I travelled first class on Continental last week on a very early flight trying to get to an important meeting. On boarding the plane the flight attendant took my hanging items and hung them in the closet, I was nervous to give them to her but she assured me that in first class all items are hung with the corresponding seat number and returned on arrival - I wouldn't need to remember. The flight was (of course) late and the flight attendant never returned my (very expensive) hanging items to me which I left on the plane.

Continental has said that they are not liable for these items and that there is no way to track them and the only thing I can do is to wait for them to potentially show up at their warehouse. Is there anything else i can do? The clothing in question was a gift and is very expensive custom tailored items.

Any ideas?

So....

1) You asked for the items when you landed and they had "disappeared" during flight?

or

2) You as well as the FA 'forgot' about them and you realized they were missing at some point after de-planing and after your aircraft had departed again?

This info would be helpful.

This is worrisome, but did you ask the FA for your expensive items before you got off the plane, or did you both forget?

I always let the FAs hang my blazer or jacket when I am in F or BF. On a couple of occasions (out of hundreds) I have not had them returned until the plane reached the gate, and on at least one occasion I had to remind the FA of my "pending" jacket, but no matter how many glasses of the chardonnay I have consumed, I have never walked off the plane in my shirt sleeves. I can't imagine how the OP did.

Could this posting be another April 1st item, a day late?

Sorry if I was unclear - not as sinister as the items disapearing en route I guess I just walked off the plane without them but CO has been fairly uncooperative about trying to track them down.

I'm sure I'm biased but my feeling is if they take an item from me they should be responsible for it......

And you are responsible for asking that it be returned prior to deplaning.

The items were on your own hangers in a garment bag or similar? Marked with a name, phone number?

Not sure about "biased", but certainly wrong. If you hang something in the front closet, it's your job to get it out, just like if you put something in the overhead.

If I have to remember to ask for it back I'd rather not hang it - in fact I told the FA I didn't want to hang it as it was 6am and I might forget it but she assured me that they would return them to me.

Items are on my own hanger - has my name embroidered inside the clothing

In other words, "if I have to pick something up, I won't put it down."

Ummmm.... OK.....

That's pretty much exactly the point - I would never have hung it in the closet as I would not want to forget it and even discussed this with the FA who assured me that first class hangers are hung corresponding to their seats and returned - no need to remember.

So, the FA forced you to hang the items in the closet? If you were that concerned about forgetting the items, why didn't you just say, "no, thanks" and place them in the overhead?

Not quite if I have to pick it up I won't put it down. More like if you take it from me and tell me that you will give it back after discussing my aprehension about losing it I expect it back.

Otherwise I would've folded it neatly on top of my carry-on bag as I have done on 27 other segments that I have flown this year.

In all fairness, do you think YOU have any responsiblity in this situation? I'm not attacking you, but it just seems strange that your first post is a "complaint". If this/these item is/are "so" important/expensive, how you leave the plane without it/them?

It just doesn't make sense. Something has been left out of this story. How could you leave the airport without such a priceless item?? Bells had to go off somewhere.

I once left my PDA onboard and walk off the plane, up the jetway and into DCA, about the area of the moving walkways, I checked to see if I had all my items and sure enough I'd left my PDA in the cut out on the side of the FC seat. I made a bee line for the gate and the FA happened to still be there and went back on the plane for me.

Though not particularly helpful -thanks for the comments so far.

To clarify my questions are:

1) If the FA takes your items are they then responsible for them? Some of you seem to think the answer is no

2) Is there any good way to track such a lost item down?

Nothing really more to the story Boston was cold thus the jacket but Houston wasn't so I didn't notice that, boarded the flight at 6am after long week of travel and checking in to a hotel at 2am and just didn't really notice.

Travel quite frequently and have a pretty good system, as I said typically I fold my jacket over carry-on and grab them all together but overhead was stuffed (full flight) and the FA was so reassuring - so somehow no bells as I left.

I'm certainly not saying I don't have some responsibility - just was wondering what others' thoughts were and whether the airlines had any way to deal with such a problem