From light aircraft to private Falcon

But it wasn’t the right moment to convince customers. Charles first had to convince his parents that he had found the right career. At the end of the 1990s, the recruitment of airline pilots was not going well. “Once I joined the flying club, I had to prove to them that it was not a teenage whim.” The proof came barely a year later, on the day of his 16th birthday. Charles made his first solo flight on an Air France Aeroclub (ACAF) plane at Toussus-le-Noble, in the Yvelines. Another sign of his destiny, as we shall see… At 17, he was qualified as a private pilot. Mum and Dad were reassured about his motivation and assured him of their financial support for his professional pilot training. Charles had yet to tame the airplane.

He then became a teaching assistant at the Mermoz Institute and invested the savings earned in this position in training as an instructor pilot, with the idea of increasing his flying hours and to thus become more attractive to potential employers. His very first activity as a professional pilot was offered to him by the Boulogne-Billancourt Aeroclub (ACBB) at Saint-Cyr l’École aerodrome. Installed as a volunteer instructor in the right seat of a Robin DR400, he was enthusiastic about the idea of putting theory into practice which he passed on to his students through meticulous pre and post-flight briefings. This took too long for the club officials who saw the fleet’s flying hours drop after Charles arrived!

“Do it well or don’t do it, that’s my motto”. Charles Clair understood from this first professional experience that his obsession with a job well done could only be fulfilled in the context of his own flying school. It was called AIR ET COMPAGNIE, in 2004 and success came quickly, registrations for the “Charles Clair” flying lessons sold out. Charles also filled up his flight log, carrying out air radio relays for international cycling races on behalf of the Tour de France company, ASO.

The persuasiveness that worked with his parents had developed, and Charles won a business provider’s contract with DARTA. He then had to find customers to keep the company’s trust! Thanks to his relations within the Tour de France organization, he made it possible for DARTA to sell the Tour de France the first private flight for transporting cyclists and VIPs, giving up his commission to snatch the deal from under the noses of competing brokers. The objective here was not to earn money, but just to meet Sylvie Darnaudet, decision-maker for the hiring of pilots within the DARTA company. He was still on the same path…

Charles got an interview with the company director and put all his cards on the table. “I told her that I was by no means a trade professional, but that I just wanted to be a pilot with them”. Impressed with the audacity of the candidate, and although DARTA was not recruiting at that point in time, Sylvie Darnaudet promised that he would be the next pilot hired. She also made a prediction that would soon be confirmed: “We will take you as a pilot, but I predict that you will not stay with us, you are not made to be a pilot …” At least, not only a pilot… 

As AIR ET COMPAGNIE passed the 3 million euro turnover mark, Charles Clair qualified in 2009 as a Falcon 50 pilot, then became assistant to the chief pilot at DARTA. He reformed the operations management system and left his mark, just as he had tried to do with his first employer. “It was at this point that I felt the passion for business taking precedence over that of flying.” One fine day, he said to the Darnaudet, father and daughter: “The days of the Beechcraft 200 are over, you have to switch to the Very Light Jet.” With his characteristic self-assurance Charles dared to tell his company bosses, the majority of whose fleet was made up of propeller planes, that they needed to change type. A few months later, the “VLJ” market exploded with the arrival of the Cessna Citation Mustang. 

Charles persuaded an owner pilot whose Cessna Citation Mustang private plane was housed by DARTA, to place it in the Public Transport fleet with DARTA in order to begin the transition. He thus encouraged the Darnaudet to open a new flight sector, with a 10th type of aircraft. Responsible for integrating it into the fleet list with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on behalf of DARTA, Charles Clair was turned down. 10 different types was too much for this company.

Charles made arrangements: for a holding company, a maintenance workshop, one then two then three airplanes, he initially invested 400,000 euros to acquire infrastructure at Toussus. An industry leader of a CAC 40 company also entrusted him with his private plane. Charles was still demonstrating his negotiating skills: “I had 15 minutes before the board of directors of this group to convince them to buy a new plane, I had repeated my pitch dozens of times, it lasted 17 minutes, I got the plane.”

The group reached the 10 million euro turnover mark in 2014. The ASTONJET fleet continues to develop and includes, in addition to the first Cessna Citation Mustang that made it up, the latest flagships of the American manufacturer, such as the Citation M2 from 2016, and even the Citation Latitude in 2017. “From 2019, we will go long-haul with heavier and even more efficient business aircraft”.

Charles Clair now had his own airline, ASTONJET, founded in 2009; a flying school, ASTONFLY (formerly known as AIR ET COMPAGNIE) born in 2004, and now the premier French ATO (Approved Training Organization) with nearly 150 airline pilots trained each year and a dedicated fleet, distinct from that of the airline, of around thirty light single- and twin-engine light aircraft.