Full-Time
Sales Director
Fleet Development
Posted on 9/10/2026
Solairus Aviation
1,001-5,000 employees
Private aircraft charter and asset management
No salary listed
Petaluma, CA, USA
In Person
Regular travel is required for client meetings, industry events, internal meetings, and other business-development activities.
Bachelor's
 Sales & Account Management (1) |
|---|
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- A bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of relevant education and professional experience.
- Significant experience in business development, sales, client development, aircraft management, business aviation, or a related field.
- Demonstrated ability to develop relationships with sophisticated clients and professional intermediaries and convert those relationships into business opportunities.
- Strong understanding of business aviation, private aircraft ownership, aircraft management, charter operations, or adjacent aviation services.
- Demonstrated ability to manage a complex consultative sales process involving multiple internal and external stakeholders.
- Strong executive presence and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to communicate credibly with aircraft owners, C-suite executives, family offices, attorneys, brokers, and other professional advisors.
- Strong written communication skills and demonstrated ability to develop high-quality proposals, presentations, correspondence, and other client-facing materials.
- Strong analytical skills, including the ability to research markets, evaluate data, identify prospective clients, and translate information into actionable sales opportunities.
- Proficiency with CRM platforms, Microsoft Office applications, and contemporary research, data-analysis, and sales-productivity tools.
- Demonstrated aptitude for developing or using workflow automation, data tools, artificial intelligence, or other technologies that improve sales productivity and effectiveness.
- Strong organizational and pipeline-management skills with consistent attention to follow-through, responsiveness, and detail.
- Demonstrated ability to operate independently while functioning effectively as part of a collaborative sales and operating organization.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion when handling confidential or commercially sensitive information.
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly for client meetings, industry events, internal meetings, and other business-development activities.
- A valid driver's license and ability to meet company travel requirements.
- Develop and execute business-development activities that result in new aircraft management relationships and growth of the managed fleet.
- Build and maintain relationships with aircraft owners, prospective buyers, brokers, attorneys, wealth advisors, family offices, aircraft finance professionals, original equipment manufacturer representatives, and other sources of qualified opportunities.
- Identify, qualify, cultivate, and advance prospective aircraft management opportunities from initial contact through contract execution and aircraft onboarding.
- Represent the company professionally in meetings, industry events, conferences, aircraft transactions, and other settings where prospective clients and referral partners are engaged.
- Understand prospective clients’ objectives, operating requirements, service expectations, and decision criteria, and coordinate company resources to develop a compelling management solution.
- Prepare and deliver proposals, presentations, financial analyses, management comparisons, and other sales materials appropriate to individual prospects and opportunities.
- Coordinate with Fleet Development leadership and internal subject-matter experts, including operations, charter, finance, maintenance, safety, human resources, legal, and other departments, to ensure proposals and commitments accurately reflect company capabilities and operating requirements.
- Maintain an accurate and actionable pipeline of prospects and opportunities, including documentation of contacts, activities, probability, timing, next actions, and anticipated aircraft additions.
- Use internal and external data sources to identify aircraft owners, transactions, aircraft deliveries, market activity, and other indicators that may generate qualified opportunities.
- Conduct targeted research and data analysis to improve prospect identification, territory development, intermediary engagement, and business-development prioritization.
- Develop tools, workflows, templates, dashboards, and automation that improve prospecting, proposal generation, reporting, and follow-up.
- Strengthen sales processes, best practices, messaging, competitive intelligence, and proposal content.
- Maintain awareness of competitive aircraft-management offerings, market conditions, aircraft transactions, industry trends, and other factors affecting the company’s ability to attract and retain managed aircraft.
- Collaborate with other Fleet Development professionals by sharing leads, information, relationships, resources, and expertise when doing so advances company and client interests.
- Support colleagues on significant or complex opportunities without regard to individual ownership of the opportunity.
- Facilitate an effective transition from the sales process to aircraft onboarding and ongoing account management, ensuring that commitments, expectations, and relevant client information are communicated accurately to responsible teams.
- Exercise discretion and professionalism when handling confidential client, aircraft, financial, competitive, and company information.
Solairus Aviation provides private aircraft charter and aviation asset management. It serves aircraft owners by safely and efficiently operating and managing their aircraft, while customizing services to meet each owner’s travel and financial needs. The company operates a network of over seventy base locations across the United States with more than 1,600 flight crew and support personnel and a fleet of 275+ aircraft, including turboprops for short trips and light jets for three-hour or shorter flights. Revenue comes from charter fees and management contracts. Solairus differentiates itself through its large nationwide footprint, extensive crew and support resources, and tailored asset optimization and flight operation services that emphasize safety and personalized service. The company’s goal is to provide safe, reliable, and efficient charter flights and asset management to maximize value and convenience for aircraft owners.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
N/A
Total Funding
N/A
Headquarters
Petaluma, California
Founded
2009
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- The August 7, 2026 Clay Lacy deal expands Solairus beyond 500 managed aircraft.
- Nearly 200 charter aircraft, including 150 large-cabin jets, strengthen premium transatlantic demand.
- Solairus’ 2024 G700 and Challenger 3500 additions signal access to newer, higher-margin aircraft.
What critics are saying
- Clay Lacy closing depends on regulatory approval by September 2026; failure blocks the scale story.
- Six-month certificate migration after closing can disrupt owners, crews, and dispatch reliability.
- Cole and Funes class actions expose employment liabilities and distract management through 2026 litigation.
What makes Solairus Aviation unique
- Solairus becomes the world’s largest pure-play aircraft manager after Clay Lacy closes.
- Its 500-plus managed-aircraft network spans 100-plus bases and deepens charter availability.
