Starlink doubles business aviation prices, adds regional locking
The unlimited plan has been renamed Aviation Global Unlimited with prices starting at $20,000 per month.
SpaceX is doubling the costs for its Starlink aviation connectivity services, effective August 7th. It is also adding regional boundaries to service plans that limit coverage to a chosen continent.
The company sent an email to its customers on Tuesday (July 7th) announcing the price hikes.
Most changed is the unlimited plan which was available globally, aside from overflying countries such as India and China where approval has not been granted, and was priced at $10,000 per month.
Its replacement, the Aviation Global Unlimited package, starts at $20,000 per month and offers download speeds up to 1 Gbps with a Starlink performance antenna or 500 Mbps with earlier generation antennae. Backed by a service level agreement this package guarantees connectivity everywhere Starlink operates.
The next package down, Aviation Regional Unlimited, starts at $12,500 per month. It offers download speeds up to 500 Mbps and will provide coverage over land, territorial waters and within 12nm (22km) of the customer’s selected continent.
The base level plan, which used to cost $2,000 per month, is now priced starting at $4,000 per month. It offers download speeds up to 250 Mbps, alongside 25GB of data and GPS. Coverage is the same as the mid-tier Aviation Regional Unlimited package.
SpaceX has also increased the price of its Starlink Aviation equipment to $200,000 per business aircraft, up from $145,000 last year.
The new prices as per Starlink’s website.
General aviation
General aviation packages remain the cheapest. The General Aviation Global 50GB package supports operating speeds up to 720 km/h (450 mph) and includes 50GB of data and coverage over land and ocean using a Starlink Mini terminal. It is priced starting at $1,000 per month.
The General Aviation Local 50GB starts at $200 per month. It supports operating speeds up to 480 km/h (300 mph). It includes 50GB of data and like the regional package for business aviation offers coverage over land, territorial waters, and within 12nm of the coast. It requires a Starlink Mini terminal to operate.
Despite the price hikes the low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity solution remains popular. One anonymous accredited Starlink installer told CJI they had received multiple requests for installation following the price increase announcement.
