Air New Zealand’s longest-serving flight attendant has retired from the skies after 53 years.
Ron Twine has welcomed millions of passengers on board and racked up countless miles since he began his career as an international flight attendant at the age of just 21.
Now, at the age of 74, Twine’s decided it’s time to touch down for good.
He'll be on his way to Vancouver for his last return trip as a flight attendant.
"I’ve done it a thousand times before but I’m still feeling a little nervous, to be honest. I’m heading into the unknown – I really am," he told Seven Sharp.
"I’m going to miss people. I’ve been doing this 53 years and it’s just been the people who’ve been my life for that time. I’ve made so many incredible friends with crew and passengers.
"It’s the people who have made this job for me, and that’s what I’m going to miss."
There's been plenty of changes since he began his career in 1970, from the early days of propellers to the 787 Dreamliner.
Fashion has also shifted over the decades, from passengers wearing their Sunday best to the casualwear of today.
Smoking on planes – the "bane of my life" – has also been banned.
"You get off a flight, your clothes would stink, your hair would stink. It was straight into the shower and I used to hang my uniform in an open window if I could before flying again the next day," he recalled.
Twine said he's met a few famous faces over the decades, including George Harrison of The Beatles.
"I spent two or three hours chatting with him one night. Being a guitarist and a singer myself, we had a good chat and I’d been electrocuted once on stage with a guitar and he said he’d had a few tingles as well.
"He was just the most amazing gentleman to talk to – he really was. He was great."
While he'll be hanging up his uniform for good, Twine said he isn't giving up taking to the skies altogether.
"I'm looking forward to doing a bit of travel when I want to do it," he said.
"Also, the golf course will see a lot more of me, as well as the garden. I might even be able to get out the fishing gear for a while too.
"I think it’s going to be a pretty full-on life."
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