I did a search on this and couldn't find anything.

Bob Reardon the worlds oldest flight attendant passed away 27 days after his 92nd birthday. Until retiring at the age of 90 two years ago he was the worlds oldest flight attendant. He flew for Northwest and Delta for impressive 62 years and 8 months starting in 1951.

He was the oldest FA in the skies however he wasn't the longest serving. Ron Akana who retired in August of 2012 had started with United aged 21 in 1949 and flew for 63 years. He outranked Bob as the longest serving FA by a few months.

Now Bob Reardon has ascended to the next flight level as we all no "Flight Attendants don't die, they just fly higher!"

RIP Bob

http://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/201...ions-oldest-flight-attendant-dies/

http://www.startribune.com/obituary-...he-golden-age-of-flying/382171501/

Best regards
L1011Lover

[Edited 2016-06-10 03:02:15]

R.I.P. I wonder what his duties were in his last years on the job, working as a F/A is too demanding for anyone near the age of 90.

Wow. Rest in peace.

By the way, for anyone at UA/CO, is Norma Heape still flying. Google her name. She is also a famous oldie but goodie.

Quoting L0VE2FLY (Reply 1): working as a F/A is too demanding for anyone near the age of 90.

I was wondering that as well, surely he couldn't have been on regular assignment.

Are there no retirement rules for flight attendants?

At Delta the most senior FA is 81, 1959 NW hire. There's also an 82yo 1959 Pan Am hire, however her DL seniority is adjusted to 1973.

Quoting thegoldenargosy (Reply 5): There's also an 82yo 1959 Pan Am hire, however her DL seniority is adjusted to 1973.

I know her and have flown with her many times. She's still incredibly alert and agile, pushing that meal cart up and down with ease and still wearing her concourse heels, simply amazing.

Quoting panamair (Reply 6):

As long as she doesn't push the bull crap line about being primarily there for our safety I'm fine with it.

In Germany our labour contracts usually state that the contract Ends when reaching retirement Age.

Usually, this is also demanded by unions, since they want to give youger work force an opportunity to work without having the elderly blocking Jobs. This is also because our labour law makes layoffs not easy compared to the US.
So I doubt this would be possible for Lufthansa. So there were cases where People wanted to work longer, but were not allowed.

How is that in the US.

Quoting ikramerica (Reply 7): As long as she doesn't push the bull crap line about being primarily there for our safety I'm fine with it.

I thought this thread was to honor the long service and life of Bob Reardon, but it seems we've crossed that line. It would have been an honor to fly with somebody that dedicated so much of his life to one company, if, even perhaps the reverse isn't always true these days.

Ikramerica, I disagree with you. If FAs were not here for our safety, as dictated by the FAA, the airlines would have NO FAs today. You would be hearded on to the plane by minimum wage contractors and left on your own to watch a safety video. Allegiant, Spirit, and Frontier would do that in a second. Given the requirement for FAs to be there, the airlines have saddled them with an incredible number of other tasks, often including sales, service, and cabin cleaning. They have a very difficult and tedious task, all the while be a front line employee in the face of the customer where they are expected to have a smile all the time. This smile is also expected while dealing with an occasional belligerent member of the flying public.

I have no problem if they are told to say they are there "primarily for your safety".

Cheers, and thank you for your service, Bob Reardon,

SLCPilot

Quoting ikramerica (Reply 7): As long as she doesn't push the bull crap line about being primarily there for our safety I'm fine with it.

I recently had a flight with a murder of (ahem) older flight attendants from Europe to YYZ. We suffered a long ATC delay and it looked like they would be over their maximum contractual duty day. They decided they would accept a draft premium for the flight to do it ... then stated they would only do "safety duties" but no service! (It was a 9 1/2 hour flight).

So I asked, "So you guys are doing 10% of your work, for 200% pay?". They looked smugly at each other as they nodded.

So I said, "Fine, I am cancelling the flight. Those people deserve full service. If you can't provide it, we'll delay the flight 14 hours, so you can get proper crew rest".

