Overview
- Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary reaffirmed the airline will not install Starlink, citing a claimed 2% fuel penalty from antenna weight and drag and saying passengers on one-hour flights will not pay for Wi-Fi.
- Starlink engineering chief Michael Nicolls countered that the fuel increase on a Boeing 737-800 is about 0.3%, and Elon Musk said O’Leary was misinformed and warned the carrier could lose customers to rivals with internet.
- O’Leary said a fleet-wide rollout would cost $200 million to $250 million per year, estimating roughly $1 per passenger, and argued the expense does not fit Ryanair’s low-cost model.
- The dispute escalated publicly as O’Leary called Musk an idiot in a radio interview and Musk posted that O’Leary is an “utter idiot” who should be fired.
- Major airlines continue adopting Starlink, with Lufthansa announcing a deal and Scandinavian Airlines operating a Starlink-equipped flight, and most carriers offering access to passengers at no charge.