M ichael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, claims his continuing dispute with tech billionaire Elon Musk has increased the budget carrier's ticket sales. "It is very good for our bookings," O'Leary remarked at a news conference in Dublin on Wednesday, referring to the company's recent Big Idiot Seat Sale campaign. "We love these PR spats that drive bookings on Ryanair," he added, adding that the airline would give Musk a free trip.
O'Leary stated that the publicity was giving bookings a wonderful boost. "They're up about 2% or 3% in the last five days, which, given our volumes, is a very significant boost," he informed me. He later told a reporter that Ryanair's bookings from January to March, the final quarter of the fiscal year, were robust. The argument began on January 14 when Ryanair's CEO stated that he would not deploy Starlink satellite Wi-Fi equipment, developed by Musk's company SpaceX, on the airline's planes due to worries about drag and the consequent rise in fuel costs. Last week, O'Leary stated that the airline had decided against deploying Musk's Starlink satellite Wi-Fi on Ryanair planes because the extra fuel drag from the system's antennae would be too expensive.
Musk claimed in a post on X that day that O'Leary was "misinformed." "I doubt they can even measure the difference in fuel use accurately," he told reporters. Musk also branded O'Leary "an utter idiot" and a "retarded twat." Musk responded on his social media site X, calling O'Leary an "utter idiot" and "imbecile."
Why This News Matters:
This fight shows how airline ads have changed over time; now, ticket sales can come from controversy and viral moments. Michael O'Leary of Ryanair is getting free advertising by having a very public fight with Elon Musk. This shows that even bad publicity can make people want to fly with a cheap airline. This also shows that Ryanair is very strict about keeping prices low. For instance, they put low prices ahead of in-flight perks like satellite Wi-Fi, even though the technology comes from one of the most powerful people in the world when it comes to tech.
O’Leary’s Response and Public Remarks
O'Leary responded on Friday during an interview with Irish radio station Newstalk. “I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk. He’s an idiot — very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot,” he remarked. "What Elon Musk knows about flights and drag would be zero."
At a Dublin news conference on Wednesday, which Ryanair branded as a response to "Musk's latest Twitshit," O'Leary dismissed Musk's attacks. On Wednesday, O'Leary stated that Musk's statements were "no insult" to him. "As anybody with teenage children would know, you're frequently called an idiot and a twat at home," he told me. "I don't need to go outside to be insulted."
"All I would say to Elon Musk is he would have to join the back of a very, very, very, very long queue of people" who had already attacked him, "including my four teenage children," he added. O'Leary responded to Musk's "Twitter tantrum" by saying that the attention was driving bookings.
Cost Concerns Behind Rejecting Starlink
O'Leary also explained why Ryanair chose not to offer Starlink internet connectivity on its planes. "It is a very good system," stated O'Leary. "The problem is if you put it on board aircraft, there is a cost." According to O'Leary, Ryanair would incur installation expenditures of $200-250 million each year, as well as additional operating costs due to fuel drag produced by the two antennae that would need to be mounted on the fuselage of each of the company's 643 planes.
This includes an additional 2% of aerodynamic drag, which would boost the fuel expense by $200 million. Ryanair would be unable to recoup these costs by charging passengers to utilize the service, according to O'Leary. Although Starlink estimates that over 90% of passengers are prepared to pay for internet access, the airline discovered that less than 10% would do so.
According to O'Leary, Ryanair has been in discussions with Starlink for nearly a year. “We like the Starlink system. It is a terrific system. It works very well,” he explained. Ryanair is still in talks with other telecommunications providers, including Amazon's Kuiper project, but only “in a way where it will lower our costs.”
Ryanair Boss Welcomes Musk Investment After Takeover Jokes
O'Leary expressed amazement that the decision had resulted in a quarrel, with Musk mentioning the prospect of owning Ryanair. "Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?" Musk wrote on Friday. "How much would it cost to buy you?" He wrote in another response. Musk conducted a poll on X, and three-quarters of the respondents supported the notion.
O'Leary stated that, while non-EU citizens cannot possess a majority stake in European airlines, he would welcome Musk's investment. "We would think it's a very good investment," O'Leary added. "Certainly, a significantly better investment than the financial returns he is earning on X." "Mr Musk is welcome to buy shares, but he can't take control." Ryanair shares rose 2% on Wednesday, but have been relatively stable throughout the feud.
Musk founded SpaceX, which manufactures rockets and provides space transport services. CNN has asked Ryanair and SpaceX for comment. Musk bought X in 2022 for $44 billion. O'Leary, who is notorious for mocking critics, hailed Musk for "additional publicity."
The airline released promotional materials featuring a caricature of Musk. O'Leary also addressed the latest issue surrounding Musk's AI chatbot Grok. “Social media, X in particular is, a cesspit,” O'Leary stated. “The most recent controversy with, you know, undressing children or undressing women is frankly offensive.”
When asked about the possibility of an EU-US trade war following Trump's warning to apply rising tariffs on Greenland, O'Leary said it was too early to predict the impact on consumer demand. When asked if he was convinced Boeing would absorb the expense of any new taxes on US aircraft supplies to Europe, he said, "I'm not."
