Reportedly they also never pursue owners

I am sure you will have read in the media about Qantas reportedly selling lost property to its staff and I don't know about you, but I found that all a bit tacky and disquieting.

The bit that got to me I suppose was not really the selling bit, but more that it appears that all those things we all sometimes leave behind, do not have a chance of finding their way back to us, because reportedly, Qantas does not pursue the owners to reunite them with their belongings.

I realise that it would be expensive to have a team doing that but isn't that part of any airline's responsibility to their customers, to reunite them whenever possible with their belongings?

I would have thought so, but it appears that if you leave something on a Qantas aircraft and call to try and find it, with Qantas giving you four weeks to make a claim, after which it would be given to charity, but the Telegraph reported that when passengers phone in to report missing property, they are told to leave a message describing the lost gear, before being told immediately that the item is unlikely to be recovered.

I find that very strange and I am very happy to hear from someone in Qantas or any other airline for an explanation, but surely the airline knows the seat you were in and if you leave something behind on the seat at least, I would have though it would have been a simple process to put it in a bag with the seat number, the day, date and flight on it, send it to lost and found and then it would be easily traceable?

Air New Zealand says they do everything possible to reunite an owner with their belongings, using the seat number and date of flight as part of the process.

Regarding the selling to staff bit, I also don't understand why Qantas doesn't just give the items to charity and let them auction them off rather than selling the items to their staff, then giving the money to charity?

Happy to be corrected, but I just find the staff being involved a tad tacky and strange and I think that every effort should be made to reunite owners with their belongings.

Have you left anything on aircraft had what happened when you tried to get it back?