Michael O’ Leary, the CEO of Europe’s biggest airline Ryanair said his ongoing feud with tech billionaire Elon Musk has boosted the airline’s ticket sales.
“It is very good for our bookings,” O’Leary said at a news conference in Dublin on Wednesday, highlighting the fact that the company has been running a “Big Idiot Seat Sale” in recent days. He added that the airline would offer Musk a free ticket.
Musk had called O’Leary an “utter idiot” on Friday, and said he should be fired, after O’Leary rejected Musk’s Starlink for his airline’s fleet. O’Leary had said on Wednesday that installing Starlink on Ryanair’s more than 600 planes would be too costly, potentially up to $250 million annually, and could increase fuel expenses due to drag from the antennas.
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Musk fired back on his social media platform X, insisting that O’Leary was “misinformed” and claiming that Ryanair didn’t know how to properly assess the fuel impact of Starlink equipment.
O’Leary responded to this on Irish radio station Newstalk, saying that Musk knew “zero” about aviation and drag. He also called the U.S. billionaire an “idiot” and described X as a “cesspit.” Musk responded once again saying “Ryanair CEO is an utter idiot. Fire him,” on X. When a follower suggested he should just buy Ryanair and fire O’Leary himself, Musk replied: “Good idea.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, O’Leary said he takes “no insult” at Musk’s jibes, and that he is regularly insulted at home by his four teenage children and many others. He also said Musk is “free” to invest in Ryanair shares, but under EU laws, Musk could not own a majority of a European airline.
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Musk and O’Leary are both known for courting media attention through strong language and provocative statements.
Ryanair is known for taking an irreverent approach to social media, often mocking customers for complaining about the airline’s cost-cutting measures.
O’Leary said he had no direct contact with Musk. Musk has floated the idea of buying Ryanair several times on X in the past week, but EU-based airlines must be majority owned by people from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.
German airline Lufthansa recently announced it would be introducing Starlink to its flights. It will be joining Hawaiian Airlines, Qatar Airways, and AirBaltic as airlines that provide the service.