It was a walk he’d made thousands of times getting off of an airplane.
But when 83-year-old Ron Akana, the longest-serving flight attendant for any U.S. carrier, strolled through the terminal at Denver International Airport late Monday morning, it marked the end of his 63-year career at United Airlines.
His daughter Jean Akana-Lewis, a fellow United flight attendant, videotaped the moment and prodded her dad for any final words.
"It’s been a great ride," said the Honolulu-born Akana, flashing the shaka sign.
And just like that, his career at United was history.
Sometime this fall, Akana will go into the Guinness Book of World Records for the distinction of being the longest-serving flight attendant ever in the United States.
When he began his career in 1949, Harry S. Truman was president of the U.S., and Hawaii was still a decade away from being recognized as a state.
His career officially ended Saturday on Kauai when he worked his final trip as a purser — chief of the cabin crew — on a nonstop flight from Denver. He was joined on the crew by Jean, a flight attendant for 23 years with United. Also onboard the flight were his wife of nearly 49 years, Betsy; their son John; and Akana’s grandson Kyle, 16, who is Jean’s son. All but John, who lives in Niu Valley on Oahu, reside in Boulder, Colo.
Akana’s return overnight trip Sunday to Colorado, which included a layover in Los Angeles, was as a passenger rather than an employee.
On the historic final flight to Kauai, the crew called attention to Akana’s longevity accomplishment on the public address system and passengers responded by writing their best wishes on index cards that were handed out to them. At the airport, the Lihue Fire Department met the Boeing 767 with a water salute that formed a picturesque arch over the aircraft. Betsy said she even spotted a rainbow through the spray. It was a chicken-skin moment.
Akana said it’s hard to describe the importance of the friendships he’s made over the years.
"Every time I tried to thank them and find the right words, I’d have to stop," he recalled Monday by telephone from his home in Boulder. "The crews have been so meaningful."
Akana, who turns 84 on Sept. 8, said he decided to retire after United, which merged with Continental Airlines in 2010, offered a buyout.
"It was very decent and all the conditions were perfect, and 83 is a good year to think about it," he said. "I decided two or three months ago that at the end of August would be a good time, so I just came in for my last trip."
Still, Akana wasn’t the oldest flight attendant at the time of his retirement. That distinction goes to Delta Air Lines’ Bob Reardon, who is either 87 or 88 and has been flying for 60 years.
On Akana’s final work-related trip, he and his family spent the night at the Marriott Kauai, where earlier in the day after arriving they met the crew at Duke’s for "a couple of nice cool mai tais," he said.
Then the family rented a car, drove to the North Shore to visit the Kilauea Lighthouse and then proceeded to Hanalei to eat at L&L Drive-Inn.
Akana said there are a lot of things he’s going to miss about flying for United.
"Most of it is the personalities of the people I’ve worked with all these years," he said. "There’s so much talent in the group, and they’re an interesting group to fly with. The pilots are a great source of knowledge, and the layovers are always a source of new eating places."
He said he also enjoyed the opportunity to return home to Hawaii.
"It’s always nice to get back to Waikiki," he said. "They’ve done so much to make it beautiful, and there’s great shopping areas. And they put us up in the most beautiful hotels in the islands."
Akana, who lived in Hawaii for 74 years before moving to Colorado, was one of the first eight male stewards at United. He got his big break when former United Airlines President and co-founder Pat Patterson decided to hire eight Hawaiian stewards to represent the eight Hawaiian Islands and become the airline’s first male flight attendants. Akana, a 1946 graduate of Kamehameha Schools, was attending the University of Hawaii at the time and jumped at the chance. He was 21 when he began his flying career.
He said he plans to spend a lot of his retirement visiting national parks in the 21-foot Pleasure-Way recreation vehicle that he and his wife have owned for six years.
"We love the national parks," he said. "We’re going to be doing the East Coast, the West Coast and various places. My wife is very good at researching the routes, and we have a lot of assistance from AAA at mapping our routes. We’ll be doing a trip or two every year."
He said they will be frequent visitors to Estes Park, which is about 45 minutes from their home, and during the next couple of weeks will be driving up the Oregon coast. He said the following month they’ll hit the East Coast to take in the fall colors.
Betsy said, though, that flying is in his blood, and Akana still intends to take to the air.
"We have excellent travel privileges, and we will plan one or two trips a year," he said. "Although I’ve seen a lot of the world, there’s a lot I haven’t seen. … It’s going to be hard to keep me grounded."
