Michael O’Leary and Elon Musk, possibly the world’s two most outspoken businessmen, have traded insults over Ryanair’s refusal to install Starlink internet access on its aircraft.
The row on the radiowaves — often the preferred communication channel of Ryanair’s billionaire group chief executive O’Leary — and on X, the social media platform of Starlink’s near-trillionaire owner Musk, descended into an exchange in which O’Leary called Musk “an idiot” and Musk called O’Leary “an utter idiot”.
The war of words widened to O’Leary telling listeners to the Irish radio station Newstalk “not to pay any attention whatsoever to anything that Musk puts on that cesspit X”. Musk countered on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Fire him.”
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The argument had started when it emerged that Ryanair, unlike the likes of British Airways and Lufthansa, would not be installing Starlink internet technology on its 650 aircraft, the largest airline fleet in Europe.
O’Leary had reasoned that the antennae and related hardware needed would cause weight and drag on flights and cost the airline between $200 million and $250 million in operating costs and extra fuel — the equivalent of about $1 for every passenger it carries.
That, said O’Leary, would necessitate charging for the service. He said Ryanair passengers would only be prepared to use the service if it were free. If the carrier couldn’t charge passengers €1 a time to use it, he said Ryanair would not be able to afford the extra cost.
Having apparently not found a customer in Ryanair for his Starlink satellite communications services, which allow in-flight connectivity and fast streaming, Musk said O’Leary was “misinformed” and that his airline would lose passengers to other carriers.
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O’Leary countered that Musk’s knowledge of running an airline amounted to “zero”.
O’Leary, one of the richest men in Ireland, has long been one of the most outspoken business leaders, which he has admitted is a device to stir up free publicity.
Musk, the richest man in the world, has come to the verbal and social media insults game a little later and his proximity to the administration of President Trump has led to a popularity deficit.