easyJet celebrating the birthday of Pam, a cabin crew member of 20 years, who is turning 73 in July 2023. (Image: Matt Alexander/PA Wire)
Nana Pam’ is flying high at the age of 73 and has become one of the UK's oldest cabin crew members.
It was on an easyJet flight to Madrid 20 years ago that former hairdresser Pam Clark picked up a recruitment advertisement and was inspired to make her childhood dream come true – at the age of 53.
The grandmother, soon to become a great-grandmother, but known as ‘Nana Pam’ to her regular passengers, is now flying the flag for over 45’s to take advantage of easyJet’s drive to recruit career changers.
With 20 years of loyal service, Pam has welcomed an estimated 800,000 passengers on board 4,500 flights and as she turns 73 this week she is easyJet’s oldest employee.
Among those taken under her wing have been premiership footballers, TV stars, and a precious trombone needing its own seat.
When Pam showed up for her first day of training, despite her initial fears that she would stand out among younger colleagues, she found herself welcomed into a team from all walks of life and her exceptional customer service and people skills, saw her thrive in what turned out to be her longest career of all.
Pam is now helping easyJet to encourage other over 45s to follow their dreams just as she did, in her newly appointed role as a recruitment ambassador.
The new initiative from the airline builds on its successes over the past year in its commitment to diverse recruitment, as since the launch of the recruitment campaign last year have seen a 10% increase in crew members over 45 applying.
Research by easyJet in 2022 found that 78% of parents, aged 45 and over, wanted to take on a new challenge once their children fly the nest. Over half (57%) of the 2,000 British adults aged over 45 who were surveyed, said they hoped to find a career they were truly passionate about now their children were not dependent on them.
Pam celebrated with an easyJet plane shaped cake with her likeness on top and a framed photograph of her completing her recruitment training.
She said:
“My advice to anyone over the age of 45 thinking about applying for a role as cabin crew at easyJet would be to go for it. When I applied for the role 20 years ago I knew that my age and experience meant I had something really valuable to offer.
“Nowadays, I’m meeting more and more colleagues like me who have made a brave career change later in life. Don’t be afraid!
“My favourite part of the job has been meeting passengers from all over the world and giving them the most enjoyable travel experience possible. I’m proud to work at a company that puts people first.”
Jane Storm, Group People Director at easyJet said:
"At easyJet we put people at the heart of everything we do. We’re incredibly proud to have Pam on our team and she is a testament to our warm and welcoming cabin crew, who have a passion for great customer service.
"We would encourage people of all ages who share our passion to come on board and with Pam’s 73rdbirthday just around the corner, we’re hopeful she will inspire even more talented people to join us in the future."
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