Recent headlines have outlined a highly public feud between Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary and Starlink’s Elon Musk. O’Leary has said that his airline didn’t need Starlink, and that passengers travelling for an hour or so didn’t need specialised connectivity. Musk responded by saying that he might buy Ryanair.

Calmer heads are now prevailing with Ryanair’s CFO Neil Sorohan saying that the airline would look at “whoever is the best, when the technology and price was right” for in-flight WiFi.

Ryanair, on January 21st, ruled out equipping its jets with Starlink satellite internet service, citing the impact of fuel costs from drag caused by the antenna and the short length of its flights. “You need to put antenna on fuselage it comes with a 2 per cent fuel penalty because of the weight and drag,” O’Leary said.

That 2 per cent drag on an aircraft’s efficiency was strongly disputed by Starlink which said that the correct formula was nearer 0.2 or 0.3 per cent drag.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Satellite

Tags: Ryanair, starlink