solairus aviation blog

Solairus Aviation Chairman and CEO Dan Drohan knows exactly what fuels his company's success: its people

By Karen Brost
Flying High

Dan Drohan was lucky enough to have discovered his life's passion at a very young age. "I started flying when I was 12 or 13," he explains. Today, he is Chairman and CEO of Solairus Aviation, an aircraft management and private charter jet company headquartered in San Francisco with aircraft and regional offices nationwide. Solairus currently manages more than 50 aircraft but it all started with a single plane.

When Dan was in high school, he worked at an airport and earned his private pilot's license. He eventually went off to college, but his college career was short lived. "I came back in December of my freshman year for the break," he explains. "My mother wondered why there was a steamer trunk behind me. At that point, I had decided that aviation was where I wanted to be."

Within a year and a half, Dan started Sunset Aviation, a one-man operation that offered air tours over the San Francisco Bay and the wine country. He then eventually moved into the world of private jet charters. Over the next fifteen years, he grew the operation into a company with 100 employees and 25 planes. Then, unknown to him at the time, he was about to be in for a turbulent ride.

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Solairus Aviation is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and has over twenty-five base locations across the United States and Europe. With a fleet of nearly 50 managed aircraft, Solairus is one of only 97 Aviation Research Group/US Platinum-rated charter operators in the world. After completion of an intense operations and safety systems audit, the ARG/US Platinum rating is awarded to those who have demonstrated that their procedures meet or exceed industry “Best Practices” in all phases. Solairus has also received the NBAA Commercial Business Flying Safety Award and is an IS-BAO certified company. Solairus offers a full range of services in addition to aircraft management and private jet charters, which includes aircraft charter sales, aviation support services, and consulting. For more information about Solairus Aviation, please visit www.solairusaviation.com or call 800-359-7861.

By Tom Benvenuto - VP Flight OPS -

An external audit is a review of Solairus Aviation’s overall private charter jet operation by individuals not affiliated with the company. External audits play a major role in the validation of our core private jet safety and operational values as they are conducted by outside individuals with unbiased opinions.

Solairus is externally audited on a biannual basis with the goal being certification for ARG/US Platinum ratings and IS-BAO (International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations) standards. These are the most extensive and important external audits the company experiences. Additionally, Solairus is occasionally audited by other charter operators, as well as major corporations with existing flight departments who wish to utilize the Solairus private charter jet fleet for supplemental lift.

Audits for ARG/US Platinum and IS-BAO utilize a code of best practices designed to help flight departments worldwide achieve a high level of safety and professionalism. At the core of IS-BAO and the ARG/US Platinum standards lies the requirements for a comprehensive and effective aviation Safety Management System (SMS).

The auditor’s efforts during this multi-day event does more than factually determine compliance against a set of very high standards. Their audit also produces an educational and relative analysis of Solairus’ daily practices and procedures compared to those which have proven themselves effective in all aspects of flight operation.

These coveted internationally recognized independent ratings prove Solairus’ commitment to the highest levels of safety and professionalism within the private charter jet industry.

Solairus Aviation is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and has over twenty-five base locations across the United States and Europe. With a fleet of nearly 50 managed aircraft, Solairus is one of only 97 Aviation Research Group/US Platinum-rated charter operators in the world. After completion of an intense operations and safety systems audit, the ARG/US Platinum rating is awarded to those who have demonstrated that their procedures meet or exceed industry “Best Practices” in all phases. Solairus has also received the NBAA Commercial Business Flying Safety Award and is an IS-BAO certified company. Solairus offers a full range of services in addition to aircraft management, which includes aircraft charter sales, aviation support services, and consulting. For more information about Solairus Aviation, please visit www.solairusaviation.com or call 800-359-7861.

Private jet services provider, Solairus Aviation was recently ranked 58th in the NorthBay Biz Top 500 Companies.

Solairus Aviation is raising the bar in the private jet charter and private jet management industries. Founded by an accomplished executive leadership team, Solairus is focused on delivering exceptional charter flight services and outstanding asset optimization solutions that truly go above and beyond standard offerings. Our team comprises a passionate group of flight and aircraft specialists who are focused on exceeding the expectations of our clients and redefining integrated private jet services.

Solairus Aviation is a US-based aviation services company whose core business is safe, reliable, and economical aircraft operation.  We accomplish this by using systems, processes, and procedures developed and honed throughout thirty plus years in the industry. Our flights are customized to meet your individual travel and financial requirements with the highest standards of safety and personalized service.  

Solairus Aviation is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.  We have over twenty-five base locations across the United States and Europe, and employ more than two hundred flight crew and support personnel for the operation of more than forty-five client-owned, private jet aircraft.  Solairus offers a full range of services in addition to aircraft charter sales, which include aircraft management, aviation support services, and consulting.

With nearly 50 private jets in Solairus Aviation’s fleet, the Client Services, Flight Operations, Accounting , and Maintenance departments know how to process a new contract quickly and effectively to get our latest Solairus clients flying safely as soon as possible.

