Solairus Aviation Marks One Year
Growing Private Aviation Startup Now Managing 43 Aircraft
Solairus Aviation (www.solairusaviation.com) marked the completion of its first year in business at the beginning of this month, following an exciting year of building the necessary infrastructure, certifications and accreditation needed to manage a top-tier, world-class operator of business aircraft.
“More than anything, we recognized that we absolutely had to have the right people in place; that was everything. And that team has done an incredible job in the last year. They’ve absolutely turned lemons into lemonade and I am very proud of them.”
In less than a year, Solairus obtained FAR Part 135 certification, achieved ARG/US Platinum status, earned “10 or more” seating/large cabin authority and worldwide operations specifications and finally, in January of this year, received IS-BAO certification.
“We knew that the biggest challenge in starting Solairus was not just in launching a new venture in this economy, but building a new organization with a new culture – and making sure that we had all the important components that need to be in place to be a competitor in this industry, in a very short period of time,” said Solairus’ CEO Dan Drohan. “More than anything, we recognized that we absolutely had to have the right people in place; that was everything. And that team has done an incredible job in the last year. They’ve absolutely turned lemons into lemonade and I am very proud of them.”
“New buyers of aircraft are normally the people most interested in professional management, and as the market picks up we are seeing more opportunities to present our services to new owners,” said Solairus’ Vice Chairman Jake Cartwright. “At the same time, the effort we have made to gain brand recognition of the company on a national level, both within the industry and with current aircraft owners, is paying off. We have an ambitious, but attainable, fleet growth plan for 2010, so we are cautiously optimistic in our outlook right now.”