- The Portside Avianis platform standardizes fleet management, quoting, and data interoperability across operations.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Wellness Program
401(k) Company Match
Paid Vacation
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 12%1 year growth
↑ 12%2 year growth
↑ 12%Solairus Clay Lacy acquisition to create world's largest aircraft management fleet. The Solairus Clay Lacy acquisition, announced on 7 August 2026, will push Solairus Aviation's managed fleet past 500 private aircraft and, according to the two companies, make Solairus the world's largest aircraft management company by fleet size. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the deal, Solairus is acquiring Clay Lacy Aviation's aircraft management and charter businesses. Solairus currently manages approximately 360 aircraft from more than 100 bases across North America; the Clay Lacy divisions included in the transaction manage a further roughly 140 aircraft. The combined entity will operate from Solairus's existing headquarters in Petaluma, California, with additional offices in Los Angeles and New York. Solairus Clay Lacy acquisition: what is and is not changing hands. The scope of the deal is specific. Clay Lacy Aviation's fixed-base operation (FBO), aircraft maintenance and aviation real estate businesses are excluded from the sale and will continue under the Clay Lacy name and current ownership. Brian Kirkdoffer, Clay Lacy Aviation's chairman, said the transaction would allow the company to concentrate on those remaining operations. Solairus founder and chief executive Dan Drohan framed the deal in terms of market position. 'With this transaction, Solairus solidifies its position as the leading pure-play aircraft management company in the world,' he said. The transaction is expected to close by the end of September 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Until then, the two businesses will continue to operate independently. Charter fleet scale and the commercial logic of consolidation. Beyond the headline managed-fleet figure, the deal assembles a substantial charter operation. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, the combined charter fleet will comprise nearly 200 aircraft, including 150 large-cabin and ultra-long-haul jets, a concentration of capacity at the top end of the market that positions Solairus to compete for high-yield transatlantic and transpacific demand. The rationale for scale in aircraft management is well established in the sector. Aviation Shop notes that larger managed fleets give operators greater buying power on fuel, insurance and maintenance, access to deeper crew pools, and more charter availability for owners seeking to offset the cost of ownership through revenue flying. A fleet of 500-plus aircraft amplifies each of those levers considerably. Clay Lacy Aviation's managed portfolio currently lists 160 jets representing approximately $3.5 billion in aircraft, according to the company's website, alongside a charter fleet of more than 60 large-cabin business jets. Solairus employs more than 1,200 flight crew and support personnel. The history behind the Clay Lacy name. The Clay Lacy brand carries unusual weight in US business aviation. Clay Lacy founded the company at Van Nuys Airport in California in 1968, establishing what became the first jet charter operation west of the Mississippi. The business initially flew Learjets and built a clientele drawn from Hollywood and the corporate world. Lacy, now 93, accumulated an extensive record in aviation beyond the charter business. He joined United Airlines at age 19, became an early Learjet demonstration pilot and salesman, and went on to set multiple aviation records. As an aerial cinematographer, he used a specially equipped Learjet and the Astrovision camera system on productions including Top Gun and The Right Stuff. In 1988, Lacy flew a Boeing 747SP around the world in 36 hours and 54 minutes as part of the Friendship One record flight. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010. Kirkdoffer joined Clay Lacy Aviation as a Learjet pilot in 1990, became company president in 2003 and acquired the business from Lacy in 2012. Solairus was founded in 2009. Full details of the transaction are set out in the Solairus Aviation announcement, with the closing deadline of end-September 2026 now the key date for operators, crew and owners with aircraft on either management programme. Ben Lockwood spent ten years in the travel industry before he started writing about it. He worked for a tour operator managing European destinations, moved to a hotel group running partnerships and distribution, and spent two years at an airline on the commercial side before the pandemic reshuffled the industry and his career along with it. He writes about destinations, airlines, hotels, and the travel industry that sits behind the booking page. He knows what load factors, ADR, and RevPAR mean and can explain them without putting the reader to sleep. Ben lives in Hampshire. He has a frequent flyer status he maintains out of stubbornness and an airport lounge ranking he updates mentally on every trip. 29/08/2026 28/08/2026
Solairus Aviation. Solairus To Acquire Clay Lacy Air Charter Management Biz Combined fleet would top 500 managed aircraft August 7, 2026 Solairus Aviation is acquiring Clay Lacy Aviation's aircraft management and charter divisions, which would push the former's managed fleet beyond 500 aircraft. According to Solairus, this deal - announced today and set to close next month - will make it the world's largest business aircraft management provider. Brian Kirkdoffer, chair of Clay Lacy's board, said the deal will allow Clay Lacy to sharpen its focus on its remaining FBO, maintenance, and real estate operations. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed. "With this transaction, Solairus solidifies its position as the leading pure-play aircraft management company in the world," said Solairus founder and CEO Dan Drohan. "It is about people, relationships, trust, and service." The combined company will be "better equipped to enhance the client experience while maintaining the high-touch, personalized management services that have been the hallmark of Solairus and Clay Lacy," he added. The deal stemmed from overlapping values between the two companies around safety and culture, Kirkdoffer said. "We know that we're putting our valued clients in good hands with Solairus." Solairus currently manages roughly 360 aircraft from more than 100 bases across North America, while Clay Lacy manages about 140 aircraft. Once the deal closes, Solairus will run the combined operation out of its Petaluma, California headquarters, as well as offices in Los Angeles and New York.
The acquisition of Clay Lacy by Solairus creates a charter fleet with nearly 200 aircraft, including 150 large cabin and ultra-long haul jets
US's Solairus Aviation adds first G700 and Challenger 3500.
Business aviation software company Portside is announcing a 10-year contract with Solairus Aviation to provide fleet management services through its Avianis platform.