Pilots distracted by phones, unwashed blankets and coffee made from bathroom water: Airline insiders reveal the industry's best-kept secrets

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Ever noticed that coffee tastes a bit weird on planes? Or wondered what's going on in the cockpit?

Airline insiders have taken to an online forum to address these very concerns, sharing examples of the 'best-kept secrets' of the industry - and you might wish they never had.

But along with some of the more unsavoury anecdotes - unwashed blankets and filthy drinking water, for example - emerged some interesting and even useful insights about air travel.

Air industry insiders have revealed some interesting lesser-known facts, such as the ploy used to encourage passengers to choose one meal over another (stock image)

Think you're in charge of your meal choice, psychologically?

Perhaps not, according to one former crew member, who wrote on a Quora thread: 'So you’re running out of fish but have plenty chicken to spare? 

“Good evening, we have two meal choices for tonight’s flight. Our first choice is an exquisite chicken breast grilled to perfection with a side of carefully steamed vegetables and a very delicately seasoned gravy that smells just like the one my grandma used to make when I was little. The other choice is fish”. 

'Believe it or not, it works most of the time… in a scenario like the one above, two out of three people will go for chicken.'

And, apparently, there's a reason why tomato juice is such a popular beverage with plane passengers.

According to one submitter, a clinical study conducted by Lufthansa found that 'fluctuating air pressure of aircraft cabins makes passengers crave acidity and saltiness, which tomato juice satisfies'.

The water used to make coffee on planes, it is claimed, is the same 'potable' water that comes out of bathroom sinks, and can be somewhat unclean (stock image)

Ever felt you were waiting an inhumanely long time for your dinner to be served?

One writer revealed: 'Especially on night flights, sometimes the flight attendants hold off on the meal service for as long as possible, hoping that more and more of the passengers fall asleep and they have comparatively less work to do.' 

Over in the cockpit, according to a woman whose screen moniker reads 'my heart belongs to a pilot', mistakes are made which (mercifully) we are rarely made aware of.

'Some pilots get distracted by their laptops and cellphones during flight,' she wrote, adding: 'Pilots make mistakes all the time about airspeed, altitude, landing, etc. But they're corrected on time and therefore they never tell anyone about it.'

She also quipped: 'There's no such thing as water landing. It's called "crashing into the ocean".'  

One submitter made claims that pilots sometimes get distracted by phones and laptops while flying (stock image)

Among other contributors, the water quality on-board planes was a popular subject. 

One wrote: 'Airplane coffee isn’t made with bottled water, and an airplane’s potable water isn’t exactly clean. Due to short layovers, there is hardly time to clean the valves properly.'

Another concurred, stating: 'Your coffee is made of the same water coming out of the bathroom sinks. And most of them have a hundred times bacteria over the govt limits.' 

Indeed, the Wall Street Journal once tested the tap water from 14 different flights and discovered bacteria levels 'tens, sometimes hundreds of times above U.S. government limits'.

One more warned: 'Do not ever drink water on an aircraft that did not come from a packaged bottle. The ports to purge lavatory waste and refill potable water are within feet from each other and sometimes serviced all at once by the same guy.'

Things don't improve regarding other areas of the plane either.

Other more obscure revelations include the fact that airline bathrooms can be unlocked from the outside, using mechanisms hidden under the signs on the door (stock image)

One commenter claimed that that shrink-wrapped blanket you are given when you board aren't always fresh.

They also added: 'Food trays are sometimes used as diaper changing boards'. 

Again, it's a claim seemingly backed by science.

Last year Travel Math sent a microbiologist to test the surfaces aboard aircraft and the results confirmed the confession.

Tray tables were found to be the dirtiest of all the locations and surfaces they tested, with an an average of 2,155 colony-forming units (CFUs) per square inch.

Other more obscure revelations include the fact that airline bathrooms can be unlocked from the outside, using mechanisms hidden under the signs on the door.  

And to finish up, some potentially useful pointers from one savvy submitter, who advised against paying online for add-ons like seat preferences and checked luggage, when it can be 'completely free in person' at the airport.

She added: 'Middle seats are the seats that fill up last on flights, so if you’re travelling in a pair, select window and aisle and have a good chance of having an empty middle seat if the flight is not full.'