A public war of words between Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary and tech billionaire Elon Musk has spilled onto social media, with Europe’s largest low-cost carrier turning the spat into a marketing windfall.
The exchange erupted on X after Musk joked about buying Ryanair and “putting a Ryan in charge,” reigniting a long-running debate over whether the airline should install Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi across its fleet.
Speaking on Wednesday, O’Leary said he was surprised by the intensity of Musk’s reaction, stressing that Ryanair’s reluctance to adopt Starlink was rooted in cost considerations rather than personal animosity.
“We’ve been in discussions with Starlink for more than 12 months,” O’Leary said. “It’s a very good system. The issue isn’t the technology, it’s the economics.”
Cost concerns behind Starlink rejection
According to O’Leary, installing Starlink equipment across Ryanair’s aircraft would cost between €200 million and €250 million annually, once installation expenses and additional fuel consumption are taken into account.
He said the system would require two antennas mounted on the aircraft fuselage, increasing aerodynamic drag and pushing fuel costs significantly higher.
“We spend over €5 billion a year on fuel,” he said. “Even a 1–2 per cent increase in drag would translate into an additional €100 million to €200 million annually. Airlines spend decades shaving tiny fractions off fuel burn, adding hardware works in the opposite direction.”
O’Leary also questioned passenger demand, noting that while Starlink expects most travellers to pay for onboard Wi-Fi, Ryanair’s data suggests fewer than 10 per cent of passengers currently do so.
Insults, backlash, and free publicity
The disagreement escalated over the weekend when Musk responded with personal insults on X. Rather than backing down, O’Leary said Ryanair chose to lean into the controversy.
“We want to thank him,” O’Leary said. “We had three to four million hits on our seat-sale launch yesterday.”
The airline rolled out a tongue-in-cheek “Big Idiot” seat sale, offering 100,000 tickets for €16.99, which O’Leary said underlined Ryanair’s dominance in ultra-low-cost travel.
In another playful move, O’Leary said Ryanair staff planned to visit X’s Dublin offices to present Musk with a free ticket “to thank him for the wonderful boost in publicity.”
Investment welcome, ownership limits remain
While EU rules prevent non-European citizens from owning a majority stake in European airlines, O’Leary said Musk would be free to invest.
“We’re a publicly owned company,” he said. “If he wants to invest in Ryanair, we’d certainly consider it.”
Despite the personal tone of the exchange, O’Leary played down its impact, describing online discourse, particularly on X, as increasingly toxic.
“There’s nothing he can say to me that my teenage kids haven’t already said,” he added. “I’m well able to take my own medicine.”
