U.S. expatriate victim of theft on LAN flight to Quito Ecuador

An American expatriate was ripped off of valuables on a flight to Quito Ecuador on October 10, 2013

SUBMITTED BY U.S. EXPAT RESIDING IN QUITO ECUADOR

1.The passenger changed planes in Lima Peru and boarded flight 2588 after flying overnight from Los Angeles in route to Quito, Ecuador.
2. Flight was delayed and idled on the tarmac for a period of time due to fog.
3 Passenger placed leather jacket with cellphone and small camera in the jacket underneath the seat in front of the passenger. The passenger was seated on the aisle.
4. Falling asleep and upon awakening, passenger discovered that the jacket was missing with its contents. A couple from the U.S. sat next to the victim and also were asleep and did not see anything.
5. Flight crew were summoned and stated that a passenger turned it in to them and thought it had been left by someone on an earlier flight and that it was turned into Lima staff. The crew indicated the passenger could pick it up when she returned to Lima. The problem – the expat was not returning to Lima.
6.Pilot and supervisor of flight crew had discussion and basically the result being to check with baggage and security in Quito.
7. Passenger had to work through several personnel on the ground who kept passing the “buck” so to speak. Final decision was giving the passenger a phone number to call. No report was made or report number provided to the victim.
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Observations: It appears that the passengers belongings were stolen possibly by a passenger or could it have been staff of LAN?. If what the crew stated was true about a passenger turning in the jacket thinking it had been left by someone on a previous flight — why didn’t the crew tell the passenger who the staff member was? Why would a passenger assume a jacket underneath a seat that was occupied had been left by someone else. No one seemed to have the information. Another troubling element of the story is what are the odds that staff would have taken the jacket off the plane in Lima to turn over to staff? The flight was already on the tarmac and was awaiting clearance. Something does not add up.

LAN overall seems to have a good reputation. However, it has been this author’s experience with LAN that as long as everything is going smoothly and there are no problems they are fine. However, when there are issues or a problem they seem not to be at all skilled at resolving a problem. It is also the opinion of the passenger who stated she was pretty impressed until “this problem came up”. There is an old axiom in business that states “the way to judge the value of a company, is in how they deal with problems impacting the customer”. Clearly LAN appears not to have learned this lesson. Evidently, they don’t realize who this passenger is – the passenger/victim is a customer paying their salary. LAN most likely has lost a returning customer.