Southwest Airlines' first Black flight attendant C.J. Bostic dies at age 73

Legendary Southwest Airlines flight attendant CJ Bostic has died at the age of 73.

Bostic was in Southwest's third class of flight attendant trainees and became the airline's first Black flight attendant in 1972, less than a year after Southwest's first flight.

Even other flight attendants often asked to pose for a picture with Bostic who was widely viewed as a model flight attendant to the point that she was frequently asked to lead training for new hires.

Bostic died Monday, ending a four-year battle with cancer.

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"At Easter time she would make businessmen dressed up in their suits hop onto the plane like rabbits," said Melanie Brown, a flight attendant who worked alongside Bostic at Southwest from 1977 until 2020 and calls Bostic her best friend. "And they would do it — every one of them — with a smile," the Dallas Morning News reported.

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