United Airlines flight attendant Ron Akana retires after 63 years in the air
A United Airlines flight attendant walks through a pedestrian overpass enroute to the United Airlines terminal at O’Hare International Airport on February 1, 2006 in Chicago.
During his more than six-decade-long career as a flight attendant for United Airlines, Ron Akana clocked enough miles to fly to the moon and back 40 times, the Denver Post reported.
The 83-year-old made his last flight with the airline last weekend, ending a 63-year career and landing himself in the Guinness World Records book as the longest serving flight attendant in US history, eturbonews.com reported.
His last route was Denver to Kauai in Hawaii, where he began working for United Airlines in 1949 while a student at the University of Hawaii.
He was one of the first male flight attendants for the carrier.
"We didn't even know what a flight steward was," he told the Associated Press.
"But it meant getting to the mainland, which was a huge deal in those days.
"We just liked working with girls.”
Akana plans to continue traveling during his retirement, but from now on his wife will join him on his trips.
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