Then all the complaints started. "but I have to get home tonight", "my son's soccer game is tomorrow", "I have a party to host this evening", etc etc etc.

In the end, we left as planned, with full service. For the record, I likely would not have been allowed to cancel the flight. As we walked down the bridge out of ear-shot, the F/O asked me "Remember the old days, when all you had to do was fly the plane?". I just laughed!

Quoting TheSonntag (Reply 8): So I doubt this would be possible for Lufthansa

It is possible at LH!

LH's oldest flight attendant turned 70 last september and is still actively flying. She's American, former Pan Am originally hired in 1967 or 1968 and came to LH with the aquisition of the PA IGS routes and Berlin base.

She's not the most senior though as PA FA's had their seniority adjusted when they joined LH in 1990. They were given some but not all of their PA seniority. I think it worked pretty much the same as it worked at DL.

The current most senior original LH FA was hired in 1971 and is also in her late 60s now.

On western carriers nobody can be forced into retirement any longer - as long as they pass their annual recurrent safety training and medical examination (every 2 years) and yes that recurrent training is the same no matter if you're 20, 50 or 70 years old... including lifting the overwing window exits. If you fail you can't fly, if you pass you're good to go.

LH FA's still have contracts in place which allows them to retire from active flying at the age of 57 and go into a transitional pension payment "Übergangsversorgung" until they reach their mandatory retirement age... but it's one of the highly discussed issues between management and union and one of the reasons LH FA's went on strike... still not settled. However nobody can be forced out even after reaching the mandatory retirement age.

Best regards
L1011Lover

Quoting Slcpilot (Reply 9): I thought this thread was to honor the long service and life of Bob Reardon

THANK YOU! That was my intention YES!

Particularly disappointed by certain comments about disgruntled FA's (especially by a pilot) in a thread which has the intention to commemorate and honor a long serving flight attendant with exemplary dedication to the job who just recently passed away.

If you have no decency go on like that and hijack the thread in a very disrespectful manner!

Best regards
L1011Lover

[Edited 2016-06-10 06:54:29]

I remember reading an article about him some years ago. He was in his late 70's or early 80's then. As I recall, he worked as a purser based at MSP and only worked the MSP-NRT twice a month.

Quoting eaa3 (Reply 4): Are there no retirement rules for flight attendants?

Not in the US at least. As long as they can pass the re certification testing, they can continue working.

Quoting ikramerica (Reply 7): As long as she doesn't push the bull crap line about being primarily there for our safety I'm fine with it.

Just two days ago, I had a chat with a new-hire pilot at my former carrier and we talked about the roles flight attendants serve. Part of that conversation was the great job the AF f.a.s did in the YYZ A340 accident and the CO 735 take off accident at DEN. Safety IS their job one, even if passengers don't think so or want to admit it.

How many Americans stayed with LH when they took over IGS

My take on the safety aspect is that the age and capability in a real emergency was in question. How helpful would a 90 YO be in helping with an evac during a fire?
Then again, I figure they have a recurrent test they would have to pass to show all abilities and such. But I have same issues with FAs with child as well, so not all age related lol.

Quoting mtnwest1979 (Reply 16): But I have same issues with FAs with child as well, so not all age related lol.

This is ignorant. When my wife was pregnant with our first, she was climbing up 250' of stairs almost daily right up until the one-week-late delivery. If she had been a FA, she would have had no issue performing safety duties right up to the point where delivery was too close to fly away from home.

Now she's pregnant again, and still climbing our local enormous public staircases.

Quoting COSPN (Reply 15): How many Americans stayed with LH when they took over IGS

The Berlin base had roughly 300 FA's most of which were German nationals, a few Americans and other nationalities. Most of the Berlin based FA's had applied directly to serve the IGS routes, only a few had come from other bases (such as the senior FA I was talking about earlier who had come to the IGS for personal reasons after being based in JFK and IAD). LH took over all of the 300, many are retired by now, some retired early after the aquisition, some left because they didn't like the LH corporate culture, but quite a few are still around. Some had already transferred to the FRA and MUC bases while others stayed at TXL and only recently made the transfer due to the closure of the TXL base.

