This showed up on the news in the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-c ... king-at-81

Way to go, if you can do the job, pass the medical, then hell yes, go to work and enjoy life.

Betty Nash, LUS DCA based FA, sharp and world class. A local celebrity at DCA.

Amazing! Beautifully groomed, classy, warm and friendly! I’d hire 20 of her if I could

I wonder what her seniority is? At her age she would be working for lifestyle and a social outting - and look at the wonders it’s done for her? Wish my family was that active at her aging they are slowing down in their late sixties and early seventies.

But I wonder if she picks up the occasional LHR, or CDG with a nice layover? Or is DCA-BOS only?

She has been working that route a very long time. I remember her from 2006-2008 when I was flying frequently between BOS-DCA on US.

With the pompous self-importance of many DCA passengers it's hard to imagine the route being much fun, but everyone has their preferences. I'm sure she gets to go home every night.

smi0006 wrote:

Amazing! Beautifully groomed, classy, warm and friendly! I’d hire 20 of her if I could

I wonder what her seniority is? At her age she would be working for lifestyle and a social outting - and look at the wonders it’s done for her? Wish my family was that active at her aging they are slowing down in their late sixties and early seventies.

But I wonder if she picks up the occasional LHR, or CDG with a nice layover? Or is DCA-BOS only?

She only works Shuttle turns and does not layover, number 1 in the seniority list gives you the pick of the litter.

She looks magnificent for 81.

DL’s number 1 a few years ago was 89! Sort of ridiculous, imagine an 80+ person handling an emergency evacuation.

GF

Didn't NW have a guy in his 90s before they merged with DL?

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

DL’s number 1 a few years ago was 89! Sort of ridiculous, imagine an 80+ person handling an emergency evacuation.

GF

That is half of the US Congress. They don't handle things very well either.

Norma Heape number 1 on the sub CO side is 80 and is still flying.

777PHX wrote:

Didn't NW have a guy in his 90s before they merged with DL?

I believe that was Bob Reardon. Bernie Epple was the previous number 1 at NW.....She had a 757-300 named after her.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

DL’s number 1 a few years ago was 89! Sort of ridiculous, imagine an 80+ person handling an emergency evacuation.

Everyone doesn't age at the same rate -- I'd say we should let people do their job as long as they can meet the requirements for qualification. Heck, after 80+ years, a flight attendant has probably seen so many things that they're better qualified mentally to handle an emergency situation than someone with far less experience.

readytotaxi wrote:

Way to go, if you can do the job, pass the medical, then hell yes, go to work and enjoy life.

Out of curiosity, do other countries require FAs to take ongoing medicals as part of their employment? Here (Australia) it's definitely not the case, regardless of age. To get the job to begin with, yes, but certainly not under normal circumstances to keep the job once you've got it.

At the end of the day, if she passes whatever assessments and line checks she needs, then good on her. Clearly she loves doing her job

All these people that we are mentioning...these are all FA/s correct?

chepos wrote:

Betty Nash, LUS DCA based FA, sharp and world class. A local celebrity at DCA.

What airline did she hire on with?
Allegheny?
Piedmont?
Mohawk?
Empire?
PSA?
Eastern?

727LOVER wrote:

All these people that we are mentioning...these are all FA/s correct?

chepos wrote:

Betty Nash, LUS DCA based FA, sharp and world class. A local celebrity at DCA.

What airline did she hire on with?
Allegheny?
Piedmont?
Mohawk?
Empire?
PSA?
Eastern?

Eastern, working the shuttle. Transitioned to Trump and eventually US.

chepos wrote:

727LOVER wrote:

All these people that we are mentioning...these are all FA/s correct?

chepos wrote:

Betty Nash, LUS DCA based FA, sharp and world class. A local celebrity at DCA.

What airline did she hire on with?
Allegheny?
Piedmont?
Mohawk?
Empire?
PSA?
Eastern?

Eastern, working the shuttle. Transitioned to Trump and eventually US.

Think also about the unbelievable aligning of stars associated with managing to not only survive every one of those bankruptcies and acquisitions, but come through with your original company seniority intact! Great job, Betty!

EA CO AS wrote:

chepos wrote:

727LOVER wrote:

All these people that we are mentioning...these are all FA/s correct?



What airline did she hire on with?
Allegheny?
Piedmont?
Mohawk?
Empire?
PSA?
Eastern?

Eastern, working the shuttle. Transitioned to Trump and eventually US.

Think also about the unbelievable aligning of stars associated with managing to not only survive every one of those bankruptcies and acquisitions, but come through with your original company seniority intact! Great job, Betty!

