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Ryanair CEO dismisses Musk takeover talk amid Starlink spat
22 Jan 2026

Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary has dismissed Elon Musk's interest in acquiring the budget airline.

The spat between one of the world's richest men and one of Europe's most outspoken corporate leaders has been going on for days.

The disagreement started over plans to install Starlink systems on Ryanair aircraft, with O'Leary saying that the extra fuel drag from such a system would be too expensive.

O'Leary calls Musk an 'idiot'
Response

After Musk accused him of being "misinformed," O'Leary didn't hold back. He told an Irish radio station, "I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk, he's an idiot."

The Ryanair CEO also clarified that non-European citizens can't own a majority stake in European airlines.

This was a direct response to Musk's interest in buying Ryanair.

Musk invited to invest in Ryanair
Investment opportunity

Despite the disagreement, O'Leary said he'd welcome Musk's investment in Ryanair.

He said it would be a "very good investment," much better than what he's getting from X.

The airline has been in talks with Starlink for about a year over installing their system on its planes.

However, O'Leary said the estimated cost of $250 million annually was too high for his company.

Ryanair's future plans for in-flight connectivity
Connectivity strategy

O'Leary said Ryanair is still in talks with other telecom providers, including Amazon.

He said the airline would only consider such partnerships if they could lower costs.

This comes as Starlink has become a major player in in-flight connectivity, with over two dozen airlines globally having signed agreements or publicly stated their intentions to use the satellite network.