A flight attendant stole a passenger’s phone. The airline acknowledged it, fired the crewmember, and covered the replacement cost of the device. But the passenger feels they’re being shortchanged. Are they?
According to the customer they were flying Qatar Airways business class from Doha to Singapore on March 28th. During the 8 hour and 15 minute flight they got up to use the lavatory. When they returned to their seat they realized they’d left their phone behind.
Qatar Airways Business Class Lavatory
They returned to the lavatory, but it was in use. A flight attendant exited the lav. The phone was gone. The passenger later tracked their phone to the crew’s hotel, and to the Philippines. They reported the incident to Qatar Airways. Usually an airline, or any company, won’t share this level of detail but the customer says that the theft was acknowledged and they were informed that the flight attendant was fired.
A few days later, their Security Investigations Manager reached out to confirm that the incident had been reviewed, they identified the crew member responsible, and he was dismissed from his position.
Qatar Airways Business Class Lavatory
The airline took “weeks” to contact the customer and they were reimbursed $722 as replacement cost of the phone. The customer has two complaints (besides Qatar taking too long to pay up):
- The airline characterized hte issue as “unattended personal belongings” rather than “theft”
- And wouldn’t reimburse for the time, effort and inconvenience associated with losing a phone
They feel that the airline should be more generous because they’re a business class passenger.
This wasn’t just any flight — this was Business Class with a supposedly world-leading airline. I switched to Qatar Airways after years of loyalty to Singapore Airlines, and this whole experience has been a massive letdown.
The first mistake was probably taking the phone with them to the lavatory. People don’t think about the germs their phones pick up in everyday life! I actually use a UV light box to sanitize my phone. Do you really want to be touching the device coming out of an airplane lavatory? That place is a bigger germ farm than that monkey in Outbreak.
I’m surprised that the flight attendant would pocket the phone. People do dumb things. $700 isn’t worth stealing, except in California before last year’s Proposition 36. And I’m surprised it was so easy to get an admission from the airline.
Still, they were correct to say that the customer left their belongings unattended. They left the phone behind in the bathroom. And it does not matter how it’s characterized – the airline is providing compensation. If you want a customer service gesture on top of the $722, ask for some miles, but Qatar isn’t going to cover the value of lost business meetings dealing with the phone. Those meetings couldn’t have been all that valuable if you blew them off to handle the phone! If these were multimillion dollar meetings, you’d just get a new phone and move on.
Singapore
While this passenger criticizes Qatar Airways here, it seems like they actually did more than I’d have expected and more than most here. And it sounds like the criticism is largely about a lack of obsequiousness by their customer care representatives – failing to acknowledge the customer’s importance as a business class passenger, or lean into just how much suffering the loss of their phone had caused.
Well, I mean, Qatar, the country, which owns the airline, is an authoritarian, semi-constitutional monarchy, so I doubt they have many labor protections, if any. Kind of like an ‘at-will’ state. Fire anyone for cause or on a whim, and there, unlike here, feel free to discriminate, especially on the basis of religion! Let’s not emulate that. The irony is that they’re ‘moderate’ for that part of the world. Hmm.
Well, I take my phone to the can. But I wouldn’t set it down in there!
Still, though, you’d think they’d like round it up to $1000 or something for the inconvenience (especially when it turns out it’s their own employee that lifted it.) And given they realized they’d left it and came back shortly (unattended is unattended, but it’d be a bit different if like they’d landed, they’d deplaned, they wandered around quite a while, THEN realized they’d left the phone on the plane, for instance.)
Personally, I have a Unihertz KeyOne, so people see they keyboard and think it’s an old Blackberry. Nobody would steal it. But even ignoring risk of theft, I tend to get a sub-$250 phone just because they do wear out, and the performance is quite good (Moore’s law… chip performance doubling every 18 monhts, or same speed for half the cost every 18 months.. is honestly long gone. But still, even a $99 phone has the CPU and RAM specs of a midrange from like 2 years ago and a 3-4 year old flagship phone.)
