At the very tail end of September, the world of business aviation “In-Flight Connectivity” (IFC) received some pretty groundbreaking and exciting news. It was announced that Gogo Inc. would be acquiring Satcom Direct for $375 million, as well as 5 million shares of Gogo stock. According to the Gogo Aviation press release dated September 30th, the goal of this merger is to “create the only in-flight connectivity provider able to satisfy the performance and cost needs of every segment of the global business aviation (BA) and military/government mobility markets”. In the wake of this news, there has been some confusion about how well-suited these companies are to compete with Starlink, which seems to be the clear motivator of this acquisition. Many people in business aviation simply view the two as competitors in the IFC space. I disagree with those sentiments.

“Nickels holding up a dollar,” is a quote attributed to the late Roy Garber, star of the reality show “Shipping Wars”. The meaning of this quote stems from the idea that, in some instances, particularly relating to business, small components can prevent the function or completion of a much larger undertaking.

For the past 15 years, Pro Star has been proud to be the Authorized Pilatus Sales and Service Center for the Northeast U.S. region. As such, we have an obligation to provide maintenance within our assigned territory, including our Westernmost state: Michigan. Up until recently, we satisfied our Michigan-based clientele through a satellite repair station alliance with Signature TECHNICAir. Over the years, they have provided satellite aircraft maintenance support, maintaining our commitment to provide support throughout our entire territory. As Pro Star Aviation and our Pilatus clientele have grown significantly over our tenure as the Northeast Sales and Service Center, we have decided to expand. Not only will we be enlarging our main facility in Manchester, we are building a new modern facility in Grand Rapids, MI, which will focus on Pilatus aircraft maintenance in our Westernmost state.

Last month, I took a look at the progress Starlink has made over the past 6 months and the excitement its connectivity has generated in business aviation. As an MRO, we have been booked solid with upgrading connectivity solutions and maintenance for aircraft owners. Pro Star is not alone in this, in fact, many MROs are busy with connectivity installations, cabin management upgrades, and operational upgrades.

In the beginning of 2024, Starlink was in its infancy in the Aviation world. Experts in the business aviation industry had many concerns about how the Starlink system would work in this niche market. Now, just over six months later, several aircraft maintenance companies have had the opportunity to begin to install Starlink into business jets. At Pro Star, we have been able to complete nearly 10 installations since the beginning of the year. In total, there are now over one hundred business jets in the field with Starlink. The early reviews are in, so to speak. The results, across the board, are even better than expected. Some would say they have surpassed the expectations set by the industry after seeing their impressive demonstration at the 2023 NBAA BACE.

At the height of COVID-19, business aviation experienced a boom. Interest was higher than it had been in several years, maybe ever. People still wanted to fly, but now, they wanted to fly privately. With a huge pool of new buyers and a limited number of new aircraft being manufactured, the demand, and therefore price, of these aircraft skyrocketed. Now, according to a recent AINsight article, the prices of pre-owned business planes have stabilized.