I agree. While it is encouraging to see all the above positive examples, my experience with leaving items on Delta planes has made it abundantly clear that corporate policy is to make no effort to reunite passengers with their lost items. And as Mr. Hudson points out, the theme in the happy experiences seems to be effort of individual employees, not any kind of system or procedure for lost and found.

Contrast this with Korean Air - they have a section of their web site devoted to lost and found, including photos of found items with flight numbers and dates. I recovered a spiral notebook which I left in a seat pocket through their system, several days after the flight. And it was definitely a policy and procedure that made that recovery possible, not an individual hero.

I agree that individuals are the essence of good customer service, but there is only so much they can do without good customer service policies and procedures to back them up. (For another example, see "will I get the upgrade if I board?")