Ronald Byrd Akana (born September 8, 1928) is an American former flight attendant, who spent 63 years working as cabin crew for United Airlines and who logged an estimated 200 million airmiles.
[1] He was the world's longest serving flight attendant and was admitted to The Guinness Book of Records.
[2][3][4] Akana applied due to a local newspaper ad in 1949 aged 21 with United Airlines for a steward position.
His reason to apply as a flight steward was that "[…] it meant getting to the mainland, which was a huge deal in those days."
[5] His time working for UA was only interrupted by a two-year conscription, where he served in the Korean War.