WOW good point.. Agree

II know a lot of people like to throw mud at AA, and while not one of them, this comment may come off as being a little muddy, but I have noticed that AA's FAs tend to be quite.... senior compared to my experiences with UA and the foreign flags. I do not mean this as any disparagement, but considering AA's history of labor issues, it goes to say a lot about the loyalty many of the cabin crew have of AA.

No need for medical in US.

Good for her!

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

DL’s number 1 a few years ago was 89! Sort of ridiculous, imagine an 80+ person handling an emergency evacuation.

GF

Every year they are tested in all emergency evacuation procedures. This includes opening the doors with resistance that simulates the weight of the slide. If she couldn't show she could evacuate a plane, she would not remain employed. I'll tell you what's ridiculous, people who assume that because they are old, and perhaps, not as "shapely" in a skirt, they can't perform the job as well. I just flew with someone, about 28, who spent the whole boarding process texting instead of assisting in the cabin. Now that's the definition of ridiculous.

Blimpie wrote:

II know a lot of people like to throw mud at AA, and while not one of them, this comment may come off as being a little muddy, but I have noticed that AA's FAs tend to be quite.... senior compared to my experiences with UA and the foreign flags. I do not mean this as any disparagement, but considering AA's history of labor issues, it goes to say a lot about the loyalty many of the cabin crew have of AA.

It really depends where you are flying and which base is staffing the flight. US Airways east was incredibly senior due to the continuous layoffs in the 2000s. The absolute most senior FAs can be anywhere since they usually have a history that involves multiple airlines.

However if you fly out of LGA or MIA you are probably going to get a much more junior crew. That is where new hires go. Pretty much flying out of New York will get you a more junior crew on any airline since people don’t want to live there based on cost of living. It is also worth noting that not all new hires are in their 20s. People in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are also in training classes. There is no age limit when hiring in the United States.

Blimpie wrote:

II know a lot of people like to throw mud at AA, and while not one of them, this comment may come off as being a little muddy, but I have noticed that AA's FAs tend to be quite.... senior compared to my experiences with UA and the foreign flags. I do not mean this as any disparagement, but considering AA's history of labor issues, it goes to say a lot about the loyalty many of the cabin crew have of AA.

People like to assume foreign carriers only have young 20’something crews working the aisles. BA worldwide crews can be on the senior end (also seen them on LH , KLM and the major Euro carriers.)

ozark1 wrote:

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

DL’s number 1 a few years ago was 89! Sort of ridiculous, imagine an 80+ person handling an emergency evacuation.

GF

Every year they are tested in all emergency evacuation procedures. This includes opening the doors with resistance that simulates the weight of the slide. If she couldn't show she could evacuate a plane, she would not remain employed.

Exactly. I have a 90 year old grandmother who still is ripping grass, moving small logs while her 30 year old grandson just sits on his butt watching tv. Was mad at my cousin though, impressed by the strength she still has at her age. So, Betty must be one tough momma.

It is nice to see more positive comments about Betty than the usual "granny tranny" comments for a F/A over age 50.
The F/A who observed me on my new hire training flight in 1969 had 10 years seniority on my date of hire. This woman enjoyed a 56 year career being a F/A, finally retiring in 2015 to devote more time to her life goal.....to complete a marathon in 50 states. She just completed her 47th state this year.
I rest my case

I am just curious...can the 81 year flight old flight attendant work when she feels like it being she is #1 on the seniority list?

Does she only fly ex-DCA? I think I flew with her back in 2015 on the Philly to Boston shuttle.

Newbiepilot wrote:

Blimpie wrote:

II know a lot of people like to throw mud at AA, and while not one of them, this comment may come off as being a little muddy, but I have noticed that AA's FAs tend to be quite.... senior compared to my experiences with UA and the foreign flags. I do not mean this as any disparagement, but considering AA's history of labor issues, it goes to say a lot about the loyalty many of the cabin crew have of AA.

It really depends where you are flying and which base is staffing the flight. US Airways east was incredibly senior due to the continuous layoffs in the 2000s. The absolute most senior FAs can be anywhere since they usually have a history that involves multiple airlines.

However if you fly out of LGA or MIA you are probably going to get a much more junior crew. That is where new hires go. Pretty much flying out of New York will get you a more junior crew on any airline since people don’t want to live there based on cost of living. It is also worth noting that not all new hires are in their 20s. People in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are also in training classes. There is no age limit when hiring in the United States.

