Where’s Mrs Rugby’s iPhone (VH-QPA) now?

[ausfox]

I think that this is a safety issue and as the response from QF is inadequate a report to the ATSB is required. I f it is a safety issue when you are in the aircraft cabin, then the location of the telephone is a safety hazard When you have misplaced it.

 

[RooFlyer]

If you think cleaners take apart a seat to clean, then you're wrong. Nothing to do with cleaning.
If the item is stuck under the seat, then this is an engineering job on the ground.

They don't need to 'take the seat apart' to clean. Just look in the pockets and around the seat to see if there is any rubbish, or spilled food etc lying around, and remove same. Basic hygiene. I'd hate to smell a bit of someone's lunch from last week under my seat when some kid has thought that was a clever thing to do.

Good luck to the OP to have Baggage Services to answer the phone.

All the above is airline agnostic.

 

[VPS]

All you need know is to find a heap of random photos taken on the phone and share them

 

[Franky]

So you called an airside lounge, told them the plane and seat number, would have been a 10 minute walk for someone who was there, and they wouldn’t help. Disappointing.

More like par for the course lately….

 

[RichardMEL]

Great outcome - also that it has not been apparently damaged (badly since it's still working!) and had quite some adventures in that seat (the things it has probably seen/heard from the pax in that seat!! ).

It's been fun to follow along, but very glad you have been looked after in the end.

(I was trying to think of some kind of smart cough comment tying into the call centre long wait times but I'm struggling a bit... perhaps "QF made sure you had to wait a long time to be connected to an agent" but that's a bit lame).

good service even if it took some time to get onto the right people! (and I'm glad it did not end up a safety issue also which is very lucky for everyone involved!)

 

[kangarooflyer88]

iPhone still calls Australia home

Not if it's in flight mode!

So you called an airside lounge, told them the plane and seat number, would have been a 10 minute walk for someone who was there, and they wouldn’t help. Disappointing.

This doesn't surprise me coming from QF lounge agents. What might help is to try every couple of hours when they have a new person manning the desk. Another option would of course would be to buy fully flexible business class tickets for a flight operating on that bird, boarding the flight, retrieving the phone then cancelling said flight. Make sure you visit the Qantas lounge for good measure too, just to make it up for the hassle you've been through!

They don't need to 'take the seat apart' to clean. Just look in the pockets and around the seat to see if there is any rubbish, or spilled food etc lying around, and remove same. Basic hygiene. I'd hate to smell a bit of someone's lunch from last week under my seat when some kid has thought that was a clever thing to do.

Good luck to the OP to have Baggage Services to answer the phone.

All the above is airline agnostic.

A lot of it really depends on where the phone has landed. A few months ago I flew the A330 from MEL to SYD in J and as you are probably aware you need to religiously follow the clock if you want any hope of getting an express nap after the in-flight meal service. Once that meal tray was gone, I pressed and held the lie flat button. Fast forward 10 minutes into the nap and I could hear my metallic wallet hit the floor. I start looking around the floor and couldn't see it. Sure enough the damn thing was lodged directly under the seat which can be a pain to get to. In the end while I didn't need engineering to get at the seat it definitely took a good 10 minutes of negotiating with the lie flat seat and judicious use of the flashlight on my phone to locate and ultimately succeed in the wallet recovery mission.

Great outcome - also that it has not been apparently damaged (badly since it's still working!) and had quite some adventures in that seat (the things it has probably seen/heard from the pax in that seat!! ).

It's been fun to follow along, but very glad you have been looked after in the end.

(I was trying to think of some kind of smart cough comment tying into the call centre long wait times but I'm struggling a bit... perhaps "QF made sure you had to wait a long time to be connected to an agent" but that's a bit lame).

good service even if it took some time to get onto the right people! (and I'm glad it did not end up a safety issue also which is very lucky for everyone involved!)

I reckon the phone will need some counselling after all of this... either that or an extended stay at the International First Lounge now that it's made WP. Perhaps can guest you in too!

-RooFlyer88

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Heh if only QF and QFF were like this all of the time.

 

[AIRwin]

Looks like my friend's flight to SIN today will be operated by VH-QPA so I could have asked her to retrieve the phone from seat 3A and hand it in if it were still stuck there...

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Looks like my friend's flight to SIN today will be operated by VH-QPA so I could have asked her to retrieve the phone from seat 3A and hand it in if it were still stuck there...

Who in their right mind would interrupt a fellow traveller phone's milage run in J, especially when it's on the airlines dime?

 

[AIRwin]

Who in their right mind would interrupt a fellow traveller phone's milage run in J, especially when it's on the airlines dime?

I'm a bad Apple...

 

[Rugby]

Looks like my friend's flight to SIN today will be operated by VH-QPA so I could have asked her to retrieve the phone from seat 3A and hand it in if it were still stuck there...

So close…

 

[jpp42]

Any techies here who can explain how does the "Find my iPhone" feature still work if it's in airplane mode? Is it somehow connecting to the airport wifi? That seems odd given the wifi usually requires some kind of authentication/splash screen before it will connect to the Internet.

 

[sudoer]

Any techies here who can explain how does the "Find my iPhone" feature still work if it's in airplane mode? Is it somehow connecting to the airport wifi? That seems odd given the wifi usually requires some kind of authentication/splash screen before it will connect to the Internet.

The same way AirTags work I believe - they broadcast via BLE, if other iOS devices can receive the message they report that location back to Apple servers

How do Apple AirTags Work? - MSCTEK

Apple AirTags can help you find your keys or backpack, but how do Apple AirTags work? What are the safety concerns for Android users?

www.msctek.com

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Any techies here who can explain how does the "Find my iPhone" feature still work if it's in airplane mode? Is it somehow connecting to the airport wifi? That seems odd given the wifi usually requires some kind of authentication/splash screen before it will connect to the Internet.

It uses the bluetooth on the iPhone to connect with nearby iOS devices and when those devices then connect to the web they publish the devices and location they were spotted in.

-RooFlyer88

 

[Vic]

Not sure if it uses bluetooth or wifi or both. But there is a "Find my Network" option for Find my Phone where that finds the location when the phone is offline, turned off apparently, and in low power mode.
Turn that on and the location is shared even when in airplane mode.

 

[Rugby]

The wandering iPhone is now safely back in the hands of Mrs Rugby after being collected from baggage services at SYD yesterday after we arrived back from AKL. Silver status has been conferred.

Thanks again to all those who assisted in its return.

 

[jb747]

I didn't see this until well after the phone was found. If I had seen it earlier, I'd have gotten hold of the 'duty Captain', but that's not a number ever available to the public.

It's a sad "feature" of the way that companies isolate themselves from the public that makes it impossible to get hold of someone who actually has some responsibility towards any of these issues.

At this point, I'd have a look at the CASA site. I'm pretty sure you can fill in an online flight safety report.

 

[AIRwin]

The wandering iPhone is now safely back in the hands of Mrs Rugby after being collected from baggage services at SYD yesterday after we arrived back from AKL.

Did battery last all the way?

 

[Rugby]

Did battery last all the way?

The little guy held out until Monday morning, by which time it was in SYD baggage services - I like to think it held on until it knew that we knew that it was okay…

 

[kangarooflyer88]

The wandering iPhone is now safely back in the hands of Mrs Rugby after being collected from baggage services at SYD yesterday after we arrived back from AKL. Silver status has been conferred.

Only silver status? I thought all that J flying by now would've conferred it Platinum One or at least Gold with the distances travelled. Must've been travelling on some classic flight awards!

-RooFlyer88