My experience is that once you de-plane, that you no longer own the item. It's finders keepers. It's part of the union compensation package.

"Typically, the only things handed back prior to landing are single coats. If it was any type of bag or multiple items we'll let you pick it up on the way out. Sorry that you both forgot. The general view is that anything placed in the closet besides a personal coat is not our responsibility since it should fit/go in the OH (and things can get thrown/shoved around a bit in the cramped closet). I do understand that your situation was a little different due to the FA assurances."

That was sort of my point - it was not a bag or mutliple items - it was a blue blazer and a coat that i had been wearing and placed on a hanger

I hate to beat a dead horse, but

1. You need to accept that your the one responsible.

2. Give them a few days/weeks it will appear, all lost and found are issued tracking #'s.


Do you live near this airport? You may want to check the local airports lost/found.

Try flying us....they don't see fit to have closets for their f cabin!!!

I really think CO does strive to resolve lost item issues. i once left my bag on an iah-tpa flight. i didnt even realize it until i was home in gainesville, 2.5 hours away. CO flew the bag on a COCONX flight to GNV the next day at no cost.

i also once left a DL paper ticket on board. it was the last flight of the night to ABQ. ABQ said the ticket must have been thrown away by the cleaners. CO paid me, in the form of future travel vouchers, for the fees associated with getting the ticket re-issued by DL.

furthermore, CO has always prmoptly brought my bag to my location on all occasions involving lost bags as well as offered compensation with damage issues.

I don't think CO is responsible - it simply reflects poor service.

I have never given my coat for hanging and not had it returned prior to landing. As the OP stated, this was a single coat. These should always be delivered as the cabin is readied for landing.

Their shopping bags are more important than your coat. Learn your place.

Sorry for the delayed response, I wasn't able to lurk around all day and am just getting back here.

This is my first time on here - it seems that perhaps I chose a header or icon that seems to have a meaning that I didn't intend, I just picked it because it matched my annoyed mood. In my rush to get back to work probably did not write a very clear description of the events I'll try to clarify with my responses to the various comments:

1) the FA took a blue blazer I was wearing and a coat - not luggage or other items. I had put them on a hanger from my carry-on because I have a little system where I fold my jacket on a wooden hanger and usually that helps me keep my jacket from being totally squished in the overhead, it was not a hanging bag or anything like that. I could've just as easily put the hanger back in my bag and am certain that she still would've forgotten to return my stuff. As I'm sure many of you have, I have had them hang items when I am in first class many times without incident, given the items in question and the early flight I was somewhat leary (as it turns out I should've been) of forgetting them.

2) I called CO immediately upon realizing that the items were gone but was told that they could not do anything to help me, the telephone agent's advice was to call every few days and check on the lost and found. After calling back several times I finally convinced an agent to enter a file (might be the wrong lingo) but at that point it was 24hrs later. During these conversations I offered to call IAH and or any other airports that the plane continued on to but the agent told me that was not possible. When I asked to speak to a supervisor I was told that there was nothing they could do and when I asked for a number to call at IAH I was told that she did not have a number to call the airport. I travel Continental quite a bit and was surprised that even on the elite line their customer service seemed so apathetic to something that was clearly very important to one of their loyal customers.

3) I certainly never said that I was without blame nor did I intend to convey that, in fact as I said it was very early and I had an important meeting I was headed to so I was definitely distracted, the plane landed late and I had switched from a later flight to get to in earlier but the delay almost ate up any rational reason for switching, there were many people trying to make connecting flights and I even stayed in my seat to let the most frantic folks by. So yes, there were many distractions and I certainly do not blame the airline for all of them.

4) I am legitimately looking for an answers/ advice - any phone #s or ways to get someone to pay attention would be much appreciated. No offense but I don't see what the point of trying to convince anyone on here that Continental is liable would be, I just want to get my things.

I must admit that I am somewhat surprised that the general response here, I have always felt that their taking and returning your coat was one of the (fewer and fewer) perks of being in first class.

Since it was a single coat I'm surprised that happened. Occasionally we forget during final but always catch it before the door opens. Sorry you had this very rare experience.

I don't know the number for lost and found but I recall it discussed here before so a quick search should find it.

On second thought, if it was on its own hangar, it would typically be left in the closet until deplaning (kind of like a garment bag).

Welcome to Flyertalk gilbane. I guess everything here got off on the wrong foot with your original post placing the blame on CO. As most posts here have indicated, your personal items are your responsibility. There was one time where the FAs simply forgot to give back the jackets prior to landing and all we did was get them ourselves on deplaning and the FAs were red-faced when they saw they had forgotten. Anyway, hope you find your belongings, here is a link that may or may not help.

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...8EC8AA7687B39&

This has happened to me on a AA flight, where after few bottles of wine you just forget that you have ever carried anything on the plane.

AA was very sweet about this, thy filed a lost article report and after 2 weeks I sent them the receipt from the Item and thy reimbursed me. I am loose stuff all the time and having Amex definitely helps as thy always let me purchase it again at no cost.

I have to say - as this happened to be CO and could have happened on any airline that the part that I do find odd is that you did not realise as you walked away from an early flight that you did not have your blazer or coat with you. Did you go into the Terminal in your shirt sleeves?

I have flown for many years and I have never had this happen from the closet - people leave things all the times but coats and jackets is new to me. If the aircraft was continuing on and had passengers remaining aboard it is quite possible that the Boarding crew thought that these items bleonged to passengers all ready aboard unless F was emptied. Even though I would always check with the security regulations now in force. I suspect that your belongings never left that airport.

This is the time of year that I'm most likely to leave coats or suit-jackets on aircraft (generally in the overheads if I'm in Y). When I inbound from somewhere temperate like SFO, my coat goes in the overhead. Upon landing in Houston, the last thing I generally think about (especially if I had no carry-on in the overhead) is needing a coat when the blast of warm, humid air enters the airplane once the cabin door is opened.

This was never an issue when I lived in Edinburgh. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...always coat weather :p . Here, not so much...the outdoor steam-room begins ratcheting up in late March, then slowly pressure-cooks us until about October.

Hope your recent posts mean you're feeling better, Pucci.

Well, you show up out of the blue, uninvited (such is how FT works) and go on what I'm guessing can be described as a bit of a rant about your experience (the original post has clearly been edited and I didn't read the initial version). Since when is that socially acceptable behavior, and so what kind of a response would you expect?
But in any event (and apologies if I'm off base about the tone/content of your original post), the taking and returning of coats certainly is a perk of FC. Just because in once instance an FA forgot to return your coat (probably a function of it being on its own hanger instead of CO's hanger), doesn't mean that the perk is gone, and doesn't mean that CO is liable. But I do hope you're able to get your belongings back.

What are you suggesting, that the OP find and sue the FA???

Quote:
Originally Posted by ijgordon
"Well, you show up out of the blue, uninvited (such is how FT works) and go on what I'm guessing can be described as a bit of a rant about your experience (the original post has clearly been edited and I didn't read the initial version). Since when is that socially acceptable behavior, and so what kind of a response would you expect?"

No rant, the post is essentially as posted I just edited out some typos