Starlink vs OneWeb: Battle of Go-to-Market Strategies in Business Aviation

As OneWeb prepares to launch commercial service in the business aviation market, more than two years after Starlink, we examine how its high-speed, low latency low-earth orbit (LEO) Ku-band solution will be deployed on aircraft. Especially in contrast to Starlink’s vertically integrated but still markedly hands-off approach. This article looks at the ways in which Starlink and OneWeb have chosen to get their connectivity solutions to market in business aviation, highlighting where they may succeed and where they might find difficulty as the two battle it out for a majority share of the over 40,000 business jets and turboprops flying around the globe.

One of the biggest assets that Starlink has is its brand recognition. Because founder Elon Musk and SpaceX are household names, aviation businesses are inundated with requests from bizjet passengers for the Starlink service by name. Normally it’s the pilot, engineering team, or other representative that needs convincing while, in some cases, Starlink’s reach seems to bypass fleet management as the solution sells itself to the end user just by existing.

OneWeb currently has very little brand recognition in business aviation, primarily because its service is yet to launch. You might find it as part of a multi-orbit proposal for a head of state (HoS) client or packaged as Gogo Galileo as the network operator has gone for the more traditional approach, leveraging the expertise of service providers, which will be discussed in more detail below. In contrast, through its brand power, Starlink hasn’t had to sell its solution based on technical aspects. It has a different go-to-market strategy all together.

To VAR or not to VAR?

OneWeb has gone for a couple of value-added resellers (VARs), namely Gogo and Satcom Direct (before it was acquired), while Starlink is completely vertically integrated. This has led to a few differences between the solutions that each network powers and how they are reaching customers.

Starlink is in complete control of its solution; going beyond just maintaining the network, the firm is also responsible for what customers get, how much they pay for it and how it’s marketed. Starlink has opted for a very affordable two-tier menu in which $2,000 for 20 GB and $10,000 unlimited plans are available (though government and HoS clients are offered alternative pricing). In return, the customer gets what they get. A single terminal is available, praised for its ease of installation and minimal labor requirements. However, it isn’t tailored to specific aircraft. Larger VVIP aircraft may require two terminals, while on smaller turboprops like the King Air, the unit is bulky and less practical. There are also no guaranteed data rates; whatever the network can offer at the time is what the user experiences. If you have a problem with it, you can submit a helpdesk ticket via email and get in the queue with everyone else!

It seems that the firm’s approach comes from a mix of not fully understanding, or perhaps seeking to reimagine the business aviation market. High-net-worth individuals demand to be connected at all times and place much value on technical and other support offered by service providers.

This approach could also be influenced by SpaceX’s expertise as a network operator. The firm is cutting out middlemen and minimizing value-adds such as support to further reduce costs. It also appears to rely heavily on its network to deliver a high-performing service and is leaning into selling capacity to aircraft directly as opposed to a package of services. It’s worth pointing out that, in the commercial aviation space, this direct-to-consumer approach has superseded the traditional VAR route. However, business aviation customers are different altogether and have tended to require high-performing and consistent connectivity facilitated by support and other services.

Whether Starlink has underestimated the importance of being able to offer comprehensive technical support alongside a consistent service and will eventually lose customers as a result remains to be seen. It also hasn’t distinguished business aviation customers from others in terms of priority over the network pipeline, so we might also see user experience degrade over time as the network gets more congested. If (or when) the hype dies down, the firm may run into some issues. If a potential outage isn’t fixed for a customer quickly enough or the rigidity of pricing plans/lack of customizability and add-ons becomes problematic, Starlink may falter.

However, initial reviews for the solution are overwhelmingly positive. Some aircraft operators have said that the network performance is so high that Starlink has understated its peak speeds – 300-378 Mbps download and 24 Mbps upload speeds have been demonstrated on Global XRS and G650 jets. Other reports say that the hardware installation is relatively easy and users didn’t have any problem getting the solution to work. The same customers were also impressed with the price, stating that it was less than half the cost of a Geostationary Orbit (GEO) Ka-band solution for an at-home experience. So perhaps the network operator is onto something by focusing on network performance and reducing costs.

In contrast to Starlink, OneWeb doesn’t have a brand in business aviation per se. This is because the network has suffered severe delays and hasn’t been able to fully demonstrate its capabilities — the first satellites launched in 2019 and, nearly six years later, the network’s still not live for business aviation customers. After going through bankruptcy, new ownership and now as part of Eutelsat Group, the firm is now in a stronger position, but its shaky start has meant that there isn’t much to attach to the name OneWeb. As a result, it’s relying on the traditional supply chain to connect bizjets to its network.

Its main reseller in business aviation is Gogo, which recently acquired its other partner, Satcom Direct. The latter had been developing its own OneWeb-powered solution directly competing with Gogo’s Galileo. The firm’s LEO capacity has also been bundled up with Intelsat’s GEO capacity to form a multi-orbit proposal for bizliner aircraft. In fact, by virtue of being the only other Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) network operator with an imminent launch, the firm is the only wholesaler that any existing service provider or network operator can work with in order to jump on the LEO bandwagon and compete with Starlink. As a result, OneWeb has been able to take its pick of partners.

