KLM - Sherlock

KLM - Sherlock

One of the most asked questions that KLM receives via social media is about getting lost items back. This inspired KLM to set up a dedicated ‘Lost & Found’ team at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport which aims to reunite lost items - from a teddy bear found by the cabin crew to a laptop left in the lounge – as soon as possible with their legitimate owner.

The team uses all available information like seat number, phone numbers and public social media details to reunite passengers with their belongings and often is able to surprise passengers by returning their personal belongings before they have even missed them. First results show that over 80 percent of the found items can now be reunited with their owners.

To promote the new lost & found service and to show how far the team goes, KLM has created a ‘tongue in cheek’ video that features a beagle dog – appropriately named Sherlock – which runs through Schiphol Airport in order to return lost items to passengers right away.

The video was shot in such a realistic way that several media – including CNN – initially thought Sherlock was an actual member of the Lost & Found Team.

The video generated more than 10 million views in its first 10 days online and as it became clear that the ‘beagle service’ featured video was a spoof, KLM had to release a statement saying that “The dog is purely used to symbolize the active way in which the team will search for owners and unite them with their lost possessions.”