Elderly Flight Attendants
Nov 14th 2010, 8:04 am
#33
Hit 16's
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine
Posts: 13,112
Re: Elderly Flight Attendants
And from out here in the diametrically-opposed Middle East, flying Emirates and Etihad (the 2 UAE carriers) is a treat on the eyes, coz last time I checked there weren't any age discrimination laws (or pretty much ANY employment laws), so not surprisingly all the stewardesses are young (but not all pretty, alas--I think they need to tighten up their selection processes).
Nov 14th 2010, 11:08 am
#34
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 87
Re: Elderly Flight Attendants
without sounding too serious 
i am 48
i am a flight attendant on long haul and i have been for over 23 years
do i look as good as a 22 year old blonde? no i probably dont
but, without generalising, my life experience means that i can probably empathise with you more than the 22 year old can if youre travelling home for a parents funeral or to be at their sickbed, i can relate to a wider variety of people and as i have been doing the job this long you can know for sure that i am doing the job because i love it NOT just cause its a good way to see the world (cause take it from me i have now seen it 10 times over!)and go to good places for parties and shopping-
(can i look after you if youre sick or have a heart attack or a panic attack? can i get you out of your seat if youre unconcious, assess your condition and administer a defibrillator, do cpr, administer morphine based drugs on you? yes i can
can i throw you out of a toilet if youve set it on fire having a sneaky fag and squirt a fire extinguisher? yes
can i physically handcuff restrain you and tie you into your seat of your deserving of it? again - yes)
of course these things dont happen every day but to keep the job and your license to fly you get tested every year
you have to show you can drag a life size and realistically weighted dummy from a chamber ( airplane mock up) thats pitch black and filled with smoke while wearing a smoke hood
we have to be able to extinguish fires
straddle a dummy and do cpr
those are probably the most physical parts of our annual exams
but theres also a LOT of mental/memory tests about all teh proceedures and equipment we have on board ( 90% of which most of you will never even be aware of) and all of this on up to 3 different aircraft types
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing
)
i am 48
i am a flight attendant on long haul and i have been for over 23 years
do i look as good as a 22 year old blonde? no i probably dont
but, without generalising, my life experience means that i can probably empathise with you more than the 22 year old can if youre travelling home for a parents funeral or to be at their sickbed, i can relate to a wider variety of people and as i have been doing the job this long you can know for sure that i am doing the job because i love it NOT just cause its a good way to see the world (cause take it from me i have now seen it 10 times over!)and go to good places for parties and shopping-
(can i look after you if youre sick or have a heart attack or a panic attack? can i get you out of your seat if youre unconcious, assess your condition and administer a defibrillator, do cpr, administer morphine based drugs on you? yes i can
can i throw you out of a toilet if youve set it on fire having a sneaky fag and squirt a fire extinguisher? yes
can i physically handcuff restrain you and tie you into your seat of your deserving of it? again - yes)
of course these things dont happen every day but to keep the job and your license to fly you get tested every year
you have to show you can drag a life size and realistically weighted dummy from a chamber ( airplane mock up) thats pitch black and filled with smoke while wearing a smoke hood
we have to be able to extinguish fires
straddle a dummy and do cpr
those are probably the most physical parts of our annual exams
but theres also a LOT of mental/memory tests about all teh proceedures and equipment we have on board ( 90% of which most of you will never even be aware of) and all of this on up to 3 different aircraft types
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing
)
Nov 14th 2010, 11:59 am
#35
lush
Joined: Dec 2007
Location: Maine - the "Deep South" of the Northeast
Posts: 5,004
Nov 14th 2010, 1:55 pm
#36
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Reno Nevada
Posts: 15,917
Re: Elderly Flight Attendants
without sounding too serious
i am 48
i am a flight attendant on long haul and i have been for over 23 years
do i look as good as a 22 year old blonde? no i probably dont
but, without generalising, my life experience means that i can probably empathise with you more than the 22 year old can if youre travelling home for a parents funeral or to be at their sickbed, i can relate to a wider variety of people and as i have been doing the job this long you can know for sure that i am doing the job because i love it NOT just cause its a good way to see the world (cause take it from me i have now seen it 10 times over!)and go to good places for parties and shopping-
(can i look after you if youre sick or have a heart attack or a panic attack? can i get you out of your seat if youre unconcious, assess your condition and administer a defibrillator, do cpr, administer morphine based drugs on you? yes i can
can i throw you out of a toilet if youve set it on fire having a sneaky fag and squirt a fire extinguisher? yes
can i physically handcuff restrain you and tie you into your seat of your deserving of it? again - yes)
of course these things dont happen every day but to keep the job and your license to fly you get tested every year
you have to show you can drag a life size and realistically weighted dummy from a chamber ( airplane mock up) thats pitch black and filled with smoke while wearing a smoke hood
we have to be able to extinguish fires
straddle a dummy and do cpr
those are probably the most physical parts of our annual exams
but theres also a LOT of mental/memory tests about all teh proceedures and equipment we have on board ( 90% of which most of you will never even be aware of) and all of this on up to 3 different aircraft types
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing )
i am 48
i am a flight attendant on long haul and i have been for over 23 years
