11 Seniors Who Took to the Skies Late in Life: a 13-Year-Old Pilot and a Stranger’s Hand

She is 80, and until this day she had never been on a plane. Her grandchild in Romania filmed the whole thing: her walk across the tarmac in a black headscarf with embroidered flowers, the climb up the stairs, and finally a seat by the window, where she sits still and looks out. The only caption is a handful of hashtags, and one of them says “forever young.”

“80 years- first flight ever”

On one flight, the seat next to this couple went to an 80-year-old woman who was flying for the first time, on her way to visit her grandchildren. She was very scared. So the man in the next seat held her hand through the whole flight. The video shows little more than the two hands on the armrest and the clouds outside the window, and his partner’s caption sums it up: “What a man.”

“Not an 80 year old gal taking my man”

“My mom made it, first flight in 69yrs”

I convinced my mum to come with us to Sardegna. This is her first flight ever, she is 69yo and SHE HAS BEEN ALWAYS EXTREMELY TERRIFIED to even think about flying.

She convinced somehow herself that she needs to trust pilots, engineers , technology and god. Im so proud of her and this is a reminder for you.

Wherever in the world you are right now, trust these and you will be fine. I promise. Think about this 69yo hero. She was so happy and relaxed.

She was super calm always looking down and watching the cities below. I was very surprised she was this calm. I think it helped she was praying before a lot.

Nana is 85, and flying was on her bucket list. When she finally checked it off, the pilot was her 13-year-old grandson, who is taking flying lessons. Before takeoff, the family asked her on camera whether this was her first flight. “Yes.” Whether her bucket list was to fly. “Yes.” And whether she ever thought her first flight would be with her 13-year-old grandson as the pilot. “No,” she said, smiling. And off they went.

“My 85year old Nana’s 1st flight and the pilot is her 13 year old grandson.”

At 85, this grandfather had never once been outside Saudi Arabia. His grandchild finally talked him into it. The video moves from the airport window to a hotel, a garden swing and a green mountain valley, with the grandfather in every frame. In the caption, the grandchild calls it one of the most enjoyable trips of their life and says they learned a lot from it. But the happiest part, they wrote, was convincing him to go.

“POV: You took your grandfather on his first trip outside Saudi Arabia, at 85”

For his 85th birthday, this grandfather got a surprise gift: the first flight of his life. The video follows him from the airport window to his seat next to Grandma, who brought a neck pillow, and ends with him on a sandy beach in a cap and checkered trousers. The family later added one detail in the caption: the sweet buns served on board made such an impression that Grandpa still talks about them.

“First flight, on his 85th birthday”

Our 93 year old grandma is flying in from Ohio today and we were so worried about the process of getting her on the plane because she doesn’t have a travel ID.

Our grandma also does not own a cell phone. So she left her home and was dropped off at the airport. This sweet man Carlos who works at the airport in Ohio was sweet enough to give us a call and tell us that our grandma was having trouble checking in.

Carlos told us that the ticket we purchased didn’t include the baggage fee. We messed that up! Unfortunately, our Grandma only carries cash and the counter does not accept cash for the baggage fee.

Carlos ended up using his own money out of his own pocket to pay for our grandma’s bag so that way she didn’t miss her flight!

I feel like he should get all the recognition in the world! He could have easily dropped our grandma off at the counter, but he went above and beyond!

Carlos, if you ever see this, thank you for reminding us that there are still incredibly kind people in this world.

I think the selfie he sent us was the cherry on top.

Grandma Jean is on her way to AZ!

For her 85th birthday, her family gave her a trip to Seville, and with it the first plane ride of her life. The video follows her down the jet bridge, to a row of seats with the rest of the family, and then to the window, where she watches the wing and the fields below with her mouth open.

“We gave her a trip to Seville for her 85th birthday, and she’s getting on a plane for the first time”

Whenever someone in the family flew abroad, Grandma would remark that she was the only one in the family who had never been on a plane. Her first grandchild decided to change that. A surprise at the airport was out of the question: Grandma is a retired dressmaker and would want outfits that fit, so the news came in January, about a week after her birthday. Her first question was whether her daughter was coming too. In May they flew from Jamaica to Punta Cana. At the airport she played the little arcade games, and on board she fell asleep. Asked after landing how her flight was, she said, “Great.”

“My grandma’s first flight ever”

For as long as her grandchild has known her, this granny said she would never, ever, ever get on a plane. At almost 80, she finally did, flying from Jamaica to Charlotte, North Carolina. She raised the grandchild who filmed this, and getting her on a plane, to anywhere at all, had been one of that grandchild’s goals. Now she’s visiting for the summer and spending time with her great-grandson.

“My granny said she would never ever get on a plane but she finally proved herself wrong”

Her grandson is a pilot, and on this day his passenger was his 80-year-old grandmother. In the cockpit of a small plane, in a headset, she laughs as he runs through his checks out loud, “Everything is looking good,” “Oil temp is good.” Asked how she likes it, she says it’s pretty and really smooth. They fly past Hyde Park, and the plan for afterward is already set: they’re going out to eat.

“Whoever thought at 80 I’d be flying in a plane with my grandson?”