Latest update:21 January 2026 at 10:59 PM IST

Michael O’Leary shrugs off Elon Musk’s criticism over Starlink, says row has boosted Ryanair’s sales by up to three percent.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary responded after Musk floated buying the airline and mocked O’Leary on X over Starlink. (Photo: Reuters)

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary on Wednesday denied Elon Musk’s insults, saying the online spat with the billionaire had provided a “fantastic boost” to the airline, with ticket sales up 2 to 3 percent over the past five days.

“He will not be the first and certainly will not be the last to call me an idiot or a retard,” O’Leary said at a press conference in Dublin, adding that he did not accept “any insult” from Musk’s comments.

The public exchange began after O’Leary rejected the idea of ​​Musk’s Starlink satellite internet being installed on Ryanair planes, saying the technology would not be cost-effective for short flights.

“You need to put an antenna on the fuselage. It comes with about a 2 percent fuel penalty because of the weight and drag,” O’Leary previously said. “We don’t think our passengers are willing to pay for Wi-Fi for an average one-hour flight.”

Musk responded to

At the press conference on Wednesday, O’Leary said Musk was free to buy Ryanair shares, but he could not control the company due to EU ownership rules.

“We are a publicly owned company. He is free to buy shares at any time,” O’Leary said. “But non-European citizens cannot own a majority of a European airline.”

Ryanair executives will visit X’s office in Dublin to give Musk a free Ryanair ticket as a gesture of thanks, O’Leary said.

“If it helps boost Ryanair’s sales, you can insult me ​​all day, every day,” he said.

The dispute escalated last week after Lufthansa announced that it would install Starlink on its planes to provide free Wi-Fi. O’Leary responded by saying that Musk knows “zero” about the aerodynamics of flight.

According to O’Leary, installing Starlink across Ryanair’s fleet would cost around €250 million and increase annual fuel costs by another €100 million. Ryanair estimates that only about five to ten percent of passengers will pay for Wi-Fi, resulting in weak returns, he said.

“Starlink people believe 90 percent of our passengers would happily pay for Wi-Fi access,” O’Leary said. “Our experience tells us it’s less than 10 percent.”

The exchange also extended to social media. After the X outage last week, Ryanair posted a message asking Musk if he “needs Wi-Fi.” Musk responded by proposing to buy the airline and “put someone whose real name is Ryan in charge.”

Musk, whose net worth is estimated at $769 billion, has floated the idea of ​​buying Ryanair several times on X. However, EU-based airlines must be majority owned by EU citizens, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

O’Leary said he had no direct contact with Musk, and described social media as a “cesspool,” while acknowledging its value in marketing.

Ryanair is Europe’s busiest airline, while Musk is the richest man in the world. Both are known for attracting attention with provocative public statements.

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