Ryanair's CEO Loves the Fight with Elon Musk
Dublin, IrelandWed Jan 21 2026
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Michael O’Leary, the head of Ryanair, is not bothered by his public fight with Elon Musk. In fact, he thinks it’s great for business. O’Leary said that their ongoing argument has actually helped Ryanair sell more tickets. He even joked that they are running a "Big Idiot Seat Sale" because of it.
The fight started when O’Leary said he wouldn’t put Starlink, Musk’s satellite internet service, on Ryanair planes. He thinks it would cost too much money and use more fuel. Musk then called O’Leary some not-so-nice names on social media. O’Leary fired back, saying Musk doesn’t know much about planes.
O’Leary explained that installing Starlink would cost Ryanair a lot of money. He said it would cost around $200-250 million a year. He also said that passengers wouldn’t pay enough to cover that cost. Even though Starlink says most people would pay for internet, Ryanair found that only a few would.
Musk even joked about buying Ryanair. O’Leary said he would welcome Musk’s investment, but there are rules about who can own airlines in Europe. He also thanked Musk for all the attention their fight has brought to Ryanair.
O’Leary is known for being outspoken and using publicity to his advantage. He doesn’t seem to mind the insults from Musk. He even joked that he gets called worse names at home by his kids. He thinks the whole thing is good for Ryanair’s business.
https://localnews.ai/article/ryanairs-ceo-loves-the-fight-with-elon-musk-6d5b8fab
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