Freestream Aircraft
Daily Briefing

Thursday, 9 July 2026

SpaceX doubles Starlink Aviation prices and adds regional boundaries

SpaceX has doubled the price of its Starlink Aviation service. The changes take effect for new customers immediately. Existing subscribers migrate to the updated plans on or after 7 August 2026. Hardware for business jets now costs $200,000, up from $145,000.

The revised structure runs three tiers. Aviation Regional 25 GB rises to $4,000 per month from $2,000, delivering up to 250 Mbps and a 25 GB monthly data cap. A new Aviation Regional Unlimited tier costs $12,500 per month, delivering up to 500 Mbps and unlimited data. Aviation Global Unlimited rises to $20,000 per month from $10,000, delivering up to 1 Gbps and worldwide coverage. Overage on the 25 GB tier is billed at $250 per gigabyte.

Both regional tiers restrict coverage to a single continental region. Owners who fly transatlantic or transpacific sectors now require Aviation Global Unlimited for uninterrupted coverage.

Bombardier, Gulfstream, Dassault, Embraer, Textron and Pilatus have all opened Supplemental Type Certificate paths for the Starlink Aviation antenna over the past two years. Starlink has become the default low-Earth-orbit cabin service on new-build large-cabin platforms. Gogo Business Aviation's Galileo HDX programme runs a parallel LEO service through Eutelsat OneWeb.

For owners, the change resets the operating-cost line for cabin connectivity. A hardware retrofit to Starlink Aviation now carries a $200,000 ticket before installation labour. Monthly service on a large-cabin aircraft that previously ran $10,000 for global unlimited coverage now runs $20,000. Existing subscribers on the older plans retain the current rates only until the 7 August 2026 migration date. Aircraft already in service with Starlink hardware installed do not require reinstallation; the change is contractual, not hardware-related.

Source: Aviation International News, 8 July 2026; Yahoo Finance; TechSpot.

Also today

Gulfstream and Rolls-Royce fly 100 per cent SAF at 50,000 feet

Gulfstream flew a G800 on 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel at high altitude. A modified G700 flew in formation as an airborne emissions measurement laboratory. The campaign ran at altitudes up to 50,000 feet on Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines. Both aircraft compared conventional Jet A, low-sulphur Jet A and neat HEFA SAF. Preliminary results show a measurable reduction in particulate emissions on neat SAF. Collaborators included the FAA, NASA, the German Aerospace Center, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Aerodyne Research, Montana Renewables and World Fuel Services. Rolls-Royce and Gulfstream announced the campaign on 8 July 2026.

Source: Rolls-Royce press release, 8 July 2026; Corporate Jet Investor.

Jet Access Maintenance secures Starlink Aviation dealer authorisation

Jet Access Maintenance has been authorised as a Starlink Aviation dealer. The company handles hardware sales, activation, installation and ongoing support. FAA-certified technicians perform the work at facilities in Indianapolis, Nashville and West Palm Beach. Scott Dillon, president of Jet Access Maintenance, said connectivity has become increasingly important to ownership and the flight experience. The authorisation extends the Starlink Aviation installation network in the same week SpaceX doubled the service's monthly and hardware pricing.

Source: Corporate Jet Investor, 8 July 2026.