PICS: This Illustrator Isn’t Taking His Lost E-Book Lying Down

What would you do if you left an item of property on an Aer Lingus plane? Would you go to the desk? Give them a call? Tweet them? Use their online contact form? 

Well, what if all of the above failed? In the case of Ireland-based illustrator Alé Mercado, he took the obvious next step when his experience with Aer Lingus was less than satisfactory – he turned it into art.

Last week I left behind my ebook on an Aer Lingus plane. Apart from incredibly stupid, I've felt the most ignored and let down when I tried to recover it... I would like to do a small experiment and see if I can get to talk to someone who can help.

Alé experienced frustration, too, when the online contact form wouldn't work on his smartphone – and when he tweeted Aer Lingus about this, they finally responded. About the form (not about the ebook). "Should I charge them a consultancy fee?" he asked.

Day #10: Aer Lingus still doesn't give a damn about my lost ebook... Don't despair! I am coming for you.

Things got worse when Alé began to receive automated responses from Aer Lingus, and took a new tack: "I decided this morning to give them another free piece of consultancy by mapping my experience with them."

Next up, Alé reimagined the airline's website with some, eh, minor modifications... 

And he found himself beginning to wonder... what other items could be lingering in the Aer Lingus lost property department? 

The next question is: 'What do they do with what they find?' From what I could gather they put objects they find in categorized boxes. After that, your guess is as good as mine. 

At the time of hitting "publish", Alé's ebook had not been found... Watch this space!