Now I have mande an assumption - being that Qantas is not carrying water all the way from Australia to Shanghai and then back again, that seems a waste of fuel. But maybe they do. If it is not the case, or if the water is added in China, I would not expect that I would have to drink that. I would expect bottled water, sufficient for all pax on board.

 

[legroom]

I agree with MEL_Traveller

Given a choice, I'd choose bottled over tap water from many countries - China being one of them.

Their lack of QC is well documented (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal).

Their 'garlic' in the local supermarket looks so perfect, pristine white and would never age !

BTW, in OZ there is no problem having a shower with your mouth open (at times ).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

also i suggest you do the 'math' (cost/space/weight) on ANY airline loading/providing 'sufficient' bottle water for ALL pax on ALL flights...

the weight argument is not applicable because you simply replace the weight of water in the storage tanks with the weight of the bottled water. the cost might be slightly higher for bottles, but given the origin of flights where I would not drink the tap water (for example china and Thailand etc) the cost of the water is next to nothing anyway.

 

[under the radar]

milehighclub said we can relax because the water is safe to drink. You agreed with that.

I stated there is no way i would drink water loaded in China, and i questioned how a member of cabin crew could guarantee it's safety.

Bottled water, coming sealed from a factory or production plant is far different to water which is pumped in to a central storage tank. You don't know where that water has come from, and even if it were to be 'guaranteed' pure - unless a representative of Qantas was with the water from source to delivery, you have no idea if that water is what it says it is. There are known problems with the quality of some food and beverage products in China. (and tap water there is certainly not safe to drink, and bottled water is the norm).

There was no mention of water in Australia, or whether I drink bottled water there.

Now I have mande an assumption - being that Qantas is not carrying water all the way from Australia to Shanghai and then back again, that seems a waste of fuel. But maybe they do. If it is not the case, or if the water is added in China, I would not expect that I would have to drink that. I would expect bottled water, sufficient for all pax on board.

so your're quite prepared to to accept the 'risk' everywhee else ...BUT NOT ON A QF AIRCRAFT..good luck in the 'real world'!! ....no further comment from me...banging my head on a brick wall

 

[MEL_Traveller]

no one....other than you have stated that

sorry i'm not following... which bit am I the only one stating?

'rest assured', to me, is an assurance that the water is safe. I'm just interested to know the basis of that assurance? there might be a memorandum to crew for example that explains the quality control system.

 

[under the radar]

the weight argument is not applicable because you simply replace the weight of water in the storage tanks with the weight of the bottled water. the cost might be slightly higher for bottles, but given the origin of flights where I would not drink the tap water (for example china and Thailand etc) the cost of the water is next to nothing anyway.

where ... do you think water in a bottle comes from???.... a 100% 'guaranteed safe' source?? lol....oh of course it does...because it's 'branded' water! lol..

 

[MEL_Traveller]

where the f888 do you think water in a bottle comes from???.... a 100% 'guaranteed safe' source?? lol....oh of course it does...because it's 'branded' water! lol..

do I trust a tanker load of water in china? not much. do I trust bottled water in china? much much more so than the contents of a tanker that can easily be swapped.

I just want to know the basis on which the tap water on board ex Thailand and china is safe to drink. I'm not doubting there could be a good reason.

if so, why not to tell the passengers what it it is (ie what quality control is place).

 

[legroom]

where the f888 do you think water in a bottle comes from???.... a 100% 'guaranteed safe' source?? lol....oh of course it does...because it's 'branded' water! lol..

This is getting puerile by the minute.

Branded bottle water carries with its a implied commercial licence where the proprietors may be more willing to spend some $ on its QC process.

Now, that may not mean much but it is certainly better than the local tap.

There is no need to climb into the gutter over tap water.