Skystar launches trip coordination service paid only by operators, with fee itemised on each invoice
Why It MattersThe model challenges supplier-funded commissions and margins embedded in service prices, putting fee transparency at the center of how business aviation ground services are sold.
Skystar has launched as a coordination service for operators covering airports across the US, Canada and Mexico, arranging catering, trip support and fuel from local suppliers. Its differentiator is that it is paid only by the operator, with its fee clearly defined on each invoice, and suppliers pay it nothing. Several hundred suppliers have signed up to its partner programme. The service targets mid-size Part 135 operators, Part 91 flight departments, charter brokers and foreign operators flying into the three countries.
Founder Emily Mary Lantelme told CJI that these operators often work with tight budgets and need to see what they pay and get answers quickly. She said some coordinators add their margin inside the supplier's price, while others are free to the operator and paid by the supplier, which builds the commission into the service price. Any discounts Skystar obtains lower the supplier line and its 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 30, 2026, a client's first order in each service line carries no Skystar fee, up to $250 per order.
Lantelme said Skystar is not a fuel discount programme: operators with a contract fuel card should keep using it where it works, and Skystar arranges fuel where the operator has no contract or wants one coordinator for the whole stop. Clients can send requests, receive quotes, pay and follow each order in an online dashboard, where orders sent by email also appear. The company publishes pages for 3,751 airports (3,273 in the US, 378 in Canada and 100 in Mexico), each listing customs status, fuel availability, runways and weather. For each request, Skystar asks the suppliers it works with at that airport to price the same order and then chooses what it calls the best value for money, which is not always the cheapest offer. It says it never resells meals or fuel. Catering is prepared by a local kitchen and delivered to the aircraft at the FBO, and trip support covers FBO services 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.
Skystar says it is responsible to the client if an order is wrong or late, since it invoices and collects payment. To offset credit risk, a client's first order is paid in advance, and Skystar confirms the order with the supplier only once payment is received. Skystar has also published a study, The anatomy of an invoice, on how margin enters business aviation service invoices. The study says no rule requires business aviation service suppliers to disclose fees, and cites a 2026 Government Accountability Office survey in which 16 of 45 fixed-base operators said they charged mandatory fees beyond fuel, none with complete and accurate information across the four online sources checked. It also states that Canada and Mexico have published no service fee data.
