Ryanair’s chief executive said his online exchange with Elon Musk last week was good for business.
Reservations rose between 2% and 3% after the fight on social media between the two executives, said Michael O’Leary this Wednesday (21), at a press conference in Dublin. As a result, he is “very happy to continue the controversy.”
“If it helps increase Ryanair’s sales, you can insult me all day, any day,” O’Leary said.
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Shares rose as much as 2.3% in Dublin trading.
The CEO, known for speaking his mind, has a history of flirting with controversy to boost sales, whether with extravagant statements about politicians or with high-impact marketing actions.
The exchange of insults began on January 14 after O’Leary said Ryanair would not install SpaceX’s Starlink Wi-Fi service on its fleet because the weight and drag of the roof-mounted antenna would increase fuel costs.
In response, Musk called O’Leary “ill-informed” in a post on X, to which the Ryanair executive responded by calling Musk an “idiot.”
O’Leary said that the objective of this Wednesday’s press conference, previously scheduled, was to “address/deconstruct Elon Musk’s tantrum on Twitter”. Following this, Ryanair launched the “Big ‘Idiot’ Seat Sale” promotion, offering 100,000 seats starting at around US$20.
“Thank you to Mr Musk,” said O’Leary. “Any one of these fights is great for reserves.”
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Ryanair has already held talks with several Wi-Fi providers, including Starlink, Amazon.com and Vodafone. According to O’Leary, there is not yet an efficient business model for in-flight Wi-Fi that passengers are willing to pay for, but he was optimistic that the technology will evolve.
The executive stated that the use of Starlink could increase Ryanair’s fuel costs by at least US$150 million per year. The company is delaying the installation of in-flight broadband until it can offer it for free. O’Leary also said that he had no direct contact with Musk.
“We live in a hyperconnected world, and people will end up having free access to Wi‑Fi on short-haul flights,” he said.
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Asked whether Musk could buy the airline, O’Leary said that would not be possible, but encouraged the Tesla CEO to invest in the business.
Under European Union rules, Ryanair must be controlled and majority-owned by EU citizens, as it is a European airline. The Irish company was co-founded by the late Tony Ryan in 1984 and is today the largest low-cost company on the continent.
O’Leary also said it is “reasonable to assume” that passenger traffic will grow from 207 million to 215 million over the next 12 months.
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Meanwhile, Ryanair expects to receive its first Boeing 737 Max 10 in January 2027, bringing the original estimate forward by a few months.
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