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Advice needed for wallet left on US Airways flight

 
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Old Jun 13, 2015, 1:38 pm
  #1  
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Question Advice needed for wallet left on US Airways flight

Could use some help if anyone has any ideas about this. My sister-in-law left her wallet on a flight from Phoenix to Boston yesterday which was then bound for Orlando. She did not notice it until she had gotten off the plane, although apparently the plane had not yet departed for Orlando and was still on the ground.

My poor brother is at home trying to track this down and is only being told to call the Logan Airport lost and found - open only Monday - Friday until 3 pm EDT. She has no money, credit card or ID for the return flight from Newark on Monday. He has made several calls but does not seem to be getting much useful info. Any ideas of how to reach someone who might be more helpful? It seems like US Air should have some log or accounting of found items on planes, even if they are then turned over to an airport lost and found (either Boston or Orlando in this case). Ideas ?
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Old Jun 13, 2015, 4:57 pm
  #2  
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Oh, my goodness. That's truly awful!

airfarewatchdog has an article tat says, in part:

The best strategy is to be proactive, and to act immediately. Should you discover your mistake before leaving the airport, rush back to the gate and see if the plane is still there. Explain the situation to a gate agent. Cleaners may already be on board, or may have collected your item and sent it to the airline's baggage office.

If you discover your loss after leaving the airport, immediately head back to the airport and inquire at the airline's baggage department. It's the single most effective step you can make, other than prevention.

Sure, you can call the baggage claim office, assuming you can find the number quickly, or you can file a report by email with some airlines, but it's far more effective to do so in person. Baggage office phone lines are often busy or go unanswered.

If this is not possible, here are contact methods to locate your missing item on various airlines...

US Airways: Your best bet is to call their central reservation number and ask for the number for the airport's baggage office, although you may not be able to get through to the office if they're busy (800-428-4322).
Because of the identification, etc. it may have been turned in to the State Police F Troop, assigned to police BOS.

FHQ Troop F Headquarters
Logan International Airport
MASSPORT
2 Service Road
East Boston, MA 02128
Telephone# 617-568-7300
For BOS / Boston Logan, I found (probably your brother did as well):

Lost and Found

Boston Logan's 'Lost and Found' program is operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority, Public Services Department. This program is for lost items found in public areas of the terminals.

Please note that items lost in the TSA checkpoints, on aircraft, airline gate boarding areas, or Customs and Border Protection are not managed by the Boston Logan Lost and Found Program. See below for lost and found contacts for TSA, Customs and Border Protection and airlines operating at Boston Logan.

Report Lost Item by Phone
You can report a lost item by calling (617) 568-7514 and leave a message regarding your lost item, please leave details as to what terminal, airline and location, the more specific the better.

Report Lost Item Online
You can also report a lost item online where you can enter the information regarding the lost item in the automated form.

Your information on the lost item from your phone message or the automated form will be researched and if your item is located, you will be contacted to arrange for pick up at the Lost and Found Office located at the departure’s level between Terminals B and C, across from the Airport’s Administration Briefing room.

Lost Items on Aircraft or Boarding Areas

If your item was lost on an aircraft or within an airline boarding area, please call the airline directly. Airline phone numbers may be found here.

US Airways: (800) 428-4322 ( (main number?)
I can't find numbers for US' offices at BOS itself.

If by chance the item was recovered and turned in at MCO:

(MCO) Lost and Found Link

The Lost & Found Office is open daily from 7:00am-10:00pm and can be contacted at (407) 825-2111 or at Lost & Found or by submitting a Missing Item Form

Lost & Found handles approximately 2,000 items each month. To help us search for your item we will need to know the following information:

A detailed description of the missing item(s) including whether the item was inside a bag, box or container
The date the item(s) was lost
The approximate location where you think you may have lost the item(s
BUT Items left onboard aircraft are NOT delivered to the Lost & Found office, therefore please contact the airline directly....AA: 800-433-7300

Items are held in the Lost & Found office for thirty days. If they are not claimed, they are sent out for disposal in accordance with Florida State Statute.

Lost & Found experiences a high volume of inquiries, therefore please submit a Missing Item Form and we will contact you if we have your missing item(s).

