I always thought of the FA position as the equivalent of working as a waiter or waitress--sorry..."server, who will be taking care of you today"...Most of them are young, most do a fairly decent job at it, some are exceptional, and some are terrible.

But, the key is, most move on. Can you imagine going to Chili's or Applebees and seeing some 64 year old waitress, who tells you that she has been working there since Nixon was president?

Yes, there are some high-end restaurants with much older, more experienced, and top-notch waiters--and they are top notch pros. Nowhere in the food industry would you have a work force that has been doing the same job for decades, but as they aged got sourer and sourer and couldn't be let go short of armed robbery.