In this two part article, we'll learn how Solairus' departments work together to get a new private jet added to the fleet. To read part 1, please click here.

Here's how they do it:

ACCOUNTING by Mark Dennen

Accounting’s role in bringing on new private jet  is setting up workable policies and procedures while providing customer service to employees and clients.

Once the management contract is signed, accounting creates a new bank account for the private jet and works with the client to provide the required documents to  bank personnel. The operating deposit requirement is then sent to the client with their new bank wire instructions.    This quickly puts into motion the internal requirements for properly accounting for the aircraft’s costs by the following tasks:

- Establishing the tail number in the accounting software system.

- General Ledger accounts are set up for the bank account, operating deposits.

- Getting the employees set up on ExpenseWatch for electronic expense reporting.

- Facilitate with base personnel and vendors in getting accounts set up specific to the private jet.

- Vendor database is updated with new vendors utilized by the private jet for processing payments.

- Fuel cards ordered by client services and cards to be sent by accounting to base personnel.

Once the private jet has been on-boarded, the accounting department works very closely with flight operations, client services, payroll, and HR to ensure all flight support personnel have a full understanding of the essential procedures in providing the post-flight paperwork, base approval of vendor invoices, and expense reports and time sheets for contract crew members. Employees are then instructed to address accounting issues and submit paperwork to their designated accountant for the private jet. 

MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT by Rene Cervantes

Solairus Aviation’s Maintenance Department plays a vital role in ensuring that all fleet aircraft are operated and maintained to the highest industry standards. Safety, regulatory compliance, and passenger comfort are the primary responsibilities and focus of the maintenance department. The process starts with an intensive inspection of the private jet and the associated maintenance records, and a complete maintenance history is validated to ensure conformance with domestic and international regulations. Additionally, safety equipment and aircraft provisions are reviewed and passenger entertainment and convenience items are appointed at the aircraft owner’s discretion. Concurrent with the compliance inspection, a dedicated maintenance technician is selected to oversee and perform ongoing scheduled maintenance inspections. Qualified candidates are put through a rigorous process to ensure that only the most qualified individual is selected. The maintenance department also assists in establishing the required vendor accounts necessary to operate and maintain the aircraft.

To read part 1, please click here.

With nearly 50 private jets in Solairus Aviation’s fleet, the Client Services, Flight Operations, Accounting , and Maintenance departments know how to process a new contract quickly and effectively to get our latest Solairus clients flying safely as soon as possible.

In a two part article, we'll learn how Solairus' departments work together to get a new private jet added to the fleet.

Here's how they do it:

CLIENT SERVICES by Linda Holmes

Once the executive management team initiates the contract negotiation process with the prospective managed client, a CRO, Flight Coordinator, and Client Services Director are all assigned as the main points of contact for the life of the account. As Solairus’ start-up coordinator, Rosanna Rutherford works with the team assigned to the new account and initiates the internal on-boarding process.

With the CRO’s approval, a heads-up notice is sent to all office personnel to confirm Solairus is close to having a contract signed. This is an important step in the private jet on-boarding process as there are many tasks that must begin prior to having the contract signed. Once the CRO confirms that the management contract has been signed, the new contract notice is sent out to all personnel that sets an extensive three page, multi-departmental checklist in motion. A start-up conference call is conducted to streamline communication and ensure each department is aware of their specific role in the start-up procedure, all client/crew expectations, and the timeline/sequence of events.

Client services’ role is to work closely with the CAM and crew (if there is one assigned) and welcome them to Solairus while acting as the liaison between departments. In addition to providing the CAM and crew with company information and tools for success, client services sets up the initial training classes and works as the point of contact for the CAM on anything and everything that they may need. If the aircraft does not have an assigned crew, client services works with part time pilots and vendor companies to temporarily staff the aircraft while recruiting and hiring the long-term crew.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS by Tom Benvenuto

When Flight Operations receives the go ahead for adding a private jet, there are multiple tasks which must be accomplished to get the aircraft on the Part 135 certificate or approved for Part 91 operation in a timely and orderly fashion. The first thing Flight Operations looks at when adding a new aircraft is crew staffing. Are we dealing with an aircraft that has a dedicated crew, or are we starting from scratch where we have to go out and hire all new personnel? Sometimes it takes a considerable amount of time in order to find qualified and competent pilots that fit the client profile. This can often be the most difficult obstacle in the process as we need to find the right chemistry between client and crew.

Once the crew is selected, we have to get them trained. Typically training involves company indoctrination and simulator training in order to qualify the individual as a crew member on a Solairus aircraft. The time frame for “spooling-up” a crew can take anywhere from 30 to 90 days depending on whether it is a 91 or 135 aircraft and whether the crew came qualified on the aircraft already. If the aircraft is not on the 135 certificate, obtaining the required Letters of Authorizations, RVSM, and Special Airspace Authorization is necessary, which can take weeks of working with the FAA.

Careful consideration and attention to detail are extremely important in making sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed in order to expedite the process of adding a private jet to the Solairus Aviation team.

Click here to read part 2, Accounting and Maintenance!