Best regards
L1011Lover

Quoting ikramerica (Reply 7): As long as she doesn't push the bull crap line about being primarily there for our safety I'm fine with it.

It only took to the 7th reply. You're getting slow.

Quoting FlyHossD (Reply 14):

You missed the point. All of you. If safety was the primary role there would be forced retirement and there would be no 82 year old fas.

I'm fine with excellent service from elderly dedicated employees. But don't make s point of telling me that you are there for my safety when you can't lift a bag over your head.

It's the fas that choose to doubt that line over the intercom, as a kind of passive aggressive threat not to bother them. But if you talk the talk you better walk the walk.

I have known Bob Reardon for well over 30 years. He was the consummate professional, a World War 2 veteran, a funny guy with a sense of the absurd. He continued to actively fly up until about a year and a half ago. He passed every recurrent every year, opened and shut every door and performed every required duty.

Perhaps the most memorable thing about Bob was that he was a walking airline historian. He started flying in 1951 and worked on everything from the DC-4 to the Boeing Stratocruiser, Constellations and every jet from the DC-8 to the 747-400. Back in those days men were hired as pursers--you had to be a maximum height of about 5'7" or 5'8" so you could stand in the Stratocruiser's lower lobe cocktail lounge. He would fascinate us with stories about those days.

He loved flying, our company and all of us. Bob never learned to drive, took care of his mom until she died at about 100 and he lived in the same little apartment (so I have heard) since the '50's. He could be a crusty curmudgeon but when a flight attendant had a sick child, parent or her house burned, he would quietly slip them a check for a substantial sum. He did not tolerate fools, lazy crew members or people out of uniform and could rip you a new one if he was displeased. One quickly learned to just do it Bob's way and we always got along great.

One quick story about Mr. Reardon. When I first started flying, I was the most junior f/a on a 747 to Japan. When the crew bid sheet came around to me the only position left was the first class galley. I thought "Wow, everyone else missed it." Little did I know how afraid they were of incurring his wrath. We performed the 6 cart FC service EXACTLY by the book and at the end of the first service Bob said to me "Now we will change our shirts." I said "Change shirts? In the middle of the flight?" I got a withering look and he said "You DO have a clean shirt with you, don't you?" Well, of course I did but it had been stuffed in my garment bag so he told me to get it and out came his little travel iron and he pressed out the wrinkles in my heavy starch.

He will be missed by so many of his colleagues and passengers. Fly safe, my friend, fly safe.

Regarding our 81 year old # 1 FA. She takes the customer manifest, memories your name, makes certain your glass is never empty, suggest something else you may enjoy that'll accompany your meal, if you look bored, she'll ask you about you book, etc. she is a class act who knows a lot about the arts, politics, you name it. You guys would be honored to be served by her, as I am to work with her.

Quoting ikramerica (Reply 7): As long as she doesn't push the bull crap line about being primarily there for our safety I'm fine with it.

Quoting ikramerica (Reply 20): I'm fine with excellent service from elderly dedicated employees. But don't make s point of telling me that you are there for my safety when you can't lift a bag over your head.

I didn't realize you had privileged access into Mr. Reardon's recurrent training records. Save the sweeping generalizations for a crowd of people as equally ignorant as you are.

My cousins flew with Bob a few times and loved the stories he would tell. I'm sure he'll be deeply missed!

Quoting L0VE2FLY (Reply 1): R.I.P. I wonder what his duties were in his last years on the job, working as a F/A is too demanding for anyone near the age of 90.

My business partner is 87 and I know lots of people in their 20's-30's that cannot keep up with him. Age has nothing to do with it. Some people just hold up better, exercise every day and don't sit around static. Thats the big difference. Can you work all week going to bed after midnight & getting up at 5am and out the door 5 days a week

Quoting ikramerica (Reply 20): I'm fine with excellent service from elderly dedicated employees. But don't make s point of telling me that you are there for my safety when you can't lift a bag over your head.

