I learnt a valuable lesson yesterday

[Muriel]

4E was far too quick in ASSUMING that the items belonged to a previous passenger. In fact, if he was hell bent on giving them to the crew, he should have made it clear that he was unsure if they belonged to a previous passenger OR a current one. And asked the crew to check. Nor should the crew member have been so hasty in offloading the passengers personal items. No brains either of them! So please you got your precious belongings back intact Jaryd. Can understand your annoyance Jaryd…I'd have been fuming at the stupidity of both of these "helpful" do gooders.

 

[Altair]

I know it is an assumption but I would have thought that if boarding was taking place and no one was in the seat that the items may have been inadvertantly left behind. This is based on my experience that passengers are not allowed use of the toilets so where would the missing passenger be? I will admit that 90% of my flying experience is international and I have seen passengers asking and being refused the use of the toilets, but domestically this could be different. I would have thought domestic the priority was to turn the aircraft around quickly, especially with QF OTP trailling VA, hence no time to look for missing passenger and cross reference off manifest, all of which at our desks seem prefectly reasonable expectations that crew and fellow passenger would do, and get items off board for previous passenger.
I am glad that items were returned to the OP and that we all take this experience as a learning, just like when I left my wallet on board a plane after an international flight to SYD. Went to baggage service to see if cleaning crew found anything they radioed back to say no. Later on I received a call from a daughter of a cleaner who said they found my wallet, sans money, and I met up with her for the retreival.:-| Wallet stays on me now and some notes in the destination currency in a my pants pocket.

 

[Rocket88]

I saw an interesting event a few years ago on an evening flight from BKK to SYD. we were in the process of boarding and putting bags etc into the overhead locker when a bloke came fro out of the toilet and went to his seat but first went to the overheadlocker obviously to get something out of his bag before he sat down except his bag was not there. The gentleman who was sitting opposite in the aisle had taken it upon himself to remove the bag and put down in the next section so his bags would be in the closest overhead locker to himself . A few terse words were exchanged and to add oil to the fire the geentlemen who had moved the bag was telling him to calm down and grow up. Then a few of his friends started joining in , I thought blood would soon be spilt . Eventually the stewadess calmed things down and found spots for all the bags but the tension was there most of the flight.

 

[QF WP]

The FA/CSS should not have offloaded the items, without following procedures that should have included checking against the manifest and a page to pax on board. Whilst your fellow pax was doing what he thought was right, it should have been circumvented by the correcting actions of the FA/CSS.

Hope you have been (or soon will be) reunited with your possessions. Overnight couriers should have profited from your experience (and you or your company should try to claim from QF)

 

[blackcat20]

I know it is an assumption but I would have thought that if boarding was taking place and no one was in the seat that the items may have been inadvertantly left behind. This is based on my experience that passengers are not allowed use of the toilets so where would the missing passenger be? I will admit that 90% of my flying experience is international and I have seen passengers asking and being refused the use of the toilets, but domestically this could be different. I would have thought domestic the priority was to turn the aircraft around quickly, especially with QF OTP trailling VA, hence no time to look for missing passenger and cross reference off manifest, all of which at our desks seem prefectly reasonable expectations that crew and fellow passenger would do, and get items off board for previous passenger.
I am glad that items were returned to the OP and that we all take this experience as a learning, just like when I left my wallet on board a plane after an international flight to SYD. Went to baggage service to see if cleaning crew found anything they radioed back to say no. Later on I received a call from a daughter of a cleaner who said they found my wallet, sans money, and I met up with her for the retreival.:-| Wallet stays on me now and some notes in the destination currency in a my pants pocket.

I've used the loo during boarding a few times. I always ask the crew and I've never been told no.

 

[QF WP]

Yes, but your beauty and good nature goes a long way, blackcat20

 

[Ex-bugman]

There's a few issues at play here,

1. Internal checks would (should) have been completed BEFORE any boarding took place, there's the 1st point of ref.
2. A simple check of the passenger manifest would have shown that seat occupant was on-board, 2nd point of ref.
3. No announcement was made to check, 3rd point of ref.
so there are 3 airline issues that stand at the "front of the line" on this issue.

