Here’s a cute story from Dallas about a named Harvey Brown who realized his dream to become a Southwest Airlines flight attendant…even if just for a day.
At Age 75, Harvey Became An Honorary Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant
In a three-minute video produced by Southwest, Harvey explains that he always wanted to be a flight attendant. Then one day Southwest Airlines made it possible. It invited Harvey to its training center in Dallas, where he engaged in fire drills and emergency evacuation. He had a chance to interact with his younger cohorts and even offered a motivational speech to the graduating class.
He was invited to Dallas Love Field the day after training for what he thought would be a short ceremony at the gate. Instead, he was given the chance to actually serve as a flight attendant and spent the flight, in uniform, caring for his passengers.
To mark the special occasion, Southwest gave everyone on the flight a free round-trip voucher. Harvey got to announce it over the PA system.
Take a few minutes to watch this video below:
It’s never too late to fulfill your dreams. We helped 75-year-old Harvey become an honorary Flight Attendant for the day. Our People pulled out all the stops to make sure it was Harvey’s best day ever! #SouthwestHeart pic.twitter.com/fyWKkPpOFc
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) October 11, 2023
This was all just one day of training followed by one flight, but we see more than a senior citizen with great dance moves in Harvey; we see the value of a mature person in a customer-facing role.
And if we pivot to EasyJet across the Atlantic, we see an airline that is actively recruiting retirees and senior citizens to serve as flight attendants. I love that initiative and agree with the reasoning of EasyJet that older workers bring a “wealth of life experience and transferable skills” (including superior customer service skills and knowledge of how to deal with people), making them “ideal candidates” to work a customer-facing role for the airline.
I am not one of those travelers who believe that flight attendants should exclusively be young and physically attractive. While I understand that is part of the business model for some airlines, some of the best flight attendants I have over the years have been old.
CONCLUSION
Congrats to Harvey for realizing his dream of becoming a flight attendant. And kudos to Southwest Airlines for giving him an opportunity of a lifetime. I’d love to see more senior flight attendants with a caring and friendly attitude like Harvey.
> Read More: Airline Is Recruiting Senior Citizens To Be Flight Attendants
> Read More: EasyJet Celebrates Birthday Of Its Oldest Flight Attendant
What a great feel good story in a time where they are lacking!
Incredible move by Southwest.
@Dave … To be real , I don’t care about “feel good” ; I care about Safety , and I wouldn’t feel safe with decrepit FAs.
Additional : Particularly during turbulence , when older FAs might not be so steady .
Decrepit? Really?? Your posts on most of the stories on here are borderline offensive! How dare you or anyone make that kind of judgement on someone who might be the other side of 50. They are just as valuable if not more so due to having life experience, something the 20 year old crew can draw upon not only on a professional capacity, but also to understand people and life.
@Robert … Point taken . I apologize .
Galiot take a hike and flush yourself into the toilet.
What is the crazy hat in the first photo ?
Sometimes on special occasions some WN flight attendants will use bags of snack mix (or whatever they call it) and drink stirrers to make funny hats. It’s one of those. I’ve seen them do it for the birthday of a fellow flight attendant, for example.
Galoot! You’re probably a frustrate person? Once again flush yourself throughout the toilet .
At first glance I thought I saw the Burger King plane guy rofl.
I hope I can be as spry and energetic as Harvey when I’m 75….
As cute as this is, where do we draw the line? What if Harvey was actually hired and allowed to be a flight attendant? Does anyone for a moment think a 75-year-old could in a split second do what is necessary in the worst possible scenario? My father is 81. My 81-year-old father walks 6-8 miles per day. Physically, he’s probably 65 or 70. But mentally, at 81, he has went dramatically downhill in the last 2 or 3 years to the point where most days he can’t remember where his keys are located or not to buy groceries at the store because he already has a full refrigerator. Delta and American have had flight attendants working well into their 80s. Bob or whatever his name was. I’ve seen female flight attendants in their late 60s or early 70s who couldn’t lift a bag, let alone open the emergency door or tackle a terrorist running down the aisle.
@FNT … Exactly so . My experience has only been on JL , SQ , BA , and LH , during last decade . Domestic carriers with decrepit FAs , who are unable to function , is a prescription for spilled hot coffee in one’s lap , with the resultant groin burns necessitating a diversion . Daft from a liability and risk management perspective .
Additional : Fear of burns is why I never order Hot coffee on a plane . You never know when turbulence will happen , and a hospital is not for me . Although not the FAs fault , the pax will likely blame the airline . Why would the airline take a chance on an older FA , who might not have steady balance during turbulence ?
These excellent flight attendants often choose to retire in their 70s and beyond, with the current oldest flight attendant record belonging to Robert Reardon – who retired from Delta Air Lines in 2014 at 90. Following closely behind is Bette Nash, who is still actively working for American Airlines at 87.
At 86 years old, American Airlines flight attendant Bette Nash is the oldest and longest-serving flight attendant in the world, according to Guinness World Records.
Nash started flying back in 1957 and will celebrate 65 years in-flight this fall.
She can choose any route she wants and for most of her career she has been loyal to the New York-Washington-Boston Shuttle.
Nash prefers this route because she says it allows her to be home every night with her handicapped son who she continues to care for to this day.
Great story! Uplifting, fun but serious at the same time. As a 75-year-old air traveler, in excellent shape, with a logical mind and serious commitment to doing the right thing in an emergency, yes, I believe I could serve as a flight attendant. But I wouldn’t want to take away that opportunity from a much younger person with years ahead of them in building a career. Hurray for Harvey’s getting to do something he dreamed of — if only for a day, but with the memory of an experience he’ll never forget. Thanks, Matthew, for highlighting the story.
@Andi … Good point on allowing younger person to have their career start , although I don’t know that FA is such a great career . I formerly lived in an apartment building with many TWA crew members , in El Segundo , California , both flight and cabin . My memory is the FAs were underappreciated , overworked , and underpaid . I would tell this to a younger person . I always respect all FAs .
My friend just started as a FA at Spirit at 65. God bless her.
Just for a DAY? Not enough time to be a grandfather.
I agree, Matthew, re some of the nicest cabin crew can be the more mature ones. Around 20 years ago I used to fly quite frequently on Aeroflot. On the international flights to London, Dubai etc, operated by Boeing and Airbus aircraft, they had young, gorgeous crew who were usually efficient but distant. On the internal flights to Armenia, Georgia etc on the Tupolevs and Ilyushins the crew were typically more mature and much more friendly and cheerful. They were also thrilled (relieved!) that I could speak some Russian! 🙂
He could actually become the CEO that Herb would appreciate seeing in that role. In the meantime, he’s rolling in his grave with disgust at what WN has become.
No, not “young and physically attractive” but “young and physically FIT”. In case of emergency, speed and strength are required from FAs, they have to be able to help passengers and not require the opposite. Oh, and Easyjet is not an airline to set as an example precisely.
What a great experience seeing Mr Harvey working for Southwest Airlines. Others Airlines should follow the same step . Seniors are valuable human being. May God bless Mr Harvey and Southwest airlines airlines. Hope to travel on Southwest and see Mr Harvey. Sincerely Chris
To Mr Harvey! I wish you the best on your new career. May God bless you alongside your co-workers from Southwest. God bless America and Southwest the Airlines of the people.