[HoustonFlyer]

I can't help remembering the song by Murray Head "One night in Bangkok" and the words

"One night in Bangkok and the tough guy stumbles
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me"

As travelers we need to know what cities we are passing through. Greater precautions are needed in some cities and Bangkok is one of them. It is a fair chance that someone working in Bangkok airport, not necessarily an employee of the airline, gained access to the aircraft while it was on the tarmac.

What this OP did amounts to the same as leaving a bag unattended on an airport chair then returning to find an item missing and complaining to the airport authority. Yes he can complain, but don't expect the airport to compensate you. If the police find your cell phone on the culprit that's the best you can hope for. But in this case he discovered it in London then reported it in Sydney. What was to happen here - Interpol should have been called to locate the missing cell phone.

Judge I can't imagine if you are an ex airline employee you want to blame the airline in any way for this or blame their lack of customer skills. I am not even an employee or ex employee of any anrline but I say the blams falls squarely on the shoulder of the passenger who can't bother to put his cell phone in his pocket before leaving the aircraft, and wants to lay the blame at the door of the airline whose employees said it was fine to leave the bag on the aircraft. Telling you it is fine to leave a bag on the aircraft is not telling you to leave valuables that someone can easily slip out of the bag and into their own pocket in the bag.

If the OP was too sleepy and befuddled to think, then that is where the blame lies!

But even if a passenger were minded to make a complaint, it is noteworthy that the complaint was not made in London where it was allegedly discovered but after returning to Australia. Is the OP saying there were no Qantas employees anywhere at all in the airport. How about a letter of complaint to Qantas offices in London dispatched the same day?