Ryanair CEO Doubts Starlink Wi-Fi Demand, Says Elon Musk Is Welcome To Invest

Addressing reporters, O’Leary explained that the airline cannot afford the $200 million to $250 million increase in fuel costs and installation expenses that Ryanair would have to bear if it were to equip its fleet with Starlink hardware.

Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) CEO Michael O’Leary on Wednesday said that less than 5% of the airline’s customers are likely to pay for in-flight Starlink Wi-Fi services.

Addressing reporters, O’Leary explained that the airline cannot afford the $200 million to $250 million increase in fuel costs and installation expenses that Ryanair would have to bear if it were to equip its fleet with Starlink hardware.

“If you want passengers to pay something modest like a euro, two euros or $3 on our average one-hour-fifteen-minute flights, we think less than 10%... I think that’s even optimistic.. I think less than 5% of the passengers will take this,” O’Leary said.

The Ryanair CEO also said he would welcome an investment from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, but pointed to rules for the ownership of European airlines. “He's free to do so at any time, but non-European citizens cannot own a majority of European airlines," O'Leary said.

Ryanair shares were down 0.2% in Wednesday’s pre-market trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

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