4. Why was 4E checking the back seat of 3D? Nosey Parker???
5. Is there a difference to placing the items in your bag on the floor as opposed to putting them in the seat pocket? Both SHOULD indicate occupancy so why was the bag overlooked by the attendant?
so there are again some issues here for the airline re cabin protocols.

6. Would I have done it? Nah, probably not, on-board loo's are far LESS apealing than the full size versions and I wouldn't have taken my comp out until I wanted to use it, simply for security reasons.

Bottom line, seat was allocated and confirmed passenger in-bound, fault with airline by way of duty of care to passenger safety and belongings.
^.

 

[obsgyn]

Planes are cleaned before new boarding is allowed. Anything left behind from previous flight would have been handed by the plane cleaners to staff before boarding starts. So I am surprised the CSM offloaded the articles before announcing it on the plane. I think that the CSM was not up to standard on that flight.

 

[Tonkatough]

All of this is based on many assumptions, starting with small assumptions that 4E was blocked and items would be safe, then continuing with larger assumptions from 4E and the FA/CSS. Maybe just a bad luck day...?

 

[CaviAck]

4. Why was 4E checking the back seat of 3D? Nosey Parker???

Probably because 4DEF share the back of the seats of 3DF

 

[footy99]

The comedy of successive errors required to get this outcome is hilarious.

I'd call it a net win for the story value.

 

[dougieboy]

Don't touch other peoples property and mind your own business class seat! Do gooders like missionaries screwing the whole world up one stupid action at a time when no one ever asked them to.

 

[dvb2000]

The FA/CSS should not have offloaded the items

Why not, unattended baggage is a security risk, he's lucky it wasn't detonated.

 

[blackcat20]

So you placed your gear is a set you didn't have a ticket for, you left it unattended, and are whinging when it was removed by the flight attendant?

Not sure what the whinge is about, other than if its your application for a Darwin Award.

He put his stuff in the seat pocket in front of his own seat. Not someone else's seat.

 

[dvb2000]

He put his stuff in the seat pocket in front of his own seat. Not someone else's seat.

Actually the pocket in the back of 3D is shared with him (4D) and the guy in the seat (4E) he incorrectly thought was blocked out.

 

[Himeno]

Why not, unattended baggage is a security risk, he's lucky it wasn't detonated.

The items should not have been offloaded. The crew would have known a pax had boarded to that seat.

 

[blackcat20]

Actually the pocket in the back of 3D is shared with him (4D) and the guy in the seat (4E) he incorrectly thought was blocked out.

View attachment 50521

The pocket is still his to use/share. The other pax was a nob for assuming the seat was empty despite stuff left on the actual seat.

 

[UP4014]

Microsoft Surface pro 3 and slimline portfolio. They kind of disappear into the back of J seatpockets.

Which is why 4E is a knob, was he going through things. It's not my seat so not my position to say anything. 4E should of at the very least asked on your return about the laptop and say he just gave it over after checking through your stuff!

I would have told him to mind his own business...... the whole way to Melb.

Matt

 

[medhead]

Actually the pocket in the back of 3D is shared with him (4D) and the guy in the seat (4E) he incorrectly thought was blocked

Actually the seat pockets on the back of both 3D and 3F are shared by 4DEF.

I also think your comment about security risk is somewhat misguided. Firstly because everything on the plane has been through a security check point. Secondly because the crew didn't follow procedure, procedure that should include the security aspects. As for blowing things up, this ain't the USA.

 

[PineappleSkip]

My 2c worth in the faultfinding quest.

The miscreant in 4E should not have peered in the seat back pocked shared with 4D, should have peered in the window seat pocket instead. I assume that the miscreant was looking to stow stuff in the seat back and discovered the laptop etc.

The OP should not have used the in-cabin loo while boarding in progress, although Pineapple does it regularly and is probably uglier and worse tempered than Blackcat20.

Also the OP should not have left DRW for MEL this time of year, Pineapple has just arrived there and finds the weather quite pleasurable at the moment.

Cheers skip.