Clay Lacy Aviation Review: A Broker's Take After the Solairus Deal

This Operator Highlight is a little different than the others. When we started this series we said we'd only feature operators we've actually worked with, and that nobody pays to be in it. Clay Lacy checks the first box easily. We've been booking their airplanes for years. But I'm going to be upfront that our relationship with them hasn't always been the smoothest, and the reason I'm writing about them now is mostly about what's coming next, not what's behind us.

If you've searched for a Clay Lacy Aviation review lately, alot of what you'll find is already outdated. As of October 1, 2026, Clay Lacy's aircraft management and charter business belongs to Solairus Aviation. That changes things for anyone chartering one of their jets, so here's how I see it from the broker side.

The Short Version

• Aircraft and crews: top tier. Clay Lacy runs some of the nicest large cabin airplanes on the West Coast.

• Safety: ARGUS Platinum, Wyvern Wingman and IS-BAO Stage III. You won't find much better.

• Fleet: heavy on Gulfstreams, Bombardier Globals and Falcons, which is exactly what you want for coast to coast and international trips.

• Pricing: historically all or nothing. Well above market on regular trips, but some of the best empty legs around.

• The big news: Solairus closed on the management and charter side October 1, 2026. Clay Lacy keeps its FBOs, maintenance shops and real estate.

• Our take: this deal could pair Clay Lacy's operations with a sales and service culture that matches them. We're optimistic.

The Story Behind Clay Lacy

You can't talk about West Coast private aviation without Clay Lacy. He started the company at Van Nuys Airport in 1968, back when it was the only jet charter outfit west of the Mississippi. Early clients included Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant, and in 1981 they opened what's considered the first all-jet FBO. Clay himself was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010, and honestly he's one of the reasons the business jet industry looks the way it does today.

Brian Kirkdoffer joined as a pilot in 1990, became president in 2006 and took a majority stake in 2013. Under him the company grew into a full service shop: aircraft management, charter, maintenance, avionics, interiors and FBOs on both coasts after they picked up Key Air on the East Coast in 2016.

Fleet and Safety

Before the sale, Clay Lacy managed somewhere around 140 to 160 jets depending on who you ask, with about 51 of them on its own Part 135 charter certificate. That's not a giant number of charter airplanes, but the quality is the point. This is a heavy jet and ultra long range operation first. Think Gulfstream G450s through G650s, Global 6000s and 7500s, Falcon 900s and 7Xs.

On safety they've always done things right. ARGUS Platinum, Wyvern Wingman, IS-BAO Stage III, plus they were the first in North America to get IS-BAH Stage II on the ground handling side. When a client asks me "is this operator safe," Clay Lacy is an easy yes.

By ARGUS numbers they flew about 12,237 charter hours in 2025, which ranked them 17th among U.S. operators. Stack that up against Solairus at 7th and you start to see why this deal made sense.

Our Experience Working With Clay Lacy

The airplanes have never been the issue. Crews show up sharp, the cabins are clean and the maintenance is some of the best around. Where it's been harder for us is pricing. There was never really a middle ground. On a normal trip their quote would often come in way above the market, sometimes close to double what comparable aircraft were going for. But every so often they'd have an empty leg that was hands down the best deal out there, a G650 or Global for a fraction of retail. So you'd either pass on them or jump on it fast. Not alot in between.

The pricing was also pretty much take it or leave it. If you came back asking for a little help on a quote, there usually wasn't a conversation to be had. Honestly, at times it felt like brokers just weren't a priority for them, which I get to a degree when you have a fleet that good. But alot of private flyers book through a broker, and those clients end up seeing fewer of these airplanes because of it.

I'll leave it at that. It was never a safety thing and never a quality thing. It was a fit thing, and I think the new ownership is a real chance to fix it.

The Solairus Deal: What Actually Changed

Solairus announced it was buying Clay Lacy's aircraft management and charter divisions on August 7, 2026, and closed the deal October 1. A second group of aircraft moves over starting November 1, with the transition running through November. Here's what you need to know:

• Solairus is based in Petaluma, California, founded in 2009, with more than 100 bases and over 1,200 crew and staff.

• Together they manage 500+ aircraft, which Solairus says makes them the largest managed fleet in the world.

• Roughly 200 aircraft will sit on the Solairus charter certificate, and over 150 of the combined fleet are large cabin or ultra long range jets.

• More than 135 Clay Lacy owners have already signed on to move their airplanes to Solairus.

• Clay Lacy keeps its FBOs at Van Nuys, John Wayne and Waterbury-Oxford in Connecticut, the Sun Valley FBO they're building, plus maintenance and real estate.

Solairus CEO Dan Drohan has been pretty honest that it won't be perfect right away. In his note to staff he wrote, "This is a business of spinning plates." I actually like that he said it. Integrations this big always have a few bumps, and it's better to hear it upfront.

Why We're Hopeful

Here's my honest opinion. Clay Lacy built one of the best operations sides in the business. Solairus brings the scale of running the biggest managed fleet in the country, plus modern tools and bulk purchasing power. If they can keep Clay Lacy's crews, maintenance standards and airplanes, and price them closer to the market on everyday trips with a desk that's open to working with brokers, that's a really good combination for clients. Same great airplanes, more middle ground.

It also means more large cabin lift available on one certificate in Southern California, which should help on availability during busy weeks like the holidays, ski season and big event weekends. And more airplanes repositioning means more empty legs out of Van Nuys and the Bay Area.

We'll be watching how the November transition goes and I'll update this post once we've flown a few trips under the new setup.

If You're Booking One of These Jets Right Now

• Ask whose certificate the trip is on. During the transition some airplanes are on Clay Lacy's certificate and some on Solairus. It affects who's legally operating your flight, so get it in writing.

• Check the safety ratings for that operator, not just the brand. Both are ARGUS Platinum and Wyvern Wingman, but always confirm.

• If you have a Clay Lacy Preferred program, call and get the terms confirmed in writing. Programs often change after an acquisition, and we've seen how fine print works in our jet card breakdown.

• Expect large cabin pricing. Heavy jets usually run $8,000 to $11,000 an hour and ultra long range $11,000 to $16,000 an hour in today's market.

The Clay Lacy FBOs Aren't Going Anywhere

This part gets missed alot. Clay Lacy the FBO is staying Clay Lacy. Van Nuys is still the flagship, and closer to home for us, their John Wayne Airport (SNA) FBO is still running while a new FBO and hangar complex gets built there. If you're flying in or out of Orange County, that's a great spot to start a trip. Land at SNA and you're 15 minutes from Newport Beach, Corona del Mar and Laguna.

They also have a Connecticut FBO at Waterbury-Oxford, handy for Litchfield County and western Connecticut, and a Sun Valley FBO planned for 2027, which will be a nice option for Idaho ski trips.

Our Verdict

Clay Lacy has always had the airplanes, the crews and the safety record. The part that held them back for us was pricing with no middle ground, and that's exactly what the Solairus deal has a chance to fix. I'm optimistic. If you're looking at a large cabin charter on the West Coast, these airplanes deserve to be on your list, and we're happy to quote them right next to everything else in the market.

If you'd like to fly on one of the Gulfstreams, Globals or Falcons Solairus just picked up from Clay Lacy, let's get you flying. Request a quote and we'll line them up right next to the best options in the market so you can see exactly where they stand. And if you missed how this series started, here's why we do these Operator Highlights.

Sources: Private Jet Card Comparisons, AIN.