FlyerTalk Forums - Heartwarming story about 54-year veteran AA Flight Attendant Retiring

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)

- American Airlines | AAdvantage (Pre-Consolidation with USAir) (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage-pre-consolidation-usair-445/)

- - Heartwarming story about 54-year veteran AA Flight Attendant Retiring (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage-pre-consolidation-usair/1434631-heartwarming-story-about-54-year-veteran-aa-flight-attendant-retiring.html)

Heartwarming story about 54-year veteran AA Flight Attendant Retiring

I searched a bunch of keywords and am surprised no one has posted this article yet... what an inspiration to the next generation of American flight attendants. Great picture on the new 777 ER engine, too (how did they get it so low to the ground?)

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/a...n-airlines.ece

Thank you for sharing

Great story, would love to know how many miles she's flown over her career! (I didn't get past the paywall of the story, apologies if it's mentioned there)

A great article and proof that love of the job does not always diminsh with age.

Great story.
One that would not be possible here in Europe - she'd have had to retire at the legal limit of 65 no matter if she (or AA) wanted to or not.

And the engines being so low to the ground seems to be normal: according to Boeing specifications, ground clearance below the engines on a 777-300ER is a minimum of 70 cm (2'4") and a maximum of 88 cm (2'10") - see here.

Out of curiosity: She worked at AA for 54 years. That's 648 months. Assuming about 100 hours per month of in-flight time (that's what the average unionized legacy airline pilot does), that's 64,800 hours. At 500 mph that equals 32,400,000 miles. Hmmm.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldengate (Post 20175231)

Great picture on the new 777 ER engine, too (how did they get it so low to the ground?)

The ground is not quite as close it appears in the photo; her butt is closer to five feet off the ground. The photos from the link below show the author of the inaugural piece posed in front of one of the engines:

http://airchive.com/blog/2013/01/19/...ugural-flight/

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhomburg (Post 20178747)

And the engines being so low to the ground seems to be normal: according to Boeing specifications, ground clearance below the engines on a 777-300ER is a minimum of 70 cm (2'4") and a maximum of 88 cm (2'10") - see here.

You're looking at the 77L, the next page shows the 77W ground clearance figures as 2'5" to 3'3", but the FA is perched far above those heights inside the engine - someone gave her a boost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhomburg (Post 20178747)

Out of curiosity: She worked at AA for 54 years. That's 648 months. Assuming about 100 hours per month of in-flight time (that's what the average unionized legacy airline pilot does), that's 64,800 hours. At 500 mph that equals 32,400,000 miles. Hmmm.....

I'd say those estimates are on the high side. In recent years, AA has claimed that its pilots actually fly fewer than 55 hours per month on average (but, of course, are paid for many more). The difference results from training, vacation, sick days, etc and work-rule inefficiencies that AA tried to address in Ch 11. And in the US, pilots are limited to 1,000 flight hours per year (and 100 hours in any month).

Additionally, AA has claimed that in recent years, FAs have averaged fewer than 60 hours a month but, like pilots, have been paid for far more (same reasons as the pilots). FA flight hours aren't limited by the FAA, but not many fly 100/mo. And their paid hours include delays once the plane has pushed back like long taxi-outs, so on average, pilots and FAs probably don't average anywhere near 500 mph for their block hours. My guess is that her flown miles are less than half of your estimate. :)

Not so far off from Valerie in the Pam Ann skit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uR2707C818

She's lucky that her fingernails were short. Otherwise, she would have been hired by TWA and stapled to the bottom of the seniority list in 2001.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Dallas Morning News

Regardless, with her mother and sister along for moral support, she visited Trans World Airlines Inc., which was hiring.

“It was jammed with people. It was a pretty intensive interview,” DiSalvo said. “But then they said, ‘You know, we like you, but come back when your nails are longer.’”

She left the interview and told her mom that she wanted to go by American Airlines’ offices at Chicago’s Midway Airport. DiSalvo walked into a hangar and learned that a personnel person was on site.

The man met with her, then said, “I’ll be right back,” DiSalvo remembered. “He came back and he had the overseas cap in his hand. He put it on my head, and he said, ‘You’ll do just fine. You’ll hear from us.’”

And she still would have had a great career!

I am jealous because my retiring colleague is entitled to wear the beautiful five diamond service pin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sellouts (Post 20175386)

Great story, would love to know how many miles she's flown over her career! (I didn't get past the paywall of the story, apologies if it's mentioned there)

I hope I'm not breaking any FT rules here, but if you Google the headline, you can get access to the full story via the search results.

Also, I could only hope to look that good at 75. If I make it to 75.

So, will she start working for UA now?

AA FA retires after 54 years...a good read as to how it used to be...

This FA's recollections as to how it used to be.....

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/a...n-airlines.ece