Kern Award Winner Chandra Dusseault: Communication Is the Top Priority

Dec. 7, 2022

With her passion for excellence and knowledge, it’s no wonder that Chandra Dusseault is a recipient of NBAA’s 2022 Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award. Her commitment to aviation safety is straightforward: “I want to learn as much as possible, perform my job exceptionally and better support my team,” she declared.

And ever since she realized in high school that she had a mechanical aptitude, Dusseault has pursued her career in business aviation with a passion for safety and an understanding of the importance of communication.

Dusseault is currently a client aviation manager and maintenance supervisor at Solairus Aviation, where she manages everything related to her account’s Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft, managing a team of pilots, flight attendants and vendors. She also coordinates all aircraft movements and maintenance and much more. She travels with the airplane and performs much of the maintenance herself.

“I take extreme ownership of everything,” said Dusseault. “I have a lot of experience, but it’s important to communicate in a way that everyone has full transparency and knows what’s expected of them. When your whole team feels comfortable and enabled to be their best, we all benefit. Communication on a team is the number one priority.”

After receiving her A&P license from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Dusseault spent several years at Bombardier Aerospace, becoming a lead technician, then customer response team project manager and finally chief of maintenance for the OEM’s flight operations – Bombardier’s demo group.

Dusseault has been with Solairus since 2018, and soon after arriving there she realized the benefits that come with a college degree, which she earned while working for the charter/management company.

“I do so much work with administration, budget management and more that I was eager to add to my skill set,” noted Dusseault, who now has a bachelor’s degree in business management and believes that having a degree provides more career growth opportunities.

Her advice to others? “Gaining more knowledge and experience is never a bad thing.”

Dusseault also understands the importance of having mentors and asking questions.

“I seek out advice at any opportunity that I can,” she said. “We need to ask questions. There is always someone in the industry whose knowledge you can benefit from.”