Ryanair Says WiFi Feud with Musk Led to “Free Marketing”

Europe’s largest low-cost airline, Ryanair, has turned a technical disagreement with Elon Musk into a major media event, generating significant attention and what the airline describes as “free marketing.”

The dispute started when Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary publicly rejected the installation of Musk’s Starlink satellite WiFi on the airline’s fleet, citing concerns over high fuel costs and limited passenger willingness to pay for in-flight connectivity.

Public feud escalated across social media

Musk responded on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with a stream of insults and jokes, even proposing in a poll that he should buy Ryanair and put “someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge.” 

The airline’s official channels fired back with pointed responses, calling Musk an “idiot,” mocking him during an X outage, and launching a playful “Great Idiots seat sale,” including a promised press conference to address his comments.

The back-and-forth quickly spread from aviation media to mainstream news outlets, drawing attention far beyond the original technical issue. The controversy has reportedly translated into increased ticket sales, with O’Leary thanking Musk for the attention and noting the publicity-driven rise in bookings.

Cost concerns remain central to Ryanair's strategy

O’Leary has voiced concerns that using Starlink could cost Ryanair up to $250 million annually, including extra fuel. This underscores the carrier’s strict adherence to keeping costs as low as possible.

Starting this month, for example, Ryanair has already begun cutting routes and reducing capacity at several European hubs, including airports in Germany, Spain, France, and Belgium, citing high airport charges as a driving factor. Ryanair plans to shift capacity toward lower-cost regions where demand is strong and operational conditions are more favorable.

Photo by Gabor Koszegi on Unsplash