Under the Cushions

There's never a dull moment at our Info Desk.

All sorts of interesting things occur while working as a Volunteer Ambassador at the #RDUAirport. If you've been following this blog you've gotten some idea of the questions we face and the situations we encounter. During one of my recent shifts at the Information Desk, I received a frantic call from a young newlywed who had just arrived in Charlotte from Raleigh. She and her groom were en route to San Diego on #AmericanAir. She said her husband had lost his wedding ring somewhere in our airport and inquired if anyone had turned in a gentleman’s silver wedding band.

A lost wedding band would send anyone into a panic.

If items of value like that are turned in at our Desk, we will first make an announcement over the public address system to locate the owner. Then we’ll log the item in on a special form, giving it a description as detailed as possible, along with the date, time, and place the item was found. If no one claims these by day’s end, our Airport Police Department collects the unaccounted for items and transports everything to the Lost and Found Department in the Airport Operations Center.

I checked the area and the log. Seeing and finding nothing remotely resembling a man’s wedding ring, I told her no one had turned his ring over to the airport. I then explained our process and gave her the phone number for our Lost and Found in case it showed up sometime later. Since it was the start of my shift, I also got her name and number so I could call her back if it was found while I was still at the airport. She informed me they had a 2 hour layover in Charlotte.

There was no wedding band to be found in the gate area.

She was so upset and disappointed, I decided to see if I could personally help out. I learned she and her husband had left on the #AmericanAir flight to Charlotte about 2 hours earlier from Gate C15. I went down to the gate and asked the agent if anyone had found a wedding band. (Sometimes there’s a lag between the time an item is discovered and the time it is turned in to the Desk.) Unfortunately the answer was “no” but I spent the next 20 minutes anyway combing the floor in the departure area. Still no luck.

Next I called our Maintenance Department to inquire if perhaps one of their staffers had found it in any of the nearby restrooms. Again no luck. I even went on a search of several myself since I was so close to their departure gate. l still turned up empty handed!

I called her back to explain I’d done pretty much all that could be done and told her I hoped her luck would change. She thanked me but I could tell she was near tears. Several minutes later as I was heading back to the Information Desk, she called me and said, “Oh, I guess I should have mentioned we also visited the #AdmiralsClub before our flight.”

As usual, our Admirals Club agents in Raleigh can be counted upon to go the extra mile.

“Well, I sure wish you had told me that earlier,” I thought to myself. But, saying nothing, I went up to the Club to see if anyone had found that ring. Allyson was on duty that evening but couldn’t help me initially. I gave her the couple’s name, she checked her log and went over to where she had seen them sitting during their visit. You guessed it, no ring! For some reason, though Allyson then decided to look under the seat cushions, A few moments and several upturned cushions later…Voila! Wearing a big smile on her face she held up a gentleman’s silver wedding band. Going the extra mile as is so typical of the Admirals Club agents, she even agreed to mail the ring directly back to the member’s home address!

When I called the passenger to give her the good news, she was so happy and so thankful but did ask, “How do you suppose his ring ended up under that seat cushion?” You’d have to ask your husband, ma’am, I’m just happy we were able to help.”

While a wedding band understandably holds a strong emotional attachment, travel documents are also vitally important. This was brought home to me during one of my late afternoon shifts when I was roaming the concourse providing travel assistance to our passengers as necessary.

Important travel documents should be on your person or safely secured in your carry on baggage.

We answer all sorts of questions from travelers heading to or from their gates. Either they wish to learn from which gate they will be departing or, if arriving, how to find their way to baggage claim or ground transportation. Passengers are also interested in learning about our airport restaurants and shops, Midway through my shift, I stopped in the lavatory closest to Gate C16. As I was washing my hands, I noticed a US Passport left close to the sink. And I was all alone so I knew it belonged to someone who had already left. Rather than simply returning it to the Information Desk, I ventured to see if I could find its owner,

The passport's owner was not scheduled aboard that evening's American Airlines flight # 730 to London.

This particular restroom is located at the north eastern end of our concourse close to our international gates. I first ventured to Gate C23 where #AmericanAir departs for London. I asked the gate agent if the person named in the passport was traveling on that evening’s flight. He was not. I then asked her to check if there were any domestic reservations in his name from Raleigh. There were none. Perhaps he had an international reservation from a connecting American city such as Chicago, Dallas, New York or Philadelphia? Again, he was not in their system for any flight on that date.

Our traveler wasn't headed for the City of Lights either.

#Delta operates B767 service to Paris from nearby Gate C24 so I approached that gate agent with similar questions. He kindly checked his system but then told me the individual was not traveling on that evening’s flight. Again, I asked him to check if he was scheduled on any domestic flight. He wasn't listed as a passenger on any US bound flight. Finally, I inquired if he was to fly on another Delta international flight from one of their hub cities such as Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis or New York. All questions were met by the same answer, "no."

I was almost ready to give up when I checked the FIDS (Flight Information Display System) to see when the next #United flights were leaving for Chicago, Houston, Newark or Washington Dulles, all big international hubs for that airline. The next United flight was on time and leaving for Dulles in 30 minutes, departing from Gate D14 at the south western end of the concourse. I hurried to the gate as I knew they would begin boarding one half hour before scheduled flight departure.

His passport was his entre to the City of Frankfurt.

When I met up with the gate agent and showed her the passport I had found, she confirmed the gentleman was on that flight with a connection to Frankfurt. He had already boarded but responded to their announcement with a quizzical look on his face when he exited the jetway. As I gave him the passport he said, “Oh my gosh. Thank you so much! I didn’t even know I’d lost it.”

“Happy to help” I assured him with a smile, knowing full well that without it he would not have been permitted to board his next flight to Germany.

Reuniting travelers with what’s important to them is significant. It also gives us great satisfaction and makes volunteering at the airport so worthwhile.

Until next time…safe travels.