do i look as good as a 22 year old blonde? no i probably dont
but, without generalising, my life experience means that i can probably empathise with you more than the 22 year old can if youre travelling home for a parents funeral or to be at their sickbed, i can relate to a wider variety of people and as i have been doing the job this long you can know for sure that i am doing the job because i love it NOT just cause its a good way to see the world (cause take it from me i have now seen it 10 times over!)and go to good places for parties and shopping-
(can i look after you if youre sick or have a heart attack or a panic attack? can i get you out of your seat if youre unconcious, assess your condition and administer a defibrillator, do cpr, administer morphine based drugs on you? yes i can
can i throw you out of a toilet if youve set it on fire having a sneaky fag and squirt a fire extinguisher? yes
can i physically handcuff restrain you and tie you into your seat of your deserving of it? again - yes)
of course these things dont happen every day but to keep the job and your license to fly you get tested every year
you have to show you can drag a life size and realistically weighted dummy from a chamber ( airplane mock up) thats pitch black and filled with smoke while wearing a smoke hood
we have to be able to extinguish fires
straddle a dummy and do cpr
those are probably the most physical parts of our annual exams
but theres also a LOT of mental/memory tests about all teh proceedures and equipment we have on board ( 90% of which most of you will never even be aware of) and all of this on up to 3 different aircraft types
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing
)I was a flight attendent for a short while and admire anyone with the stamina and personality to do this job the training as you say is very intense indeed and not for the faint hearted or lesser intelligent mortals.......I remeber only too well thinking OMG!! this is way harder then I signed up for, folk don't realize its not just serving the food and smiling sweetly, it a bloody tough job I admire you, personally I hated it and bailed after a few months so fair play to you
Nov 14th 2010, 3:53 pm
#41
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 22,105
Re: Elderly Flight Attendants
without sounding too serious
i am 48
i am a flight attendant on long haul and i have been for over 23 years
do i look as good as a 22 year old blonde? no i probably dont
but, without generalising, my life experience means that i can probably empathise with you more than the 22 year old can if youre travelling home for a parents funeral or to be at their sickbed, i can relate to a wider variety of people and as i have been doing the job this long you can know for sure that i am doing the job because i love it NOT just cause its a good way to see the world (cause take it from me i have now seen it 10 times over!)and go to good places for parties and shopping-
(can i look after you if youre sick or have a heart attack or a panic attack? can i get you out of your seat if youre unconcious, assess your condition and administer a defibrillator, do cpr, administer morphine based drugs on you? yes i can
can i throw you out of a toilet if youve set it on fire having a sneaky fag and squirt a fire extinguisher? yes
can i physically handcuff restrain you and tie you into your seat of your deserving of it? again - yes)
of course these things dont happen every day but to keep the job and your license to fly you get tested every year
you have to show you can drag a life size and realistically weighted dummy from a chamber ( airplane mock up) thats pitch black and filled with smoke while wearing a smoke hood
we have to be able to extinguish fires
straddle a dummy and do cpr
those are probably the most physical parts of our annual exams
but theres also a LOT of mental/memory tests about all teh proceedures and equipment we have on board ( 90% of which most of you will never even be aware of) and all of this on up to 3 different aircraft types
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing )
i am 48
i am a flight attendant on long haul and i have been for over 23 years
do i look as good as a 22 year old blonde? no i probably dont
but, without generalising, my life experience means that i can probably empathise with you more than the 22 year old can if youre travelling home for a parents funeral or to be at their sickbed, i can relate to a wider variety of people and as i have been doing the job this long you can know for sure that i am doing the job because i love it NOT just cause its a good way to see the world (cause take it from me i have now seen it 10 times over!)and go to good places for parties and shopping-
(can i look after you if youre sick or have a heart attack or a panic attack? can i get you out of your seat if youre unconcious, assess your condition and administer a defibrillator, do cpr, administer morphine based drugs on you? yes i can
can i throw you out of a toilet if youve set it on fire having a sneaky fag and squirt a fire extinguisher? yes
can i physically handcuff restrain you and tie you into your seat of your deserving of it? again - yes)
of course these things dont happen every day but to keep the job and your license to fly you get tested every year
you have to show you can drag a life size and realistically weighted dummy from a chamber ( airplane mock up) thats pitch black and filled with smoke while wearing a smoke hood
we have to be able to extinguish fires
straddle a dummy and do cpr
those are probably the most physical parts of our annual exams
but theres also a LOT of mental/memory tests about all teh proceedures and equipment we have on board ( 90% of which most of you will never even be aware of) and all of this on up to 3 different aircraft types
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing
)
Nov 14th 2010, 4:08 pm
#42
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 218
Re: Elderly Flight Attendants
without sounding too serious
i am 48
i am a flight attendant on long haul and i have been for over 23 years
do i look as good as a 22 year old blonde? no i probably dont
