Overview
- Michael O’Leary ruled out Starlink across Ryanair’s fleet, estimating roughly a 2% fuel penalty and up to $200–$250 million a year in added costs.
- Elon Musk pushed back on X, calling O’Leary an “utter idiot,” warning of lost customers to connected rivals, and asking how much it would cost to buy the airline.
- The exchange intensified after an X outage, when Ryanair’s account mocked Musk, prompting his posts about putting “a Ryan” in charge of “Ryan Air.”
- No formal takeover move has been announced, and coverage places Ryanair’s market valuation around $35 billion with O’Leary as the largest individual shareholder.
- Industry momentum for Starlink continues, with United Airlines, Lufthansa Group, Qatar Airways and Air France progressing with installations.