Originally Posted by
Antarius
AA or the sub-contractor seems to have fired the person. IMO, that's a clear way of indicating they do not tolerate the behavior.
If the OP had been staying at a hotel and someone accessed his room and stole his wallet, I would be more inclined to agree that the hotel should make him whole, include bending over backwards. However, the OP left their wallet in the public domain - a airplane seat isn't materially any different than leaving it on a mall bench; I would not expect Simon Malls to compensate me in any way if I did so.
A plane is not a mall though, it is a confined space that during clean up is under the control of the cleaning crew.
Let's think of it this way: Is there an expectation that items found during clean up are required to be turned in to lost and found? If the answer is yes, an argument for employer responsibility can be made, however marginal it can be.