@hwertz — It’s wild to think that those prices would have doubled or even tripled if it weren’t for the manufactured crisis and subsequent exemption of phones, computers, chips from new tariffs.
Well they should’ve ponied up. The extra 1k is a lot cheaper than the negative press they’re getting now!
So if the customer had lost his phone himself. If the replacement of the phone was $722 and this is what Qatar reimbursed the cost for a brand new phone versus a refurbished one then he’s already ahead with brand new phone. Do we know of Qatar provided the customer with additional miles as compensation?? Did they offer a flight credit in addition to the new phone.
The passenger is a business class flyer so that means they have money so they think they are entitled. It was their fault for leaving the phone behind. I agree the flight attendant should be disciplined but not fired. And I’m sure the phone was returned to the passenger
Bad PR
@Sexy_kitten7 @Craig Jones — Yeah, bad PR, but, like, for real, who cares, could happen on any airline; I’m still gonna fly them for Q-Suite and the Al Mourjan Garden Lounge. QR saved me especially during the pandemic when hardly anyone was flying anywhere. These guys were reliable and luxurious from mid-2020 onward. I can’t complain too much about them. Besides, they are the ones enabling me to be OW Emerald for the most part (via crediting their long-haul to AA). What can I say, as much as I’ll complain if I don’t like something, I happen to be a fan, based on my experience. Don’t worry, @Tim Dunn, this is just anecdotal, not scientific or objective financial data.
The passenger aka customer is at fault too, why bring the phone to.the Lavatory…..well, the first place is why used the phone when Qatar Airlines has all the good abundant entertainment on the plane IFE. Second, if need to.go, a magazine could do unless he or she need to regularly checked the phone and watched movie, listeded to music……forgot, free wifi, can’t the pax don’t use the phone when flying……just pathetic. Secondly, the FA should had asked who left the phone in the Lav……the pax cannot even leave the phone in the seat, deserved for.losing the phone. Still, the FA should.nit had stolen it, a phone, definitely the FA has one too…..unless.Iphone 16……..both sides shared the blame but more to.the pax for don’t have the Common Sense and tried to do Due Process.
Sounds to me like a prima donna of a passenger who saw an opportunity to squeeze the airline for some extra compensation over and above punishing the FA and reimbursing the full cost of a new phone (which will be an upgrade for him most likely!). Some people see anything that goes wrong as an opportunity to bill cash and or miles out of an airline. And where the airline is in the wrong, I have no issue with trying to penalize them. But here the problem stemmed from the passenger’s own irresponsible behavior; I have no sympathy for this entitled clown.
It’s called phone insurance, but, apparently, business class passenger is too clueless to purchase phone insurance. I really don’t have time for a bizarre story about a wage slave thief. I still fly QR whenever I feel like it, although my last flight to Maldives was on QR’s competitor EK.
I tend to believe there’s a population segment that figures they should get (or try to get) compensated massively for every corporate “failure.” In this case, I believe the airlene screwed up. Pay for a replacement phone at full retail of the brand’s current top model. Give a choice for a refund of the fare paid or a free future F/J r/t anywhere. That’s enough.
Good for QR not to give in to extortionists and DYKWIA narcissists.
Now ban the passenger. He/she is a business risk to the airline.
This is classic Singaporean behaviour – got a great outcome and still complained.
@Dave W. — Sure, there are scammers, but they are outliers. We deserve robust consumer protection regulations regardless, because when the ‘big’ corporations achieve forms of monopoly and regulatory capture, they can and do often abuse us with limited recourse. For instance, in the USA, we should have Congress legislation something similar to EU261 or Canada’s APPR, which could compensate passengers when there is a severe delay within the airline’s control like staffing or maintenance. It doesn’t bankrupt airlines, or cost us extra. And self-insurance isn’t enough. See the terms. 72 hour delays?! Absurd. We deserve better.
