Mark Abbott was walking toward my table, MacBook Air in one arm. We agreed to meet up at the lobby of a posh five-star hotel in Makati, Metro Manila’s business district, where he was enjoying a one-day layover after flying from Honolulu to Sydney. After Manila, he was going to Taipei.
Despite having been to five different countries and states in the last five days as a cargo air pilot for FedEx, he seems relaxed and sips coffee while the hotel orchestra plays in the background. It doesn’t seem he’s spent the better part of his time up in the air.
After serving in the Gulf War and finishing his active-duty commitment in the U.S. Air Force in 1991, Abbott decided against more lucrative opportunities in commercial aviation to join Air Serv International, a nonprofit that specializes in aviation services for humanitarian agencies, which he used to be a pilot for until the organization decided to move its operations to Uganda. Abbott still sits as chairman of the board for the organization though.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
