Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary rules out making up with Elon Musk
Michael O’Leary runs Ryanair, the budget airline.
The short version
- He just said he will not make up with Elon Musk over Starlink.
- The feud is not cooling down anytime soon.
- That means no satellite wifi on flights.
The fight between the budget airline boss and the world's richest man is staying cold. Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, the budget airline, just made it clear that he will not be making up with Elon Musk over Starlink, the satellite internet service run by SpaceX.
According to Bloomberg, the public clash between the two outspoken executives shows no sign of ending. O’Leary runs flights across Europe and beyond, carrying millions of passengers every year who want cheap seats and simple service. Musk runs SpaceX, which builds rockets and operates Starlink, the satellite constellation that beams high-speed internet down to planes and homes.
The disagreement leaves Ryanair planes without the satellite wifi that many business travelers now expect on long flights. O’Leary has never been one to hold back his thoughts on costs or technology suppliers. Musk has built his empire on moving fast and challenging old industries like aviation.
For now, passengers stepping onto a Ryanair flight will keep flying without orbital internet. When two giants refuse to budge, the rest of us just Watch the sparks fly.
Photo: graph by Mike Peel (, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