I think QR is probably right – from a definition basis – that is closer to “unattended personal belongings” versus theft, as I would classify theft as the intentional taking of property known to belong to someone else without permission. So, to that end alone, I think the definition is a closer fit. … but to me, that’s just a definition issue and misses the much larger points.
Those, IMHO, would be: 1) the handling and protocols of “unattended property” that employees may come into contact with … and 2) the removal, personal use of ANY property not owned by the employee or non-owned employee property that the employee doesn’t have explicit permission to use or possess.
Sounds like this person is milking it… attention seeking and entitled, they took the complaint seriously , acted promptly, dismissed the employee and the individual was compensated fully for the loss. A company has zero responsibility for an employee that steals unless they have previous evidence, complaints or prior thefts they were negligent and overlooked or failed to investigate. You’re not entitled to be unduly enriched, the company was as much a victim as the customer.
And they’re right in saying unattended property. The legal definition would be ‘theft by finding’
In criminal and property law, theft by finding occurs when someone chances upon an object which seems abandoned and takes possession of the object, but fails to take steps to establish whether the object is genuinely abandoned and not merely lost or unattended before taking it for themselves.
I don’t care what cabin the passenger was flying in, the FA was a thief and the airline should have done more to make the passenger whole. I figure enough miles to fly one way in the cabin flown when this happened for the total one way including any connections sounds about right.
Dude carrying in old iPhone 8 and he expect them to buy him iPhone 16 Pro 512 gb lol.
This person sounds like an absolute KAREN!
You need to treat me better because I’m a business class passenger. What an Fing numpty.
Qatar air did the right thing even though the fault was the passenger’s & he/she still wants to complain? Get a life!
I think QR did more than enough and the passenger is lucky they actually accepted this( not many airlines would have done so).
And yes, it is unattended belonging. It is not like the passenger owns the lavatory from which the steward stole it or that the steward actually went through the passenger’s luggage. This is a list item that someone (presumably a flight attendant) found but decided to keep.
The passenger is also an absolute Karen by trying to milk and airline and because he’s a Business Class passenger.
I know in the US it is about making you whole again. If the depreciated value was $722 then that is what the person would be owed. I know in some states they may be compensated for missed work if they can prove the wages lost.
I agree with others as a good will gesture they should have given him a credit at least $500 for future travel.
I’ve heard several thefts on Qatar airways. I fly Emirates, thanks
I do not believe the story, all from a possible passenger on Qatar airlines.
It’s not the Airlines fault, but the fault of the flight attendant that stole the phone. Qatar is under no obligation to even cover the cost of the replacement. If he feels, he’s entitled to anything, he needs to sue the FA.
I had my headphones and rayban stories stolen from a plane I was on. Virgin upper class to New York, very annoying.
@Ravi — Scammers, thieves, and victims exist, regardless of the airline. Speaking of Emirates, could you remind them to finally upgrade their older 773s with the 2-3-2 Business Class, because that stuff is so… 2005. Thank goodness Qatar has a350s and 777s with Q-Suite. I’d take that any day over Emirates old ‘angle-flat’ business class. Besides DOH is simply newer and better than DXB. Newer, better lounges at DOH; like, Al Mourjan at the Garden. Meanwhile, Emirates is still resting on its laurels from a decade ago; did they forget that they have to innovate? Yikes. Even the Oryx Airport Hotel is better than the ‘Motel 6’ equivalents that they have at DXB. Let’s go.
Qatar has a terrible costumer service. They take so long to come back to a person. We have a few un-resolved cases which we are still waiting to be addressed.
We are not flying Qatar anymore.
I am surprised, that nobody said about the lost content. Who cares about the phone price? I can not imagine the loss of my mobile, because of information in it, its all my life, and if anyone stole mobiles on a flight has to be jailed, not just fired. And yes, airlines are responsible for such incidents. It is inside the airplane, and it can not be left behind phone, for sure it belogs to one of the passengers, should be done an annoncement on board, this is clear stililing. And it’s definitely not about money for the passengers.
