Born in Stavanger, Norway, Jack Holst knew at age 14 he was born to fly; totally contrary to his parents' wishes he joined the Norwegian Royal Air Force in 1923, flying the French airplane Kaja.

Emigrating to the United States (through Canada) in 1927, he received his commercial & air transport ratings in Wichita, KS, in 1929 & 1930, followed by a job with Wadlow Flying Service, barnstorming & stunt flying. Flying still being a novelty, for a time Jack entertained passengers in a seaplane over New York harbor.

Then, hired by United Airlines in Chicago (E. P. Lott) he was soon running the flight training school in Oakland, CA. Temporarily furloughed by U.A.L. when F.D. Roosevelt cancelled the airmail contract, Jack went to Costa Rica, & with a former Oakland student, co-founded Aerovillas Nationales. The Costa Rican Government required the new airline to fly every day for a year in order to win over the contract (passenger/cargo) from Pan American.

Rejoining United in late 1934, Jack continued as Captain, for passenger/cargo flights in conjunction with serving as Chairman of the Airline Pilots Association, Eastern Division. During World War II he flew with the Pacific Operations as part of the lend-lease plan the U.S. Government had with some of the commercial airlines.

Following WW II, he requested a temporary leave from U.A.L. Jack operated Transocean Airlines for Orvis Nelson in 1947, re-locating immigrants & displaced persons.

Returning to U.A.L., based in Denver, Jack continued to fly until early retirement in late 1961. Shortly thereafter, he became a Charter Member of the newly organized Retired United Pilots' Association (RUPA) in 1964. Having moved to Aspen, CO, Jack bought Aspen Travel Service & taught gliding in his spare time. He continued to reinstate his pilot's license until age 75, altogether logging an astounding 38,000 plus hours during his lifetime in the air. In 2004 he lived with his wife, Shirley, just 20 miles West of Aspen, doing remarkably well at age 96.

Among the many highlights in Jack's flying career, he recalled flying the first east-bound trip from Denver to Omaha, taking off from a grass field. Enroute to Costa Rica in the early 1930s, he had a wild experience - the engine of his Travelaire had been over-hauled at a flight mechanical training center; en-route, when changing the oil, he noticed metal shavings in the crank case, so, suspicious of problems he chose to fly a route over water parallel to the beach. Along with his wife & infant son, with an engine blowing up, he landed on the beach & flipped into the water. First rescuing his wife & son, he made numerous trips retrieving personal items, including the compass. In shark infested waters, Jack credits a year’s supply of spilled, powered baby food for preventing shark attacks. Fortunately, officials from Lloyd's of London (the plane's insurers) witnessed the accident & accommodated the family, temporarily until another plane was made available to continue the trip.