Skystar launches with a plan to disrupt trip coordination
Skystar has several hundred suppliers signed up to its partner programme.
Skystar launched today as a coordination service for operators covering airports across the US, Canada and Mexico.
The company, which arranges catering, trip support and fuel from local suppliers, says its differentiator is that it is only paid by the operator, with its fee clearly defined on each invoice. Skystar has several hundred suppliers signed up to its partner programme.
The service is targeting mid-size Part 135 operators and Part 91 flight departments, as well as charter brokers and foreign operators flying into the US, Canada and Mexico.
“These operators often work with tight budgets and need to see what they pay and get answers quickly, which is exactly what our model is built for,” Emily Mary Lantelme, founder of Skystar told CJI.
Operators who use a coordinator rarely see what that coordinator earns on an order, continued Lantelme. “Some coordinators add their margin inside the supplier’s price. Others are free to the operator and paid by the supplier, which builds the commission into the price of the service,” she added. “Skystar is paid only by the operator, through one fee printed on the invoice. Because suppliers pay Skystar nothing, Skystar has no reason to favour one of them.”
This means any discounts the company obtains lower the supplier line and Skystar’s fee on the invoice.
Skystar charges 8% of the invoice total for catering, with a $75 minimum, and 6% for trip support. Fuel coordination costs $0.10 per gallon, with a $75 minimum per uplift. Until November 30th, 2026, a client’s first order in each service line carries no Skystar fee, up to $250 per order.
A sample catering quote from Skystar. (credit: Skystar)
“We are not a fuel discount programme,” said Lantelme. “An operator with a contract fuel card should keep using it where it works. We arrange fuel where the operator has no contract, or when they want one coordinator for the whole stop: catering, ground handling and fuel.”
Clients can send requests, receive quotes, pay and follow each order in an online dashboard. Orders sent by email appear in the same dashboard.
The company also publishes pages for 3,751 airports: 3,273 in the US, 378 in Canada and 100 in Mexico. Each lists customs status, fuel availability, runways and weather.
For each request, Lantelme said, Skystar asks the suppliers it works with at that airport to price the same order. It then chooses the “best value for money”, which is not always the “cheapest offer”.
“Finding the best value for money is our job, and it is not always the cheapest offer,” she said. “On that point we work like any broker. What is different is our pricing: our coordination fee is not built into the supplier’s price, it is a separate line on every quote and invoice, at a published rate.”
Skystar said it never resells meals or fuel. Catering is prepared by a local kitchen and delivered to the aircraft at the FBO. Trip support covers the services an FBO provides, from handling and hangar space to crew cars, hotels and customs. For fuel, the supplier invoices the operator directly, and Skystar invoices only its coordination fee.
If anything goes wrong, Lantelme said Skystar is responsible to the client. “We invoice and collect the payment, so if an order is wrong or late, we deal with the supplier and put it right with the client, in line with our terms and conditions,” she said.
To offset credit risk, a client’s first order is always paid in advance, and Skystar confirms the order with the supplier only once the payment is received.
To highlight its proposition, Skystar has published a study The anatomy of an invoice, of how margin enters business aviation service invoices. It is available from today at skystar.flights/transparency-report.