Obviously you have some really serious issues that you should deal with. Any flight attendant will help YOU lift YOUR bag into the bin but if it is so heavy that, according to your profile, a 36-45 year old man cannot lift it by himself why would you expect a woman of 60 or more to do so?

My mother always said that her single greatest accomplishment was that she raised her three sons to be gentlemen. Your comments are offensive to the memory of my friend and colleague and to all flight attendants. Why don't you take a break from the poor comments?

I think it's great that active and capable "seniors" want and can continue to work a job of their choosing.

As far as being able to help is an emergency, I'd put my trust in these Grandparents of Aviation over the idiots who want to take their carryons with them from a burning plane or the masses of obese passengers whose fat [email protected]@es wouldn't make it through the window exit of a B737 or A320.

Quoting rbavfan (Reply 24): My business partner is 87 and I know lots of people in their 20's-30's that cannot keep up with him. Age has nothing to do with it. Some people just hold up better, exercise every day and don't sit around static. Thats the big difference. Can you work all week going to bed after midnight & getting up at 5am and out the door 5 days a week

Of course a Jack LaLanne-like octogenarian would fare better than a 20 y/o 300 lbs young man, but I still think working as a F/A is too much for someone close to 90. I'm pretty sure DL took into account his age with scheduling and duties.

I'm not sure why people think an older person wouldn't be helpful in an emergency. Opening the door and popping the slide is not that physically difficult. You can be assured that Mr. Reardon passed recurrent training every year. Part of recurrent includes opening the doors. It also includes first aid and CPR as well as fire fighting and a host of other safety related topics. Lighten up on the Seniors.

Quoting ikramerica (Reply 20):

Ah, I got it. "Safety" to you means lifting your bag for you. Understood.

Quoting L0VE2FLY (Reply 27): Of course a Jack LaLanne-like octogenarian would fare better than a 20 y/o 300 lbs young man, but I still think working as a F/A is too much for someone close to 90. I'm pretty sure DL took into account his age with scheduling and duties.

Nope. Not a bit. And there is no mechanism in place to do such a thing. You can either do the job or you can't. The one concession he made was to stop being a purser on the 747-400 and moved to the upper deck where he shared duties with another f/a and only 24 passengers. When you are Number One on a seniority list of over 22,000 you can pick whatever you want to fly and Bob flew a full schedule of at least three round trips to NRT every month.

Quoting Slcpilot (Reply 9): Given the requirement for FAs to be there, the airlines have saddled them with an incredible number of other tasks, often including sales, service, and cabin cleaning. They have a very difficult and tedious task, all the while be a front line employee in the face of the customer where they are expected to have a smile all the time. This smile is also expected while dealing with an occasional belligerent member of the flying public.

Oh please. Just just like every other front line customer service job in existence. Except FA's have unions, well defined jobs, protections, etc.

Quoting Prost (Reply 22): Regarding our 81 year old # 1 FA. She takes the customer manifest, memories your name, makes certain your glass is never empty, suggest something else you may enjoy that'll accompany your meal, if you look bored, she'll ask you about you book, etc. she is a class act who knows a lot about the arts, politics, you name it. You guys would be honored to be served by her, as I am to work with her.

So they do their job just like a member of the cabin crew or any front-line customer service employee should? I've worked in many of those jobs and have done those things thousands and thousands of times. So what? It doesn't make me amazing or special. Its my JOB to do that.

Quoting ArmitageShanks (Reply 31): Oh please. Just just like every other front line customer service job in existence. Except FA's have unions, well defined jobs, protections, etc.

DL flight attendants do not have a union, no job protection and no back up plan. You are an employee at will in a right to work state.

Quoting ArmitageShanks (Reply 31): So they do their job just like a member of the cabin crew or any front-line customer service employee should? I've worked in many of those jobs and have done those things thousands and thousands of times. So what? It doesn't make me amazing or special. Its my JOB to do that.

