As an update I called again this morning and the agent was much more helpful this time. She traced the next destination (several previous agents had told me this was not possible) and called and sent a message to the airport there. Nothing has turned up yet but I'm more hopeful now that someone seems to be paying a little attention. Apparently the previous agent entered a file as misc. lost clothing with no description - it hopefully is more descriptive now.

Now that, my fellow FTers, is good old fashioned FlyerTalk humor...

I could swear you had the little face in the original post.

I think your general disposition with this issue has been seeking the best way to deal with it and hopefully get your stuff back. However, as ijgordon indicates - you can very easily expire a welcome by appearing angry and then expecting sympathy from total strangers.

We'll now you know a secret about phone agent. Kids, when a situation like this occurs, what have we been taught(told) to do??



If you don't get the help you so desire the first time. Hang up, redial and speak to another agent. (Repeat as necessary)

This is one of the many lessons you will learn here at FlyerTalk University!

I left a cell phone on a plane last Monday night. I didn't get it back, and I'm sure that someone has a nice, slightly used iMate JasJar to play with now, but I did learn one thing when I called it in as was in the rental car looping around to go back to the airport: If you just ask the CSR to help they won't. But, if you give them specific instructions they will frequently follow them. The CSR in my case played the "there is nothing we can do" card until I specifically asked her to call the baggage services office at the airport. She called some other desk and said again that no one was at the airport. I repeated the baggage services office request and finally she called them and put me in a conference call with the agent working there so I could explain exactly where I left the phone so they could find it and put it on eBay (though I don't see it there yet).

Moral of the story is that the CSR folks can do it if they want to, but they often need to be nudged in the correct direction to make the right call in these situations. Sad, but true.

Other moral of the story is to not leave your phone in the cubby next to the seat when deplaning.

That space is dangerous! I can't tell you how many candy bars or packs of gum I've left there! I've dosed off and the ipod or PDA has fallen into the area. Now, I always make a point of check that area, two or three times, before leaving the plane.

Oh and BTW, I hope you get your phone back.

That sounds like the "call again" policy has worked.
Hopefully, their lost and found system works as well.
On one hand, there may just possibly be a tag (or napkin) on the hanger with your seat number on it.
On the other hand, since you often have crew on the plane on the short turn-arounds between flights while it's being cleaned, it may be that the cleaners didn't find it at the airport where you deplaned; for all you know, that jacket went on several flights after that, so wherever it got returned, it may be difficult/impossible to trace it back to your flight and you (that assumes they even try).
So I think color and label/tailor/size of the jacket would be helpful information as well to provide them.
Now if you would not only get your jacket back, but get the frequent flyer miles that jacket would have flown :-)

I on ce le ft m y hea d on a fli ght a cou ple y ears b ack. S til l tr y i ng t o l o ca te th e th i n g.

A quick google turned up this: 281-230-3299. IAH lost and found.

Again, cleaners wouldn't have found it as they don't touch anything in the closet. If there was a crew change, I guarantee the new crew would have noticed it as things like that stand out like a sore thumb. They would have then handed it over to the GA. If it was a through crew, it MAY have gone on to the next station. When you have a closet full of navy uniform blazers you sometimes don't notice the stripe (or lack thereof).

[QUOTE=sundrop;7515010]Then don't.

Quoted from the OP:

"flight attendant never returned my (very expensive) hanging items to me which I left on the plane."

It doesn't sound like he is trying to duck his responsibility to me.

I think you are probably right.

I read this entire thread twice, and I don't understand the need some seemed to feel to pile on the OP. If he altered the OP in a significant way, that would make me think differently. It's my understanding that thread titles cannot be edited. I thought this one was fairly straightforward. I can be a total airhead and have left jackets and other things on planes several times. If the flight attendant gave the passenger the assurance reported, then I think said flight attendant shares some of the responsibility.

Fortunately, for me, I have always recovered the items left behind, typically within an hour and always within twenty-four hours. Usually this was because an eagle-eyed flight attendant discovered it/them before the plane left the gate for its next leg. The one time it took longer, the airline had a gate agent meet the plane at its next stop and the ga had it checked on a return flight and I picked it up at the airport later that day.

I don't see what the problem is??
Once the item is gone and you're told it's probably in the trash by the cleaning crew, you merely go to Ebay the next day and buy it back from the airline employees.

Is that true?! They really put this stuff on eBay!?!

Yes, havent you seen those Ebay infomercials. They'll show a picture of Johnny Jones, with "airline employee" next to his name, and he'll tell you how much more he makes with Ebay than he does at his regular job.
And you can do it too, if you'll just buy the books and tapes for 3 easy payments of $39.99, plus S&H.

Update: Decided that it was worth it to make the trek to CO's LOB (lost on board) item warehouse. The people there were very helpful, after initially telling me that my stuff hadn't been found they let me go back in the lost and found area and take a look myself and I found the jacket. Very pleased to have the jacket back and am hoping the blue blazer turns up.