Vampy
My understanding is that seniority rules cabin crew rosters in the US carriers. The senior (=oldest) people are usually on longhaul and cherry pick what are considered the best trips (ATL to MAN in your case).
It is therefore common to see a group of 'like-minded' attendants on the same route together. Furthermore, as I understand it, age cannot be used as a factor to retire someone, so long as they can still pass the mandatory check item(s) of opening the doors. For this reason, the attendants are often quite advanced in years, and if the rumours are true, occasionally into their 70's.
Under the new European legislation due in 2006, it will also be illegal to discrimate on age in the EU, which could see a similar situation develop this side of the pond!
In BA, the crew are rostered rather than seniority bid, so on longhaul you may in the future still see some crew under 50
