UAzip

OP mentioned that the kit fell on takeoff and that as soon as the chime sounded, they jumped up to take it. What is the FA or OP supposed to do, unsafely and illegally get up while the plane is taking off to retrieve it? If you know whose it was and you take it and don't give it to the person you know is the owner, especially when it fell on the floor and slid on takeoff so the owner couldn't easily get it or ask a FA to help because it wouldn't be safe for them either, then you are stealing it or as good as stealing it by taking it. What the value of the kit is or whether it was a complimentary kit is immaterial. And it wasn't abandoned according to the OP; it fell and they had no chance of retrieving it before someone else took it knowing full well it wasn't theirs. (Not a comment on you in particular, but on the ethics of taking an item that you know is someone else's when you could return it.)

CCIE_Flyer

Compulsive hoarder? There may well be an entire room of this gal's house dedicated to amenity kits, sadly enough.

AtlLhr

I am non-confrontational by nature, but, since I fly in business/first very rarely, if I am in J or above I want my amenity kit. I earned it, I paid for it, I consider it valuable, and I would not hesitate to tell a FA that I saw someone take it and put it in their bag. I would only confront the person if they were so close to me that I could call them out while they were in the act.
If they were a few rows back, I would have to enlist the services of the higher up to help me sort it out.
It would never occur to me to take an amenity kit that was not mine, or one that had been left on a seat after deplaning.
I really want the silly salt and pepper shakers that look like the Death Star, but they are not mine, so I will have to make do with a picture.

Tizzette

There are two different scenarios being discussed here. The original one is what you are talking about, where somebody deliberately took OP's amenity kit and made a beeline to hide it in her bag. I am talking about a perfectly innocent passenger who finds a confounded amenity kit on the floor by their seat. Of course if you saw who dropped it, you should return it. If you see somebody looking around for it, by all means volunteer it. But if nobody bothers to look for it, it is abandoned. If you want it, keep it. It is only an amenity kit, entirely fungible, no great loss to OP or the airline. OP will be given another one if he asks. The value does matter, how much effort you put in to returning something. You certainly should go to greater effort to return something valuable, either monetary or sentimental value. Why? Because you know it is something that matters to the person who lost it.

YadiMolina

A colleague had her laptop stolen from her carry-on in Biz Class. She used it for a while during the flight, stowed it in the overhead and napped a bit. Discovered its absence after deplaning.

benitovacation

This thread totally changes my perception of in-flight security.

Am I supposed to trust fellow strangers, though total strangers to behave civilly in a confined environment through duration of flight, especially seated mostly in premium or eco+ cabin? Perhaps I don't tempt others by leaving stack of cash or cartier watch in seat pocket, but come on...it is used icellphone, ipad, not to mentioned an amenity kit. They has been always left in seat or seat pocket. Should I keep an eye on the valuables in carryon stored in overhead cabin throughout long haul flight?

If someone asks for amenity kid, I may just give it after taking out needed items for flight...

endrond

Plenty of people sitting in E+ and J steal in ways ranging from petty to compulsive to large-scale crime.

fivevsone

I almost always put my bag over the opposite row so I can keep an eye on it during flight.

Never had an amenity kit pilfered, and this vignette is hilarious considering what's in the current kits. Socks are nice but little else if real value.

Duke787

I have locks on every pocket of my backpack for this reason (plus my rollerboard of course). I've been mocked by colleagues before for having so many locks on my backpack but this is exactly why - can't trust anyone on a plane (apart from family/SO you may be traveling with), even in premium cabins and especially on overnight flights when you might fall asleep and not notice what's going on.

Cellphone stays in pocket, everything else goes in a locked pocket when not in use.

Toshbaf

Maybe say in a loud voice to the FA "Call the police, we have a burglar on board, this is a safety risk to the fight, are there any air marshalls aboard? If not, should the FBI be immediately notified??"

Bohemian1

An excellent idea, that I will certainly adopt going forward. Also removes the anxiety about people rearranging my bag to fall out when opening the bin.

Fyd

The thread is hillarious - and kinda sad:
That people would steal an amenity kit...
I'm also surprised how many people wouldn't just ask the perpetrator - we surely should be able to resolve this as adults without police or crew involved?
OP: "Thank you for picking up my amenity kit - would you mind giving it back, I still would like to use it during the flight?" That gives the lady a chance to give it back without complete loss of face - everybody flies on happy and she probably won't do it again...
Every time we accept behavior like this, the overall situation gets worse - because "everybody does it" or "People do it all the time"... and next time somebody will snatch your steak from the plate while you are washing your hands... "coz it was abandoned"

amt

Point her in the direction of the goodwill store in Wan Chai.

Literally emptied two overflowing carrier bags of BA, Qatar, CX, Qantas F and J kits into their donation bin on Friday...

jaa6921

Yes it was kind of sad. I did not confront her because

a> Its just an amenity kit
b> She was adjacent to me albeit slightly behind my seat in J class and I didn't really want 16 hours of some sort of an "atmosphere"
c> It was more a study of how pathetic people can be.
d> I don't need another amenity kit at home.

The individual knew I was missing my amenity kit because I made sure she heard me asking the FA for a replacement. Her intention was always to keep the kit - which is why I described her as a thief.

I must admit I had thoughts of grabbing her passport and secreting it somewhere and making her life difficult. But two wrongs have never made it right in my world. But there was a moment of pleasure in those thoughts

Everyone who said it, its just a $5 kit. Except its the socks that keep mine clean when I trot off to the toilet. And the eyeshade when that "newbie" sitting in a window seat opens the shade at 37,000 feet to see if there is land out there - and leaves it open. And the pen that saves me having to get up when its time to fill out my HKG landing card.

I've also thought that in J class there is a sort of unwritten code of conduct. The people there are the more serious travellers who respect their companions space and comfort. They are more trustworthy??? Clearly not

End of rant. It was a funny story.

Now I'm off to HKG this week on the new Polaris 777-300 in J and if anyone steals my bear..........I'll be pressing charges!

TCD

totally OT but I thought that I read somewhere on here that those shakers are deliberately made of plastic so that they can be taken as a souvenir, so you may actually be fine. Anyone have any confirmation on that?