Employers usually make redundancy decisions based on cost. Younger, short service staff, are inexpensive to exit. Older, long service staff are very expensive. When making redundancies, the young and old often lobby the decision makers to be included (though the parents of those youngsters often lobby for the reverse for their kids). Least likely to go are the older ones, with extensive service and seniority, who have accrued substantial redundancy and pensions. They are often the most difficult to work with if retained.

Your attitude to age changes with your own age. After my first degree, I thought I would be ready to retire at 50, and put out of my misery at 60. Now as I approach the big 70, I think 90 sounds like a much better number, and I will curl up my toes when good and ready.

Planesmart wrote:

Your attitude to age changes with your own age. After my first degree, I thought I would be ready to retire at 50, and put out of my misery at 60. Now as I approach the big 70, I think 90 sounds like a much better number, and I will curl up my toes when good and ready.

How true. When I was 19 30 year olds were ancient. Now I am 60 70 doesn't seem so bad. If she has the physical ability to do the job why not. Clearly she picks her routes so doesn't stress herself.

And yes she can teach the "texting generation" a thing or two about humanity! I think that looking some one in the eyes and having empathy will soon be a lost art.

That would be cool to fly on her flight to meet her. I admire people like her who loves their job so much, they continue doing what they love to do.

Anet has suprised me again, I saw this news cast and was waiting for it to be posted on Anet. I was expecting the usual AA has old FA jokes. I am pleasantly surprised by the maturity and humanity of this thread.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

DL’s number 1 a few years ago was 89! Sort of ridiculous, imagine an 80+ person handling an emergency evacuation.

GF

Hey if they can do the job and pass their training every year, be my guest. I'm sure they could do the job better than these new hires whom I'm still wondering how they get the job in the first place. lol

As long as they can pass all the recurrent training, which we all know they must do, and they clearly are, I say YOU GO, GIRL! (or GUY!) I would LOVE to have a F/A like Betty on any flight! Years ago I had an "older woman" as the F/A in First on AA PHX-DFW, and she was utterly marvelous. We should all be so lucky to be in such great shape at 81!

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

DL’s number 1 a few years ago was 89! Sort of ridiculous, imagine an 80+ person handling an emergency evacuation.

GF

As Mrs. Quonsett (Helen Hayes) said in the original movie "Airport"..."when you get older, there isn't a lot left to be frightened of".

I'd lay you odds they'd handle an emergency evacuation better than you would. Or myself for that matter. She's in better shape than many of us on this forum I'm sure!

I'd much prefer an octogenarian or beyond to look after my safety. I'd feel more comfortable with a more elderly purser than some of the kids the airlines seem to drag off of the street who will likely be more interesting in FaceTiming/whatsapping/Instagraming a live evacuation than actually get involved and really helping people.

I'm literally stunned at the immaturity of some crew, lack of people skills and obsession with looks, appearance and doing as little work as possible and I used to be crew.

I'm not getting political but in some parts of the UK unemployment is close to zero and the airlines are literally giving ANYONE a job to crew expansion plans. Speak English, have two arms, two legs and you're hired.

Besides, it looks like an Airbus. Airbus doors have power assist and the overwings are not operated by crew. I can't see why you'd need much strength. If she has the strength to work the canisters and the service carts then she has the strength to do anything else.

Good on her.

I salute her, way to go!

sevenair wrote:

I'm literally stunned at the immaturity of some crew, lack of people skills and obsession with looks, appearance and doing as little work as possible and I used to be crew.
.

I had a flight in F not too long ago, ORD-PHX. The twentysomething F/A threw the food at us as fast she could and spent the majority of the flight playing on her phone, behind the curtain, in the galley.

Yesterday I had very senior crew up front on UA IAD-IAH. They were DC based - rude, unattentive, uninterested in passengers.
The same day I had young crew up front on DEN-IAD. Friendly, attentive and always busy with passengers.
Another flight yesterday up front IAH-COS with old crew up front (Republic). Very attentive and friendly.
Today up front on IAD-CVG-IAD I had the same crew (Mesa), the young lady didn't know on what planet she was, but the older lady working up front was very nice and attentive.
So there is no straight answer. It all depends on the people and their desire to provide excellent service.

(If you wonder - this weekend I was doing mileage run)

She came from Eastern through the Trump Shuttle and was a SCAB at Eastern!

777PHX wrote:

sevenair wrote:

I'm literally stunned at the immaturity of some crew, lack of people skills and obsession with looks, appearance and doing as little work as possible and I used to be crew.
.

I had a flight in F not too long ago, ORD-PHX. The twentysomething F/A threw the food at us as fast she could and spent the majority of the flight playing on her phone, behind the curtain, in the galley.