Such a cynical attitude would guarantee that you would never work for a major carrier. PROST was trying to point out that despite her age the current number one goes above and beyond the expected. She anticipates your needs before you realize that you wanted something. That is the mark of a true professional.
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Quoting longhauler (Reply 10):

Good that you stood up for the pax. While safety is important, it is only part of a FAs job. Unfortunately too often most FAs forget this and try to hide behind the mantra "we are here for your safety".

Quoting B747forever (Reply 33): Good that you stood up for the pax. While safety is important, it is only part of a FAs job. Unfortunately too often most FAs forget this and try to hide behind the mantra "we are here for your safety".

Gotta be honest--when I hear a f/a say that it generally means there is a job that needs doing that they don't want to do. Safety is just one of the many services we provide. One thing I have noticed in recent years is a perceived lack of patience among the younger folks entering the profession. Most are excellent crew and love their jobs but it is obvious, especially to someone like me who has done this job since returning from Vietnam that the position is not what they thought it would be. Sixteen hour days, short nights and 0400 wakeup calls are tough but we all did it.. When I started if a senior lady asked me to do something I said "Yes, ma'am" and did as I was asked. More and more today we have to negotiate rather than following instructions.

Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 34): Safety is just one of the many services we provide.

Glad to hear that some FAs understand this. You must be a good fa to fly with!

Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 34): Gotta be honest--when I hear a f/a say that it generally means there is a job that needs doing that they don't want to d

That is the problem pax faces. Many times FAs use this bad excuse so they can get away from a major part of their job description, to provide service.

Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 32): Such a cynical attitude would guarantee that you would never work for a major carrier.

So thinking that sort of effort is part of the normal job duties of someone in customer service makes me cynical? I'll take that any day.

No wonder tons of people think FA's have attitude problems when that sort of normal customer interaction is considered "extra special."

Quoting eaa3 (Reply 4): Are there no retirement rules for flight attendants?

Not in the US

Quoting ArmitageShanks (Reply 36): So thinking that sort of effort is part of the normal job duties of someone in customer service makes me cynical? I'll take that any day. No wonder tons of people think FA's have attitude problems when that sort of normal customer interaction is considered "extra special."

Obviously you have missed two points.

1. From what people have said, Mr Reardon treated his job as a profession and had a strong work ethic. He didn't just do it with "normal effort." He went above and beyond, worked as though he was appreciative of his employment, treated his passengers with respect and made more out of his duties than was expected. Apparently he was the antithesis of the stereotypical millennial brats.

2. The man passed away after a long and respectable career and people are paying tribute to the guy. Have some respect and exercise decency by not going off topic and turning this thread into a bitch session about you.

Quoting questions (Reply 38): Have some respect and exercise decency by not going off topic and turning this thread into a bitch session about you.

But how else am I going to get the attention I deserve?

What a great story. I have 2.3 million miles on Delta over 35 years, so I probably ran into him a few times. What saddens me somewhat is the bickering from a few members on this post that should have been nothing but a celebration of his legacy.

It's too bad that on a site like this, a thread honoring a guy such as Mr. Reardon quickly devolves. What a complete joke and honestly one of the reasons my interaction with this site has been much more limited.

Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 30): Nope. Not a bit. And there is no mechanism in place to do such a thing. You can either do the job or you can't. The one concession he made was to stop being a purser on the 747-400 and moved to the upper deck where he shared duties with another f/a and only 24 passengers. When you are Number One on a seniority list of over 22,000 you can pick whatever you want to fly and Bob flew a full schedule of at least three round trips to NRT every month.

Interesting and quite surprising actually, I thought a crew member as senior as he was received some kind of special treatment by his employer.

Quoting questions (Reply 38):

Quoting ArmitageShanks (Reply 39):

Quoting 11725Flyer (Reply 40):

+1

Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 21): I have known Bob Reardon for well over 30 years....

