It was on a 3-hour "United Express" flight and about 20 minutes in, she poured an entire cup of water on the open laptop. It wasn't bumpy, and she was very apologetic, but I needed that laptop working to make a deadline, and instead spent the next 3 hours with a wet lap (the one lav was very popular) and nothing to do but stare forward once my phone died.

Luckily I located the original purchase receipt for the MBA11 (they required that) and it wasn't as bad a process to get made whole as I thought. It was a $1279 laptop (8GB option) and I'd definitely gotten my money's worth. It was, era-adjusted, one of the best products Apple has ever made, in a sea of lemons.

Anytime the FA comes through with the drinks, I put away the laptop as a matter of habit. Just isn't worth the risk.