Bette Nash, the Longest Serving Flight Attendant, Has Died
Bette Nash was an 88-year-old American Airlines flight attendant who has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest-serving flight attendant in the world. It was announced by her family that she tragically died May 18th in hospice care following a breast cancer diagnosis.
She began her career as a flight attendant on November 4, 1957 with Eastern Airlines, just a month after the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. After various airline mergers, she ended up working for American Airlines where she has been employed for over 65 years. In January 2022, Guinness World Records verified that she had achieved 64 years and 61 days of continuous employment as a flight attendant, setting a new world record. She was last based in Boston and for most of her career flew the New York-Washington D.C.-Boston shuttle route so she can return home every night to care for her son who has a disability. Nash continued to work well into her 80s, becoming a fixture for many of the business passengers who frequented these routes, with one passenger saying “these are always my best flights when Bette is on the plane.”
American Airlines, her long time employer, remember her in a post on X this morning. “We mourn the passing of Bette Nash, who spent nearly seven decades warmly caring for our customers in the air. She started in 1957 and held the Guinness World Record for longest-serving flight attendant. Bette inspired generations of flight attendants. Fly high, Bette.”