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Two powerful men are slinging mud at one another as a row over Ryanair’s Wifi connection escalates, with each calling one another the largest ‘idiot.’
The Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary and Elon Musk kicked off the brand new yr with a classic billionaire feud, which has intensified in the previous couple of days.
With a combined net price of around £575 billion – most of its Musk’s – the boys haven’t minced their words after apparently souring business talks, with Musk calling the Ryanair boss an ‘imbecile.’
Here’s a breakdown of why the 2 businessmen are taking jabs at one another – and why they get away with behaviour that may get most individuals cancelled.
Starlink
The battle of the billionaires began after Ryanair rejected Musk’s Starlink satellite because the budget airline’s potential Wifi provider, saying that the tech installed on planes would require extra fuel and that the fuel drag would cost as much as $250 million a yr.
Musk said he doubted the corporate could measure the fuel use ‘accurately.’
O’Leary, who is thought for his controversial hot takes, insisted that its passengers won’t pay a penny to make use of the Web on board and that it could should be free.
He then added fuel to the flames by describing X as ‘cesspit.’ He said: ‘I might pay no attention by any means to Elon Musk. He’s an idiot – very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot.’
Must hit back by calling the Ryanair boss ‘an utter idiot and insufferable chimp.’
‘Big Idiot’ Ryanair sale
As a substitute of retreating, Ryanair then channelled the controversy right into a PR opportunity – a typical move by the budget airline known for its social media posts relishing criticism moderately than hiding away from it.
The airline launched the ‘Big Idiot’ seat sale on Tuesday with 100,000 seats going for £16.99, which O’Leary claimed yesterday has led to a ‘dramatic’ increase in bookings and traffic to its website.
Crisis PR expert Lauren Beeching said that from a communications perspective, the largest standout moment was the ‘Big Idiot’ sale, which makes it clear ‘this was never viewed as reputational risk internally, but as industrial opportunity.’
She told Metro that the feud aligns ‘perfectly with how either side already communicate,’ with Ryanair often leaning into humour and provocation and ‘deliberately lowering expectations in a self-aware way.’
But other CEO’s might wish to avoid their tactic of public name calling.
Lauren continued: ‘Almost every other CEO would struggle to get away with this without raising questions on judgment or leadership.
‘Here, it really works because Musk and O’Leary are unusually well-matched. Each have built public personas that thrive on provocation, humour, and being barely antagonistic.
‘Musk’s online presence is driven by memes and deliberately unserious engagement, while Ryanair has normalised irreverence as a brand voice. Together, it becomes a form of perfect pairing, entertaining to look at moderately than genuinely concerning.’
Could Elon Musk take over Ryanair?
While the row was raging, Musk floated the thought of shopping for Ryanair over the weekend.
Musk wrote on X: ‘Should I purchase Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?’
He then polled his followers asking ‘Buy Ryan Air and restore Ryan as their rightful ruler,’ with over three-quarters of the nearly 900,000 respondents saying yes.
When the airline’s official X account asked Musk that ‘perhaps you wish Wifi,’ Musk replied by asking ‘how much would it not cost to purchase you?’
While the exchanges might sound fun and games, the world’s richest man has previously followed through on threats like this – his takeover of X, formerly referred to as Twitter in 2017 began with a joking post goading him to purchase it.
O’Leary has admitted that he, the truth is, likes the Starlink system, but installing it could undermine the airlines’ budget operating model.
He said: ‘If Starlink desires to fit our aircraft and pay for the fuel drag, we’d happily put them on board.’
What airlines have free Wifi?
While most airports are inclined to offer free Wifi, getting hold of a connection on board freed from charge is more a game of luck.
Here is an inventory of airlines, which have complimentary standard Wifi on board, and most of them have the choice for paid higher speed connection:
- JetBlue
- Norwegian
- Philippines Airlines
- Air Recent Zealand
- Qantas
- Malaysia Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Fiji Airways
- Air India
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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