At the root of it is Elon Musk’s push to bring SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet to commercial airlines. The problem, as Musk sees it, is he’s running into an obstacle named Ryanair. What it boils down to is a public feud between the tech billionaire and Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary that’s revealed the friction between the promise of high-speed internet on airliners and the economics of low-cost flights.
The feud began after O’Leary confirmed that Europe’s largest budget carrier would not install Starlink across its fleet of more than 600 aircraft. While Musk has successfully courted premium carriers like Qatar Airways and United Airlines, Ryanair represents a critical test of whether the satellite service can scale to the "no-frills" sector.
Musk pushed back, arguing that O’Leary overstated the fuel impact and misunderstood Starlink’s technology. In posts on X last week, Musk said the drag increase would be negligible and suggested Ryanair’s analysis was flawed.
The disagreement soon turned personal.
After Musk questioned O’Leary’s grasp of aircraft performance, the Ryanair chief dismissed Musk’s aviation expertise and brushed off the criticism.
Both executives are known for confrontational public messaging. Musk frequently uses X to engage critics directly, and referred to O’Leary in one post as “a retarded twat.”
Ryanair quickly leaned into the attention, launching a “Big Idiot” fare promotion tied to the dispute. O’Leary later said the publicity helped boost bookings.
“He wouldn’t be the first, and he certainly won’t be the last to call me an idiot or a retarded twat,” O’Leary said. “If it helps to boost Ryanair sales, you can insult me all day, every day.”
Still, some users offered The Notebook’s Ryan Gosling and host Ryan Seacrest as the right person for the job.
Memes aside, however, O’Leary pointed out that EU law forbids non-EU citizens from owning a controlling stake in a European carrier.
“Non-European citizens cannot own a majority of European airlines,” O’Leary said. “If he wants to invest in Ryanair, we would think it’s a very good investment, certainly a significantly better investment than the financial returns he’s earning on X.”
Cost, Drag, and Demand
O’Leary estimated that installation costs combined with higher fuel burn would add roughly $200 million to $250 million a year across Ryanair’s fleet. He also questioned demand, saying fewer than 10% of Ryanair customers would be willing to pay for onboard internet on short-haul European routes.
For now, the rejection suggests that for budget airlines, technical capability remains secondary to the bottom line. Even so, O’Leary did not fully close the door on Starlink.
“If Starlink wants to fit the flights, fit our aircraft, and pay for the fuel drag, we’d happily put them on board,” he said. “But the only way we see Starlink working on board our aircraft on short-haul flights is if you give it away for free.”
