Theo Leggett

OK, so Michael O'Leary says he doesn't want to use Starlink, which is an internet system.

On the grounds that it would be too costly because it would require his planes to be fitted with external antennas, which he says would cause aerodynamic drag on the planes, increase his fuel bills to a level that would not be economically viable.

And do we have any numbers with that?

He says it would entail about a 2% increase in drag and would cost about a euro per passenger, which would ultimately increase his fuel bill by about 250 million euros a year.

And he says that's not sustainable.

Yeah, he's floated that one a few times.

And he's actually said he could replace Mr. O'Leary with somebody who's actually called Ryan.

I mean, that's the level that this conversation has descended to, really.

But he'd faced two obstacles.

So first of all, he'd have to raise some $44 billion.

which even for the world's richest man is a lot of ready cash.

And then, crucially, there are also ownership rules to consider.

So European airlines have the right to fly around Europe pretty much without restriction, provided their majority owned by nationals of the EU.

And Mr. Musk, as a South African-American Canadian, clearly is not.

Yeah, so, I mean, the strong words really started when Michael O'Leary did an interview on an Irish radio station in which he referred to Elon Musk as a very wealthy idiot.

And, you know, the response to that was Elon Musk saying that Michael O'Leary should be sacked.

Ryanair then responded by launching what it calls a big idiot seat sale featuring a caricature of Elon Musk.

So there's a level of humor in all of this, but it's pretty low humor as well.