Awesome write-up. Thanks for posting.

Quoting Georgetown (Reply 41): It's too bad that on a site like this, a thread honoring a guy such as Mr. Reardon quickly devolves. What a complete joke and honestly one of the reasons my interaction with this site has been much more limited.

Here here. Totally agree.

Mr Reardon sounded like a true professional - some wonderful comments and reflections on here.

Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 30): When you are Number One on a seniority list of over 22,000 you can pick whatever you want to fly and Bob flew a full schedule of at least three round trips to NRT every month.

Once you get into the higher echelon of the seniority list, do crew usually prefer to stick to the one destination like NRT? I guess it would be like returning home after a while.

Who is the oldest serving Flight Attendant these days?

Quoting questions (Reply 38): Obviously you have missed two points. 1. From what people have said, Mr Reardon treated his job as a profession and had a strong work ethic. He didn't just do it with "normal effort." He went above and beyond, worked as though he was appreciative of his employment, treated his passengers with respect and made more out of his duties than was expected. Apparently he was the antithesis of the stereotypical millennial brats. 2. The man passed away after a long and respectable career and people are paying tribute to the guy. Have some respect and exercise decency by not going off topic and turning this thread into a bitch session about you.

That is why I made my rather long post describing Bob. Every airline has its one "character" and Bob was ours.

Quoting L0VE2FLY (Reply 42): Interesting and quite surprising actually, I thought a crew member as senior as he was received some kind of special treatment by his employer.

For pilots and flight attendants there is no such thing as "light duty." Bob, due to his seniority, would have had the option to give trips away to other f/a's but his work ethic was such that he always flew exactly what he bid.

Quoting AirNiugini (Reply 45): Once you get into the higher echelon of the seniority list, do crew usually prefer to stick to the one destination like NRT? I guess it would be like returning home after a while. Who is the oldest serving Flight Attendant these days?

Depends. Everyone has their preferences. I know very senior f/a's who hate international flying and only fly domestic. There are others (like me) that prefer one up and one down a day. Bob had numerous Japanese friends in NRT and he enjoyed flying a 4 day trip that had an extra 24 hours there so that he could visit them. Once we checked into the hotel we never saw him again until it was time for pickup for the return flight. Most of us hang out at the hotel, the sports bar and restaurant or some of the local restaurants and shopping areas.

Personally, I like a mix of trans-Atlantic and trans-Pac flying. LHR, FRA and FCO are my personal favorites in Europe and PEK, PVG and MNL in the Pacific. We no longer fly to BOM which is a shame because that was one of the best trips we ever had.

As far as the oldest in the industry, I am not sure. Might be someone at AA or even our 81 year old Number One at DL.

[Edited 2016-06-11 06:20:35]

Just wanted to say thank you to those of you that have honored Mr. Reardon with your positive comments and serious questions. He could be quite the ham and I think he would have enjoyed the attention (all the while saying he hated it). I am attaching a link that will show your some pictures of Bob and remembrances by some of my colleagues that knew him well.

http://www.startribune.com/obituary-...he-golden-age-of-flying/382171501/

Well this is a true honour and I hope the family are proud of someone to hold that title. Another angel of the sky. He wouldn't have had any different duty, he would have been expected to perform the same tasks and having to be refreshed on it every year the same as everyone else and if he could perform those tasks as well as anyone else, all I can say is I hope I can do that at his age!

For those who said they think crew being there for your safety is bull **** then well done, all cabin crew on here hate you now! If that was not true there would not be any on board, there would just be vending machines. If you were involved in an air accident, who would you want to rely on to get you out of there and save your life? Think before you speak morons!!

Rant over

Quoting european742 (Reply 48): For those who said they think crew being there for your safety is bull **** then well done, all cabin crew on here hate you now! If that was not true there would not be any on board, there would just be vending machines. If you were involved in an air accident, who would you want to rely on to get you out of there and save your life? Think before you speak morons!! Rant over

Now, now. "We love people and we love to travel." (G)