Iris V. Peterson (born October 11, 1921) is an American retired

flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

who flew for

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

for 60 years between 1946 and 2007. At the time of her retirement at the age of 85, she was #1 in terms of seniority.

Career

Iris Peterson was born in

Menan, Idaho Menan is a city in Jefferson County, Idaho, United States. It is part of the Idaho Falls, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 741 at the 2010 census. History Menan was the first settlement of Latter-day Saints in the Snak ...

on October 11, 1921. She began her career in 1946. She held various

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

positions in the flight attendants' union. In 1953, she became the first

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

for the Air Line Stewards and Stewardesses Association. In 1968, she helped develop safety plans for the first jumbo aircraft. Working with aircraft engineers, 17 safety items were accepted, including the evacuation alarm, now standard

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by ...

on aircraft worldwide. As of 1995 Peterson had the second highest seniority among flight attendants with United. She retired on April 23, 2007 after a 60-year career: she held the world record for longest flight attendant career until 2012 when Ron Akana retired after 62 years. When she started her career, job restrictions included

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone has been alive or something has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

, gender,

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

and weight, which favored men and discriminated against women. A tribute to Peterson by the United Airlines

Association of Flight Attendants The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (commonly known as AFA) is a union representing flight attendants in the United States. As of January 2018, AFA represents 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines. Since 2004, AFA has been part of the C ...

notes that she and her peers helped to destroy discriminatory practices, advancing the rights of women and uprooting gender discrimination (example flight attendants' right to be married, which wasn't allowed until 1968). As of October 2021, Peterson lives in

Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. The city h ...

. Her husband, Raymond, predeceased her in March 2024.

References

External links

Flights of Fancy, The Guardian, July 7, 2007

Iris Peterson: 59 Years As A UA Flight Attendant (and still flying!)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Iris 1921 births Living people 20th-century American people 20th-century American women 21st-century American women American women centenarians Flight attendants Communications Workers of America people United Airlines people