If we positively identify your item(s) and you are unable to pick up the item(s) during normal business hours, arrangements can be made for an after-hours pick-up. This must be coordinated with Lost & Found staff prior to pick-up.

If you are unable to pick up your item(s), they will be sent via UPS at the owner's expense. If the owner wishes to use a delivery service other than UPS, arrangements must be made by the owner of the item(s).

Lost & Found Department
Terminal B
Across from the Food Court
Now, about getting back.

One assumes she was flying on a round trip ticket, yes?

The TSA says:

Acceptable IDs

We understand passengers occasionally arrive at the airport without an ID, because of losing it or inadvertently leaving it at home. If this happens to you, it does not necessarily mean you won't be allowed to fly. If you are willing to provide additional information, we have other ways to confirm your identity, like using publicly available databases, so you can reach your flight.

If we clear you through this process, we may give you additional screening. If we can’t verify your identity, you may not be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint or to board a plane.

See http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-informat...eptable-ids%20
It may be someone with ID who can vouch for her could help with this identification process; I'd recommend showing up very early for departure with boarding pass and e-ticket printed out in advance.

Good luck!

Last edited by JDiver; Jun 13, 2015 at 5:26 pm
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Old Jun 13, 2015, 5:13 pm
  #3  
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Recently lost a cell phone on a PHX - CLT flight, and never heard back after several messages (they won't call back unless they find the item). I hope a wallet/purse gets a little higher priority!

Luckily I hated my phone and had no need to use it at my final destination
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Old Jun 13, 2015, 5:22 pm
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Given the timing, have her head back to BOS and enlist the assistance of a US agent. She needs someone to take pity on her. She could get lucky and it's sitting in the baggage office and somebody simply hasn't gotten around to dealing with the day's haul yet. They may also know somebody who knows somebody at US in MCO who can do the same thing. Key is to enlist someone to help you who is willing to make it their mission.

I would then be online checking every card to see if it has been used. If that's the case, it's been stolen and you can forget the effort and simply cancel things.

I hope that she is visiting someone she knows or knows someone in Boston who can loan her some cash to take care of her on the way home.

TSA has a process for identifying people without ID, but it does require something. Does she have any bills (utilities or the like), correspondence from a government agency, a magazine mailed to her at a home address?

If she doesn't, perhaps there is somebody in Phoenix who can PDF this stuff to her so she can print it at a hotel, friend, FedEx Office or the like. The more the better.
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Old Jun 13, 2015, 9:59 pm
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Thanks all. It gets even worse. The Boston leg was only part of a re-route - final destination New Jersey. Original flight SAN-PHX-EWR, but US cancelled the PHX-EWR portion and routed her SAN-PHX-BOS-LGA. So she still had a $150 cab ride from LGA to her sister's in NJ - after all the stress of the cancelled flight and realizing her wallet was missing. But she is at least with family (and money ) there.

Her husband is monitoring the credit card (so far so good). There are apparently no "cleaners" on the airplanes anymore so it is indeed possible the wallet went to Orlando when the FA's did not see it on the floor. Thanks to JDiver for MCO lost and found info. Got that info to my brother (her husband), which does not seem to have been supplied in multiple calls to US.

Will let you all know how this turns out. Thank goodness nothing this bad has happened in all my years of traveling. Once left my passport in a Swedish sauna locker room and was unable to get on the train until the next day. But I was 22, it was the 70's and we just slept on the steps of the train station until we could get back and retrieve it the next day. Ah the pre-TSA, pre cell phone days.... they had their charms.
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Old Jun 14, 2015, 9:30 am
  #6  
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Just as a warning to others, it always pays to have some cash and a second CC, along with some alternative ID such as a passport in a separate location.

Left behind, stolen, compromised CC. Stuff happens.
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Old Jun 14, 2015, 6:12 pm
  #7  
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If a wallet was left in a back seat pocket, it might escape detection for days.
If you notice its loss (while still in the airport) [as others have noted, go back to your gate. If you AND the plane have left the airport, contacting the next arrival airport gate might help.
[I do NOT know if the wallet was left in a BSP.]
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Old Jun 14, 2015, 8:03 pm
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Originally Posted by Often1
Just as a warning to others, it always pays to have some cash and a second CC, along with some alternative ID such as a passport in a separate location.

