04-14-2019
03:54 PM
Yes but you think that Southwest would have a way to handle lost items in place... Like as they are cleaning a plane they find a book they bag it and tag it with the time - date - flight number then hand it to a group at the airport that puts it in a bin or on a shelf and logs it in an app and then a report comes in and the two get matched up.. I know it would not work for all lost items BUT I would think they would be able to have a better return rate than I have seen mentioned here on the message boards. Those 160,000 items a year are not all at the same airport or all at the same time.. and I doubt it is even that high. But would love to see some numbers of how many things they find per flight and how many get returned. @dfwskier wrote: Sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Finding lost stuff is a large complicated process due to the volume of claims. If just 1 in 1000 people loses something this year, that means that Southwest has to try to find 160,000 items. I'm sure there is a process involving a database where lost items are input into the databae and then found items are also added, and then the airline tries to match the two. The airline really does try, but probably does not have the resources to personally search for 160,000 items. That being said, you do seem to have an advantage. You seem to know that your iPad is in Birmingham (you said Alabama so I made a presumption). So if I were you, I'd call the Birmingham airport, and ask for Southwest baggage claim. Explain your story and ask if there is someone who handles lost items that you can talk with. I don't know if it will work or not. It's worth a try. Other than that your only other option is to let the lost item process evolve. The phone number is (205) 595-0533 Good luck. ( I would think it averages less than one thing of value per flight) I work in a public location that has days of 3 to 4 thousand visitors per day during peak season, we average ~ 1 item a day and have a fairly High return to owner rate.
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