but, without generalising, my life experience means that i can probably empathise with you more than the 22 year old can if youre travelling home for a parents funeral or to be at their sickbed, i can relate to a wider variety of people and as i have been doing the job this long you can know for sure that i am doing the job because i love it NOT just cause its a good way to see the world (cause take it from me i have now seen it 10 times over!)and go to good places for parties and shopping-
(can i look after you if youre sick or have a heart attack or a panic attack? can i get you out of your seat if youre unconcious, assess your condition and administer a defibrillator, do cpr, administer morphine based drugs on you? yes i can
can i throw you out of a toilet if youve set it on fire having a sneaky fag and squirt a fire extinguisher? yes
can i physically handcuff restrain you and tie you into your seat of your deserving of it? again - yes)
of course these things dont happen every day but to keep the job and your license to fly you get tested every year
you have to show you can drag a life size and realistically weighted dummy from a chamber ( airplane mock up) thats pitch black and filled with smoke while wearing a smoke hood
we have to be able to extinguish fires
straddle a dummy and do cpr
those are probably the most physical parts of our annual exams
but theres also a LOT of mental/memory tests about all teh proceedures and equipment we have on board ( 90% of which most of you will never even be aware of) and all of this on up to 3 different aircraft types
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing )
i am 48
i am a flight attendant on long haul and i have been for over 23 years
do i look as good as a 22 year old blonde? no i probably dont
but, without generalising, my life experience means that i can probably empathise with you more than the 22 year old can if youre travelling home for a parents funeral or to be at their sickbed, i can relate to a wider variety of people and as i have been doing the job this long you can know for sure that i am doing the job because i love it NOT just cause its a good way to see the world (cause take it from me i have now seen it 10 times over!)and go to good places for parties and shopping-
(can i look after you if youre sick or have a heart attack or a panic attack? can i get you out of your seat if youre unconcious, assess your condition and administer a defibrillator, do cpr, administer morphine based drugs on you? yes i can
can i throw you out of a toilet if youve set it on fire having a sneaky fag and squirt a fire extinguisher? yes
can i physically handcuff restrain you and tie you into your seat of your deserving of it? again - yes)
of course these things dont happen every day but to keep the job and your license to fly you get tested every year
you have to show you can drag a life size and realistically weighted dummy from a chamber ( airplane mock up) thats pitch black and filled with smoke while wearing a smoke hood
we have to be able to extinguish fires
straddle a dummy and do cpr
those are probably the most physical parts of our annual exams
but theres also a LOT of mental/memory tests about all teh proceedures and equipment we have on board ( 90% of which most of you will never even be aware of) and all of this on up to 3 different aircraft types
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing
)
Nov 14th 2010, 4:15 pm
#44
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 506
Re: Elderly Flight Attendants
so if a woman of 73 CAN cope with all this AND cope with mega time changes and very long hours on her feet and with no sleep, then seriously she deserves some respect and admiration
sermon over ( forgive me - ive flown 16 hours out of the last 36 - my varicose veins are playing up and my wig has squeesed so tight ive got a headache - not to mention that my incontinence pad needs changing
)
Nov 14th 2010, 5:46 pm
#45
SUPER MODERATOR
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,020
Re: Elderly Flight Attendants
I've just had a phone call from my mum who's just arrived back home in England after visiting me here in New Jersey. Last night she flew on a direct flight from Newark to Birmingham, UK.
My mum says she couldn't believe it when she saw a very old, scruffy looking Continental Airlines flight attendant bringing the food cart down the aisle and said that she looked much older than her - she is 71. Now my mum will chat to anybody and she said to the stewardess "This job looks too much for you, shouldn't you be retired by now? How old are you?" (My mum has got a bloody cheek!)
The stewardess told my mum that she's 73 years old!
My mum was thinking - blimey, if there's an emergency she wouldn't be of much help, it would be the passengers having to assist her! 
My mum also says that all the cabin crews on Continental are miserable and not friendly and chatty like the BA and Virgin crews....
One thing I did notice; it is pretty much all self-check in at Continental Airlines at Newark (even though I'd already checked her in online). They just basically have a bag-drop for all their flights, including international. There wasn't even a prompt on the touch-screen to ask whether or not one had packed check-in baggage by oneself and neither did the agent who came along to attach the label to the suitcase.
My mum says she couldn't believe it when she saw a very old, scruffy looking Continental Airlines flight attendant bringing the food cart down the aisle and said that she looked much older than her - she is 71. Now my mum will chat to anybody and she said to the stewardess "This job looks too much for you, shouldn't you be retired by now? How old are you?" (My mum has got a bloody cheek!)
The stewardess told my mum that she's 73 years old!
My mum was thinking - blimey, if there's an emergency she wouldn't be of much help, it would be the passengers having to assist her! My mum also says that all the cabin crews on Continental are miserable and not friendly and chatty like the BA and Virgin crews....
One thing I did notice; it is pretty much all self-check in at Continental Airlines at Newark (even though I'd already checked her in online). They just basically have a bag-drop for all their flights, including international. There wasn't even a prompt on the touch-screen to ask whether or not one had packed check-in baggage by oneself and neither did the agent who came along to attach the label to the suitcase.
Last edited by Jerseygirl; Nov 14th 2010 at 6:03 pm.