Patrick Smith is an airline pilot, author and air travel blogger. For ten years his "Ask the Pilot" column was a fixture in the magazine Salon. Today he hosts the popular online site WWW.ASKTHEPILOT.COM, which covers all aspects of air travel, from terrorism and security to airline customer service. Patrick has appeared on over 200 radio and television outlets, and his work has been cited in numerous publications worldwide. Patrick's writing incorporates a wide range of knowledge and experience from both inside and outside of aviation, incorporating personal stories and insights into geography and culture from his life and travels abroad. (His self-published punk rock fanzines and poetry journals of the 1980s and 1990s are considered among the more peculiar works of literature ever produced by a native of Revere, Massachusetts.)An avid traveler, Patrick has visited more than eighty countries around the globe. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.