@lotte peniel — That’s a real shame. I suppose it can happen with any airline. Even though this is a highly regulated industry, worldwide, us consumers and passengers seemingly have little recourse against these major multi-national corporations, and it can certainly feel daunting at times, especially if you feel you’ve been wronged. Had a mean run-in with a different, foreign-based OW partner at one point. It’s been over a year. Still feel the burn. Could sue ’em, Montreal Convention Article 19, 2-year statute of limitations. Still contemplating it. When an airline’s mistake costs you thousands of dollars, it might be worth it. Sometimes it’s worth it just on principle alone. Anyway, hope your issues get resolved soon. You are not alone!
Lol they should stay in Singapore with that entitlement
Call the wambulance. A pretentious person lost their phone will using it to poop.
Keep your politics out of the story, Gary.
Lucky passenger got money reimbursed by Qatar airways. I am still waiting for my bill to be reimbursed from 2023. I was told to submit all the bills and Qatar airway will reimburse me. Qatar airways kochi staff never bored to call me back. Very bad experience with Qatar Airways . Never fly again with Qatar Airways.
I had a Filson jacket stolen on United & all it got from United was a hard time.
@ 1990. Why haven’t you asked if they cut the thief’s hand off?
Strange, reputed of Qatar Airways is down and reaction of Qatar Airways is very ignorant. Qatar airways should openly apologize and compensate passenger with one year free traveling on the route as compensation.
Very up to mark reaction of Qatar airways.
I will no longer travel with this Airline and stand in support with the passanger.
Qatar Airways negative credibility in reaction should be highlighted world over.
Airlines go by their books… No surprise!!
There are success stories and failures for any airlines … So this is one as well . Seems the passenger is whining for the mistake of leaving the phone behind and asking for much more of a compensation.. QA flies the best crew but in this case the thief got treatment by losing well.paid job… Something about QA everyone rushes to defame it.. beat it guys!
Qatar Airways not been a world class airlines since a while now..just expense ads with celebs doesn’t make one world class.
On a separate matter. Our daughter is so passionate about being a flight attendant / cabin crew. The problem is no airline is willing to grant the opportunity to get exposure thus have experience. Is there a way that your airline can make an exception and offer her a training, internship or volunteering opportunity even if it’s at no payment?
Besides the fact that the FA shouldn’t have taken it, it appears this passenger made no attempts to recover his phone while still on his flight. Why not approach the FA and ask them if they had it or ask them to announce it? Something seems fishy about this story, like did he not notice his phone was missing until after departing, otherwise why not at least make some effort to retrieve it.
I’m with Gary on this one… He got hundreds of dollars back when it’s essentially his word against…I wonder how he proved it was his other than the tracking? I think throwing miles at him for the “inconvenience” and just overall poor experience with the airline employee but no he doesn’t deserve the red carpet just because he flew business class?!
Honestly, I think he should be happy he got ANY response! I have yet to hear back from Turkish Airlines about the multiple redundant WiFi charges from 3 years ago when it didn’t even work, but thankfully Chase has a low threshold for charge back credits as long as it’s not some huge amount.
As long as the flight is in the air, nothing on the plane is unattended unless you consider unattended to be something not physically on your person. Nothing can leave the confines of the plane.
The flight crew is an authority on the plane to assist AND to maintain order and security. Theft from an airline crew member while flight is in the air is an abuse of trust and authority.
He should be compensated for the full replacement value PLUS free ticket and/or mileage for the inconvenience and inappropriate behavior by staff. Business class should only be considered from point of view of ticket issuance or mileage reimbursement.
I do think that it’s appropriate that crew was fired because of that same abuse of trust and authority. But I don’t think that criminal charges would be appropriate because the phone wasn’t stolen.