Mark Vanhoenacker

Mark Vanhoenacker (born 1974) is a Belgian-American airline pilot and author.[1] 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.[2][3]

Mark Vanhoenacker
Born1974
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
NationalityBelgian-American
Known forCommercial pilot, author, and aviation columnist

Life

Vanhoenacker was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His father, a former priest who left his vocation, was born in Belgium.[4] His mother was born to a Lithuanian family in the United States.[5] 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.[6] While saving money towards the expected cost of his flight training, he worked as a management consultant in Boston.[4][7][8] He subsequently joined a British Airways (BA) training programme,[7] and became a Boeing 747 pilot. Following the retirement of the 747 fleet in 2020, Vanhoenacker now flies Boeing 787 aircraft.[9] Vanhoenacker is gay.[10]

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.[11][12] 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
  1. Margolis, Jonathan (20 November 2016). "The ups and downs of being an airline pilot". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  2. Hannigan, Tim (23 June 2022). ""Imagine a City: A Pilot Sees the World" by Mark Vanhoenacker". Asian Review of Books. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  3. "The world as experienced from the cockpit". TLS. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  4. Collins, Lauren (6–13 July 2015). "Bird's-Eye View". The New Yorker. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  5. Wilkinson, Carl (24 July 2015). "I never leave home without..." Financial Times. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  6. "About the Author: Mark Vanhoenacker '96". Amherst College. September 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  7. 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.
  8. "Extract from 'Skyfaring', by Mark Vanhoenacker". Financial Times. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  9. "Boeing out in style: a pilot's final flight in a 747". Financial Times. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  10. Vanhoenacker, Mark (23 June 2022). "A Gay Pilot Reflects on What Travel Means to Queer Folks". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  11. Vanhoenacker, Mark (14 May 2015). "In Flight". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  12. 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.


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