Notable flight attendants

HERE ARE some flight attendants worth mentioning:

* Ellen Church, the first female flight attendant.

* Neerja Bhanot, based in Bombay, India, died while saving passengers from terrorists on board the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 on Sept. 5, 1986.

* Betty Ong, on American Airlines Flight 11, the first of four hijacked aircraft on 9/11, is remembered for her actions as well as her calm and professional manner.

* On the same flight, Madeline Amy Sweeney was the first flight attendant to describe the hijackers and their actions.

* National Organization for Women former president Patricia Ireland.

* Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly, best known as a plane-crash survivor in TV's "Lost."

* Recent grandmother Carole Middleton, mother of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

* Lyudmila Putina, estranged wife of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

* Gabriele von Lutzau on hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 in 1977, praised for her loyalty to passengers and crew.

* Johanna Siguroardottir, former prime minister of Iceland, first openly lesbian head of government.

* Ron Akana, who holds the record for longevity in the field, retiring in 2012 at age 83 after working for United Airlines for 63 years.

* Too many beauty queens to name.

- Stu Bykofsky