Left behind, stolen, compromised CC. Stuff happens.
For US travelers, this is a great use of your global entry card or your Passport Card...
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Old Jun 14, 2015, 8:46 pm
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I just had to say, JDiver, your info is awesome, you really went beyond the call of duty in my opinion!
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Old Jun 15, 2015, 12:58 pm
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Follow Up

Second the opinion about JDiver's post. Very helpful.

So for the end of the saga: at 8:45 pm on Sunday night my brother got a call from some nice US Air woman from PHX saying that her wallet was there. Apparently sent there from BOS because that is where her flight had originated (never mind that she lives in SAN). And she got on the plane today [delayed 3 hours] from EWR with a wave of the hand on an expired passport. All good for her!

Thanks to all for the help.
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Old Jun 15, 2015, 8:32 pm
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Originally Posted by mstraveler
Second the opinion about JDiver's post. Very helpful.

So for the end of the saga: at 8:45 pm on Sunday night my brother got a call from some nice US Air woman from PHX saying that her wallet was there. Apparently sent there from BOS because that is where her flight had originated (never mind that she lives in SAN). And she got on the plane today [delayed 3 hours] from EWR with a wave of the hand on an expired passport. All good for her!

Thanks to all for the help.
PHX! Will they send it on? I'd offer to send a self-addressed FedEx envelope.

Thanks for posting the denouement, and I'm glad it all worked out.
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Old Jun 16, 2015, 5:52 am
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Originally Posted by mstraveler
Second the opinion about JDiver's post. Very helpful.

So for the end of the saga: at 8:45 pm on Sunday night my brother got a call from some nice US Air woman from PHX saying that her wallet was there. Apparently sent there from BOS because that is where her flight had originated (never mind that she lives in SAN). And she got on the plane today [delayed 3 hours] from EWR with a wave of the hand on an expired passport. All good for her!

Thanks to all for the help.
Always nice to read stories that have good endings! And JDiver is THE man!
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Old Jun 16, 2015, 6:19 am
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Originally Posted by Often1
Just as a warning to others, it always pays to have some cash and a second CC, along with some alternative ID such as a passport in a separate location.

Left behind, stolen, compromised CC. Stuff happens.
I have just this stash in my laptop bag (US$100 cash, a EMV chipped CC with no foreign transaction fees and no carried balance, and my US Passport) as my "just in case I lose my wallet on travel" contingency.

Very good advice that I hope I never have to use.
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Old Jun 16, 2015, 4:31 pm
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Originally Posted by pa3lsvt
I have just this stash in my laptop bag (US$100 cash, a EMV chipped CC with no foreign transaction fees and no carried balance, and my US Passport) as my "just in case I lose my wallet on travel" contingency.

Very good advice that I hope I never have to use.
I also have a stash of small bills (for tips etc.) that adds to ~$100 and a CA ID card that is not in my wallet. Probably should add a credit card too. Also have never had to use for lost wallet, thankfully!

And assume they sent it back to PHX because it was origin of flight and presumably they thought she lived there..? Who know why the airlines do much of what they do. Or a better question, why couldn't someone tell my brother this 48 hours earlier - they must keep logs of things like this!
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Old Jun 16, 2015, 4:34 pm
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Originally Posted by mstraveler
Second the opinion about JDiver's post. Very helpful.

So for the end of the saga: at 8:45 pm on Sunday night my brother got a call from some nice US Air woman from PHX saying that her wallet was there. Apparently sent there from BOS because that is where her flight had originated (never mind that she lives in SAN). And she got on the plane today [delayed 3 hours] from EWR with a wave of the hand on an expired passport. All good for her!

Thanks to all for the help.
Originally Posted by JDiver
PHX! Will they send it on? I'd offer to send a self-addressed FedEx envelope.

Thanks for posting the denouement, and I'm glad it all worked out.
Glad to hear they found the wallet, and hopefully everything inside it is as your wife remembers.

Let me know if you need someone to go pick it up. I could swing by PHX and ship to you.
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