Both Gogo and Satcom Direct are highly regarded as service providers in the industry, have an estimated 85 percent market share of installed active terminals in the VAR arena (according to Valour Consultancy), and thus have built trust and a good reputation amongst a large share of customers. This is a tried and true channel for OneWeb to go through and it has paid off already – Gogo’s Galileo solution, powered by OneWeb, secured a line fit deal with Textron on its Cessna Citation Longitude, Latitude and Ascend aircraft. This is unprecedented considering the solution isn’t even flying yet! OneWeb can benefit from the pre-existing expertise of service providers.

The firm has also worked with a range of hardware partners including Hughes Network Systems (for Gogo Galileo), Gilat (for Satcom Direct) and Stellar Blu (before the Gilat acquisition, for Intelsat’s multi-orbit solution) to develop individual electronically steered antennas (ESAs) compatible with the network. As a result, OneWeb can certainly target different customer profiles across each aircraft segment. Galileo’s small HDX (half-duplex) antenna and existing stronghold among light jets in North America will drive adoption among small aircraft that have relied on 3G air-to-ground (ATG) or L-band for a long time. Since the HDX antenna is designed specifically for smaller aircraft, it’s less costly and better fitting than the larger full-duplex (FDX) variant.

Galileo’s pricing plans are also differentiated by antenna – the FDX harnesses a bit more power than the HDX - so aircraft flying shorter missions with lower data requirements have a bit more flexibility in terms of what they pay. An unlimited plan for the HDX is $10,500 a month, while for the FDX it’s $12,500 a month. There are also 25 GB and 50 GB monthly plans available for $3,500 and $7,000. Overall, the pricing and plan structure is fairly similar to Starlink’s and is competitively priced, especially considering that Gogo offers more technical support.

Satcom Direct offers a premium ‘white glove’ service and works with jets around the globe, thus is a great fit for taking OneWeb capacity to high-net-worth clients with heavier jets that are based and fly internationally. What Gogo will decide to do with the solution now that it has acquired Satcom Direct is to be revealed, but one might speculate that, prior, Satcom Direct would have packaged its solution as a more premium option with a high level of support and a range of value-added services. Intelsat and OneWeb’s multi-orbit solution with Stellar Blu’s (now Gilat’s) network agnostic ESA marks the first step towards redundancy with one piece of hardware and represents a highly consistent and secure connection suitable for HoS customers. Indeed, OneWeb connectivity is already an option for new Boeing Business Jets (BBJs) and Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJs).

OneWeb will likely stay behind the scenes, letting its partners work with OEMs, MROs and aircraft operators/technicians to choose between the many forms its capacity takes depending on which best suits the end user’s requirements. The biggest downside to this traditional approach is that there isn’t a clear direction. While distribution between multiple VARs increases the chances of success across different aircraft OEMs, MROs and customers, it’s not helpful to have several players take an almost identical product to market. It can make it harder to develop a brand and each VAR with its own piece of hardware has to go through the process of getting supplemental type certificates (STCs) again and again, which slows down growth.

Starlink has had first mover advantage in the NGSO space, entering the business aviation market in late 2022/early 2023 with JSX as its launch customer. The company had some teething issues, but has found its feet after forging deals with MROs and dealers to gain STCs and install terminals. According to Valour’s most recent analysis, the firm saw over 200 tails flying at the end of 2024. This is relatively fast growth in the aviation industry where certification can slow things down considerably. However, OneWeb has a range of partners with different strengths – such as pre-existing relationships with OEMs/MROs and large customer bases – that will speed up its impact in the market and make it a formidable opponent to Starlink, even if passengers remain somewhat unaware that the OneWeb network is the force behind their onboard internet usage.

Looking to the Future

It’s difficult to say exactly what will happen over the next decade, however one can be confident that NGSO capacity will be a crucial element to any in-flight connectivity (IFC) offering. In terms of going to market in business aviation, it’s likely we’ll see a convergence between the VAR and direct approaches.

Starlink might shift toward working with VARs, depending on how the network copes with the growing number of users and how many issues need solving. The company may also target specific customers and aircraft, perhaps by offering smaller hardware (for example certifying a version of the Starlink Mini for small business and general aviation aircraft) or by offering a wider range of plans at different prices. This year, Starlink has changed its pricing structure in maritime and there has been speculation that the same will happen in aviation.

OneWeb may limit its partnerships in order to focus on a handful of solutions. Gogo’s acquisition of Satcom Direct will also likely drive the consolidation of products, and although Satcom Direct is known for highly tailored/customized service plans, Galileo’s pricing structure hints towards a simplified tiered menu more akin to Starlink’s.

Telesat’s Lightspeed and Amazon’s Kuiper are also due to enter business aviation in a few years’ time and could make an impact on the market. Telesat can leverage Viasat’s strong market position to reach a significant number of jets of all sizes – the latter’s Ka- and L-band solutions have won customers across all aircraft segments. Kuiper will be able to leverage Amazon’s solutions such as Amazon Web Services to offer a unique package of services. With each network performing highly to meet growing passenger requirements, it will be a battle between go-to-market approaches. VS

Photo credit: Stellar Blu

A longer-term analysis of which network operators might win such a battle can be found in Valour Consultancy’s upcoming report “The Market for Business Aviation – 2025.”

Summer Staninski joined the Valour Consultancy team in March 2023. She is expanding the firm's cabin technology research portfolio with a focus on the market for in-flight entertainment content.