(Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Elon Musk is feuding with Ryanair, even calling for its CEO to be fired, after the European airline shot down the possibility of using Starlink for its in-flight Wi-Fi.
The dispute reached a new level of hostility when Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary told the Irish radio station Newstalk, “I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he’s an idiot. He’s very wealthy, but still an idiot.”
In response, Musk on Friday tweeted, “Ryanair CEO is an utter idiot. Fire him.” A user on X later suggested he buy Ryanair. “Good idea,” Musk replied.
The battle started after Ryanair, an ultra low-cost airline, ruled out installing Starlink on the company’s jets. Although the satellite internet system has shown it can offer the fastest in-flight Wi-Fi, O'Leary told Reuters that the Starlink antenna for jets allegedly adds extra weight and drag, creating a “2% fuel penalty.”
SpaceX was quick to push back on O'Leary’s remarks. The Starlink antenna hardware for commercial jets is “much lower profile and more efficient,” VP for Engineering Michael Nicolls initially tweeted. “Our analysis shows that the fuel increase to a 737-800 (which burns 800 gallons/hour) with our current design is about 0.3%,” he added.
Musk himself then claimed Ryanair’s CEO was misinformed. “I doubt they can even measure the difference in fuel use accurately, especially for a one hour flight, where the incremental drag is basically zero during the ascent phase due to high angle of attack,” he tweeted.
The remark apparently roiled O'Leary, who hit back in his radio interview. “What Elon Musk knows about flights and drag would be zero,” he told Newstalk. “We have to put an aerial antenna on top of the aircraft. It would cost us about $200 to $250 million a year. In other words, about an extra dollar for every passenger we fly. And the reality for us is that we can’t afford those costs.”
“Passengers won’t pay for internet usage,” O'Leary added. “If it’s free, they’ll use it. But they won’t pay one Euro each to use the internet.” (In the same interview, he also called Musk’s X a “cesspit,” and derided him for helping to elect Donald Trump in 2024.)
SpaceX has been working to expand Starlink adoption across the commercial airline industry. German airline Lufthansa recently became the most recent airline to reach a deal to integrate the satellite internet system. Meanwhile, United, Hawaiian, and Alaska Airlines all offer Starlink on select flights.
At a CES panel last week, the head of Starlink Aviation, Nick Seitz, noted that the complete Starlink antenna hardware for a commercial jet weighs about 175 pounds. “Starlink is extraordinarily aerodynamically efficient, it’s very light-weight,” he said. “So it does save a dramatic amount of fuel. It sometimes can impact cabin noise as well.”
Seitz added that SpaceX's goal is to make Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi free to passengers. But he also said that ultra-low and low-cost airlines might need to charge for in-flight Wi-Fi to make up for the cost of adopting Starlink.
Meanwhile, satellite industry analyst Tim Farrar says: “Ryanair has been in search of a provider willing to equip its planes with IFC [in-flight connectivity] for free (and then operate on a revenue share basis for paid connectivity) for the last two decades. They haven't found one yet."