The Giant Star Beast carried everyone and was flying in the transition tunnel. To people who were used to riding starships, this was an all new experience.
The Giant Star Beast released his own energy of the beast race, creating an energy barrier that covered his whole body. Han's group was under the protection of this layer of energy barrier.
From theory, there was no difference between the beast's energy barrier and the barrier from the starship. The Energy barrier was developed because back in the days, people realized that the Giant Star Beast would use energy to protect himself while flying.
