Aviation Business Journal 4th Quarter 2012 - 24

Solarius Aviation
Continued from page 23
aviation company’s success,” said
Drohan. “Anything that systematizes
the ‘gut check’ we all do when a flight
is proposed is great. At Solairus, SMS
involves every member of the team.”
For the company’s 180 pilots, sim-
ulator training is done twice yearly
at either Flight Safety International
or CAE, depending upon the aircraft.
Pilots are permitted to select either
one. Solaris also offers a variety of
additional training programs for
both Part 91 and Part 135 crews
that are carried out at the Petaluma
headquarters.
Drohan, himself, is a rated Air
Transport Pilot (ATP) with over
7,000 hours, and is current on the
Gulfstream G550. He, too, flies occasional
trips. “Unfortunately, I don’t
get to do that as much as I would
like,” he remarked. “But, several
members of the Solairus management
team are active, current pilots who
fly revenue trips for clients. We think
this is another important difference
for Solairus, because it demonstrates
that we are as passionate about the
business as the rest of the team − and
do the jobs we expect the rest of our
folks to do. It also gives us a chance to
make sure that any protocols, programs,
procedures or paperwork we
implement aren’t unwieldy and overly
burdensome.”
The company also employs flight
attendants on both a full- and parttime
basis, who are assigned mostly to
trips on the large cabin jets. Solairus
does some flight attendant instruction,
with more advanced training by
Flight Safety International or Aircare
FACTS.
Other training includes company
indoctrination, which is carried
24
out at the Petaluma headquarters.
Constructed as a two-day course,
“Solairus University,” as it is called,
is structured as a “two-way street,”
according to Drohan.
A series of presentations given
by company department heads are
designed to help each new employee
understand his or her role in the company,
and how that impacts other employees.
“In turn, it shows how other
staff members impact their jobs,” he
explained. “Everyone gets exposure
to what is done throughout the entire
company.” He added that Solairus
University has graduated some 75-80
employees to date.
“I think that one of the most im-
portant things we stress to our new
employees is that at Solairus we have
a people-centric culture,” Drohan
noted. “We give our people as much
room as possible to be problem solvers
and part of the problem-solution
process.”
Looking ahead, Drohan takes a
very candid and pragmatic view of
where the charter industry is going
including the challenges ahead.
“At some point, we need to work
together as an industry to prove that
we’re worth more than the skinny
margins the business has historically
suffered,” he said. “It’s not getting any
cheaper to be in this business, and the
pricing is headed in the wrong direction
because there is always someone
willing to do it for less.”
In that regard, Drohan is skeptical
of claims made by start-up operators
promising “airline-like” rate structures
for private aviation, which he
called “a difficult commitment to fill”
and one that will lead “to the further
degradation of the quality and luxury
element” of the charter business.
“You just can’t fly in a private
aircraft on the cheap,” he remarked.
“It’s an oxymoron, yet every day we
compete against operators trying to
make the concept stick.”
The difficulty is that, as Drohan
was frank to admit, smart organizations
are exploiting the charter as well
as the aircraft management market.
“We all work incredibly hard to
provide an exclusive, value-driven experience
for our managed clients, but
it’s difficult to compete with someone
who promises to do all the same
things for 50% less,” he stressed. “Of
course, they can’t possibly provide the
same level of service at those prices,
but that doesn’t prevent them from
promising it on the front side. I think
it’s disconcerting − and a challenge
for all of us in the marketplace − that
aircraft management companies are
charging less now for providing arguably
much more service, in a far more
complex environment, than they were
20 years ago.”
Given the challenges today, and
to come, Drohan reported that the
Solairus team will be expanded to
accommodate the company’s growth,
along with determining how to
become more efficient at delivering
a better service, using technology
and other new tools. “We rely heavily
on our team to help create those
efficiencies,” he concluded.“If we can
continue to do more without adding
proportionately more overhead that
will be win-win for the current team
members, our current clients and the
new clients we bring in the door.”
Aviation Business Journal | 4th
Quarter 2012

Aviation Business Journal 4th Quarter 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aviation Business Journal 4th Quarter 2012

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