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.[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]
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]
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:
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