Mark Vanhoenacker | |
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Born | 1974 Pittsfield, Massachusetts |
Nationality | Belgian-American |
Known for | Commercial pilot, author, and aviation columnist |
Mark Vanhoenacker (born 1974) is a Belgian-American airline pilot and author. He is a Boeing 787 pilot with British Airways and is also frequent contributor for the New York Times, Slate and the Financial Times with a focus on aviation. His first book, Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot was published in 2015, followed by How to Land a Plane in 2017, and Imagine a City in 2022.
Life
Vanhoenacker was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His father, a former priest who left his vocation, was born in Belgium. His mother was born to a Lithuanian family in the United States. Vanhoenacker studied at Amherst College, before undertaking an MPhil in history at the University of Cambridge. He started a PhD programme in East African history but decided after several months that he was more interested in pursuing a career in aviation. While saving money towards the expected cost of his flight training, he worked as a management consultant in Boston. He subsequently joined a British Airways (BA) training programme, and became a Boeing 747 pilot. Following the retirement of the 747 fleet in 2020, Vanhoenacker now flies Boeing 787 aircraft. Vanhoenacker is gay.
Writing
Vanhoenacker is a contributor to newspapers including the New York Times and Financial Times, and news websites such as Slate, with a focus on commercial aviation. He has written the following books:
- Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot (2015), Alfred A. Knopf (US) and Chatto & Windus/Vintage Books (UK), ISBN 9780385351829
- How to Land a Plane (2017), Quercus, ISBN 9781786487162
- Imagine a City: A Pilot Sees the World (2022), Chatto & Windus, ISBN 9781784743253
References
- Margolis, Jonathan (20 November 2016). "The ups and downs of being an airline pilot". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- Hannigan, Tim (23 June 2022). ""Imagine a City: A Pilot Sees the World" by Mark Vanhoenacker". Asian Review of Books. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- "The world as experienced from the cockpit". TLS. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Collins, Lauren (6–13 July 2015). "Bird's-Eye View". The New Yorker. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- Wilkinson, Carl (24 July 2015). "I never leave home without..." Financial Times. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- "About the Author: Mark Vanhoenacker '96". Amherst College. September 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ Nunes, Alex (5 November 2015). "The Poetry Up There: An Interview With Skyfaring Author and Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker". JSTOR Daily. JSTOR. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- "Extract from 'Skyfaring', by Mark Vanhoenacker". Financial Times. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- "Boeing out in style: a pilot's final flight in a 747". Financial Times. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- Vanhoenacker, Mark (23 June 2022). "A Gay Pilot Reflects on What Travel Means to Queer Folks". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- Vanhoenacker, Mark (14 May 2015). "In Flight". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- Vanhoenacker, Mark (10 October 2017). "As the 747 Begins Its Final Approach, a Pilot Takes a Flight Down Memory Lane". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
External links
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