This weeks question comes from Albert, he’s got a great photo blog, “The secret life of pixels,” check it out if you haven’t already!

A: Pilots have a mandatory retirement age set by the FAA. Do FA’s have also a mandatory retirement age? Is it set by the FAA or by each airline?

FP: Flight Attendants do not have a mandatory retirement age. In fact, a lot of folks decide to start a career as a Flight Attendant in their retirement years. I had a woman in my initial training class who was sixty one! I know my airline values life experience, if you’ve raised a family you can certainly handle an airplane full of people! I also, flew frequently with a woman, Dorothy, who was hired at sixty three, a retired teacher. Dorothy, and I first flew togehter when she was seventy three! I had know idea she was seventy three! After a full day of sightseeing in Rome and drinks and dinner with our crew, we were on our way back to the states when I saw our, “gen dec,” it has the crews birthdays listed on it. Dorothy’s birthday said, 1927! When I approached her…seriously thinking it was a mistake…she giggled! It was the right date! She confessed she had a “little” work done! She is an amazing woman, and has since retired from her second career at the age of eighty! You can also check out a previous post, “Proof it’s a great career at any age, ” an article about Ray Hope. A Flight Attendant, who retired a year ago at the age of seventy nine!

My airline also has a lot of Flight Attendants who have been flying for thirty five to forty years. If you are healthy, there really isn’t much reason to quit. Our schedules are based on our seniority, so these Flight Attendants, work whatever schedule they want! I plan on sticking around and going back to our international base once my child is grown!

*Be sure to check back tomorrow for my interview with Mark Malkoff, about his adventures on Air Tran!