I wonder if that's the same one who I saw on a flight from SKB to JFK, in B class.; I was wondering when a colleague was going to ask her to do so work. It isn't that she was unpleasant. Just loved her phone.

MDSkyguy wrote:

She came from Eastern through the Trump Shuttle and was a SCAB at Eastern!

No this is inaccurate. The Eastern employees who went to Trump had already signed over by the time the strike happened on March 4, 1989. Trump required the shuttle to be operational in order for him to take control. The Shuttle people were not scabs and were even supported by ALPA and the TWU to keep it going.

MDSkyguy wrote:

She came from Eastern through the Trump Shuttle and was a SCAB at Eastern!

Thread was going too well. Always need a silly comment to wrap it up.

EA CO AS wrote:

chepos wrote:

727LOVER wrote:

All these people that we are mentioning...these are all FA/s correct?



What airline did she hire on with?
Allegheny?
Piedmont?
Mohawk?
Empire?
PSA?
Eastern?

Eastern, working the shuttle. Transitioned to Trump and eventually US.

Think also about the unbelievable aligning of stars associated with managing to not only survive every one of those bankruptcies and acquisitions, but come through with your original company seniority intact! Great job, Betty!

Totally agree!

What exactly does her usual pairing look like? Just one dca/bos turn a day or multiple?

From the outside looking in, it's easy to say "they passed their yearly training so they must be ok." The reality is there is no way a FA with 40 years of seniority is going to get flunked out of training, it just doesn't happen for a variety of reasons. If you think an 80 year old can rapidly open a 777 door or pull people into a life raft, let alone remember all the exit configurations of the entire fleet, you're crazy.

Sean-SAN- wrote:

From the outside looking in, it's easy to say "they passed their yearly training so they must be ok." The reality is there is no way a FA with 40 years of seniority is going to get flunked out of training, it just doesn't happen for a variety of reasons. If you think an 80 year old can rapidly open a 777 door or pull people into a life raft, let alone remember all the exit configurations of the entire fleet, you're crazy.

I think it depends on the airline, I know Aussie Airlines flunk seniors all the time. But I do agree around the life raft, how many times does and FA have to do their wet drills? I only believe in induction? I don’t agree with that.

I do also think US carrier should limit the types an FA can be trained on, no way they can memorise all the equipment locations for every type, for every config! But this is a seperate story.

If Betty can pass well played to her! Personally short haul flying isn’t my thing, if I was her I’d do one long haul a month lol just for shopping.

I love the way some 'older people' age... happy, carefree, positive, outgoing, and never afraid of judgmental [email protected]@holes!
Personally I am more comfortable with the sweet, caring, empathic eyes of an older person than with the fidgety fingers of a 20something yo clutching a mobile phone who has no knowledge of the world pre-Internet days. It's the same when I'm in hospital: I'd take an older nurse over a young one any day...more care, more maturity, more experience and generally speaking a lot more empathy.

Newbiepilot wrote:

Blimpie wrote:

II know a lot of people like to throw mud at AA, and while not one of them, this comment may come off as being a little muddy, but I have noticed that AA's FAs tend to be quite.... senior compared to my experiences with UA and the foreign flags. I do not mean this as any disparagement, but considering AA's history of labor issues, it goes to say a lot about the loyalty many of the cabin crew have of AA.

It really depends where you are flying and which base is staffing the flight. US Airways east was incredibly senior due to the continuous layoffs in the 2000s. The absolute most senior FAs can be anywhere since they usually have a history that involves multiple airlines.

However if you fly out of LGA or MIA you are probably going to get a much more junior crew. That is where new hires go. Pretty much flying out of New York will get you a more junior crew on any airline since people don’t want to live there based on cost of living. It is also worth noting that not all new hires are in their 20s. People in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are also in training classes. There is no age limit when hiring in the United States.

NYC is a junior base at DL as well. Also agreed there are people of all ages starting off as flight attendants.

CONTACREW wrote:

Norma Heape number 1 on the sub CO side is 80 and is still flying.

And she's a bitter angry old bat.

Sean-SAN- wrote:

From the outside looking in, it's easy to say "they passed their yearly training so they must be ok." The reality is there is no way a FA with 40 years of seniority is going to get flunked out of training, it just doesn't happen for a variety of reasons. If you think an 80 year old can rapidly open a 777 door or pull people into a life raft, let alone remember all the exit configurations of the entire fleet, you're crazy.

Yup. I'm right with you on that.

I guarantee she gets pencil-whipped through recurrent training when they have to do evac drills. It's a dirty little secret no one wants to talk about.