Meet the world's longest serving flight attendant, 86, for 65 years

2022-07-01

Flying high and going strong! 86-year-old woman the world’s longest-serving flight attendant after 65 YEARS of service in the skies – having started her career when plane tickets were hand-written and cost just $12

65 years ago, Bette Nash landed a job as an Eastern Airlines flight attendant, and she has been pushing beverage carts and giving safety instructions ever since
Bette, from Manassas, Virginia, took her first flight as a teen and quickly fell in love with the ‘spiffy appearances and gracious manners of the crew members’
When she started her career in 1957, things were certainly different – flights were $12, tickets were hand-written, and schedules were displayed on chalkboards
Many things changed over the years, but there’s one thing that stayed the same – the people. Bette said, ‘They have the same needs – a little love and attention’
Bette, who now works for American Airlines, is most known for her ‘warm hospitality,’ and is said to ‘greet every face with a smile’
The flight attendant has no plans to retire any time soon, with her explaining, ‘As long as I have my health and I’m able, why not work. It’s still fun’

Get ready to meet the world’s longest serving flight attendants, 86, who has worked as an airline employee for 65 years and has seen the industry go from using chalkboards to computers.

Six and a half decades ago, Bette Nash, from Manassas, Virginia, landed a job as an Eastern Airlines flight attendant, and she has been pushing beverage carts and giving safety instructions ever since.

Bette – who is now in the Guinness World Records book for her record-breaking long career – took her first flight as a teen and quickly fell in love with the ‘spiffy appearances and gracious manners of the crew members,’ she told AirlineStaffRates.com.

Meet the world’s longest serving flight attendants, 86, who has worked as an airline employee for 65 years and has seen the industry go from using chalkboards to computers

Dream job: Six and a half decades ago, Bette Nash, from Manassas, Virginia, landed a job as an Eastern Airlines flight attendant, and she has been pushing beverage carts ever since

Love at first sight: Bette took her first flight as a teen and quickly fell in love with the ‘spiffy appearances and gracious manners of the crew members,’ she told AirlineStaffRates.com

‘I wanted to be a flight attendant from the first moment I got on an airplane,’ she also said to CNN.

‘I was 16 years old and the flight attendant walked across the hall and I said, “That’s for me.”‘

She started her career in 1957, when she was 21 years old, and things were certainly different back then – flights were $12 when she first started, and you didn’t have to make a reservation in advance.

She used to hand out Marlborough cigarettes to passengers, and served them lobster and carved meats on platters – but what’s changed the most is the technology.

‘Gone are the days of hand-written tickets, stickers for seat assignments, and chalk boards,’ she said.

Another thing that has gone through a transformation throughout her 65-year long career is the way that flight attendants dress.

‘The attire when I first started was very conservative, then we started getting really out there,’ she recalled to CNN. ‘After that, things started calming down a little bit.’

And while many things have changed since she started, there’s one thing that has stayed the same – the people.

Many things have improved over the years, there’s one thing that stayed the same – the people. Bette said, ‘They have the same needs – a little love and attention’

‘Maybe their dress changes, but people have the same needs — a little love and attention,’ she told Catholic Herald back in 2017.

Bette, who went on to work for American Airlines after it acquired Eastern Airlines, is most known for her ‘warm hospitality,’ and is said to ‘greet every face with a smile’ while keeping her uniform ‘perfectly pristine’ at all times, according to AirlineStaffRates.com.

One passenger, named Simon Johnson, told DailyMail.com in 2017: ‘I think what is most amazing and impressive about Bette is the way she warms up the entire aircraft.

‘You walk on, you meet her, she knows your name, she remembers the conversation that she was having with you yesterday or last week or a month ago.’

‘I fly hundreds of thousands of miles a year, but these are always my best flights when Bette is on the plane,’ another gushed to ABC recently.

At this point, Bette is able to pick between any route, and she prefers working on the New York-Boston-Washington D.C. flights so she can make it home in time to say goodnight to her son, who is disabled.

Bette, who now works for American Airlines, is most known for her ‘warm hospitality,’ and is said to ‘greet every face with a smile’ while keeping her uniform ‘perfectly pristine’ at all times

One passenger, named Simon Johnson, told DailyMail.com in 2017: ‘I think what is most amazing and impressive about Bette is the way she warms up the entire aircraft’

According to Bette, one of the highlights of her career was flying with former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, who was the wife of President John F. Kennedy

She also enjoys taking the same route because she starts to recognize faces.

‘I love my people. I love being on the same flight all the time because I know my customers,’ she explained to CNN.

According to Bette, one of the highlights of her career was flying with former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, who was the wife of President John F. Kennedy.

The flight attendant has no plans to retire any time soon, adding, ‘As long as I have my health and I’m able, why not work. It’s still fun’

The 86-year-old, who is a black belt, is still strong enough to drag an ill passenger into the aisle and start CPR – which she has to do each year to pass the annual FAA test to continue her work.

‘Bette has taken care of millions of our customers, around the world, for the past six decades,’ American’s Chairman and CEO, Doug Parker said in 2017.

‘It’s the simple things that she does each day, like greet customers with a warm smile, friendly hello and thanking them for their business that has added to her legacy and ability to create an airline that customers want to fly.’

And the flight attendant has no plans to retire any time soon.

‘It’s just been the perfect career path. It’s given my love of people an outlet, and I like to think I’ve given good service to others,’ she gushed to AirlineStaffRates.com.

‘I thoroughly enjoy my three-minute conversations onboard. And I’m often amazed at the interesting work, travels and lives people have. As long as I have my health and I’m able, why not work. It’s still fun.’

She added to CNN, ‘Even when I think I might retire I come to work and I think, “I can’t do that.”‘

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