In recent days, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary and Elon Musk have been getting into it, and the situation keeps escalating. What started as a debate over Starlink Wi-Fi has turned into the two billionaires calling one another idiots, and Musk even threatening to buy Ryanair in order to fire O’Leary. Ryanair is firmly in the “any publicity is good publicity” camp, and as a continuation of this feud, the airline has just launched a hilarious fare sale.
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Ryanair mocks Elon Musk with new fare sale
Ryanair has taken to X to promote how it has a new fare sale — the Irish carrier is saying “don’t thank us, thank that big ‘IDIOT’ Elon Musk.” The banner for the sale says that it’s “only available for Elon Musk and any other ‘idiots’ on X!!” O’Leary had recently called Musk’s X platform a “cesspool.”
The airline is selling 100,000 seats as part of this sale for travel in February, March, and April, starting at £16.99 including taxes & fees.
O’Leary is also apparently planning a press conference tomorrow in Dublin to “address/undress” the Elon Musk “Twitter tantrum,” as it’s described. O’Leary mentions how “Musk knows even less about airline ownership rules than he does about aircraft aerodynamics,” which is quite the dig, and a clear reference to Musk not even being able to buy Ryanair directly, even if he wanted to.
What a great opportunity all of this is for Ryanair
Ryanair is one of the world’s highest margin and most profitable airlines, and it’s incredibly well run. Ryanair has never shied away from controversy, and I don’t think the airline could be handed a more perfect opportunity than this confrontation with Elon Musk.
Elon Musk is certainly amplifying Ryanair, thinking somehow that’s going to harm the company. Musk doesn’t seem to understand that a) he’s not at all popular in most parts of Europe, so attacking him is viewed favorably and b) Ryanair thrives off controversy, and has no issues getting into these kinds of spats.
So Musk trying to badmouth an airline that literally relies on customers who are looking for cheap, nonstop flights, with no good alternatives, isn’t exactly a winning battle for him. But I’m sure Ryanair appreciates Musk writing about them to his 230+ million followers.
Usually I’m not a fan of these billionaire “pi$$ing matches” for lack of a better term, but the dynamics here are sort of hilarious.
Bottom line
It looks like the feud between Elon Musk and Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary isn’t quite over. The airline has now launched a fare sale for “idiots” like Elon Musk and others on X, as it’s described. O’Leary also plans to have a press conference tomorrow morning in Dublin, targeted at Elon Musk.
This whole controversy started over Starlink Wi-Fi, but is now about a lot more. I’m not sure Musk realizes the extent to which Ryanair loves this kind of attention.
What do you make of Ryanair’s “idiot” fare sale?
Stop giving Musk the time of fecking day ffs.
We all have to recognize that there are different types of airlines out there that provide different services. The truth is that O'Leary can't be a big idiot or as dumb as many people perceive if he has one of the few high margin and high profit low cost carrier airlines. I do think the airline does well because in part of no suitable alternatives and charging extra fees.
"he’s not at all popular"
Concerning Musk, he is about as popular as Mao... so this phrase speaks for Ben not being confrontational.
A lot of citizens in the USA seem to totally miscalculate how the USA is losing attractiveness right now.
Seppos are clueless main character syndrome-infested clowns, what else can we expect?
I actively avoid any airline that has installed or is installing Starlink on their airplanes. Zero trust in anything Elon. And companies that have installed Starlink are unethical.
BZ, thank you for sharing that information with us. I am sure, that like me, many will take solace from knowing that we will never have to suffer you in person whilst flying.
Thank you BZ , we will take the solace to never see you when we're flying. I hope more of your kind do that.
Elon’s avatar needs a bigger belly
Musk is so thick he's threatening to take over a company where the takeover would make the guy he's feuding with exceptionally rich. Lol
£16.99 and they’re still liable for EU/UK 261 if they’re heavily delayed…. Let that be a reminder to those who think such regulations bankrupt airlines or lead to higher fares. While I’ve only taken Ryanair a handful of times, they’re an example of how it can be done. ULCCs are good for competition, which helps consumers, even if you never fly them.
they'll find some way to get out of it. I've never heard of anyone successfully claim EU261 with Ryanair (I'm not saying there are not people out there and that it's not possible...but)
I have. Twice. Paid £220 x 2 within 6 days so your comments are BS. And you don’t know every single person who made a claim.
@JJ - Ryanair is far better at paying claims out than Lufthansa Group, LOT and many other airlines. The only issue with Ryanair is their alternative interpretation of rebooking duty (they flat out refuse to book on OAL, you need to sue for that).
Musk doesn't kid around. When he said he is going to buy the airline and put someone in charge of it actually named Ryan, what he meant is that one of his many children has a European mother. If he can name one of his sons X Æ A-Xii, he can get another one to change his name to Ryan.
Elon is an accidental billionaire thanks to a bit of luck and a lot of corporate welfare. He's one of the biggest welfare queens there is. Bit embarrassing for you to fanboy over such a pathetic, thin skinned waste.
Elon has his eccentricities, but he is an amazing innovator. PayPal, Tesla, Space X. He didnt make his money with financial engineering, but invotated. You are selling him short with you bias.
@Brian W
He didn't found Paypal, Paypal was created by a merger of one of Elon's startups and another startup. He was ousted by the board within months after being appointed CEO immediately following the merger.
He didn't found Tesla Motors, that was Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk, ripe with cash from selling his interests in Paypal, invested heavily (read: bought controlling stakes) in Tesla the following year. He then sued the original...
@Brian W
He didn't found Paypal, Paypal was created by a merger of one of Elon's startups and another startup. He was ousted by the board within months after being appointed CEO immediately following the merger.
He didn't found Tesla Motors, that was Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk, ripe with cash from selling his interests in Paypal, invested heavily (read: bought controlling stakes) in Tesla the following year. He then sued the original founders to have the right to call himself "co-founder", and eventually forced them out of the company.
He did found SpaceX, once again with his incredibly valuable Paypal stake. Credit where credit is due, he did at very minimum do an excellent job sourcing smart and capable people to work for him. That being said, I'm very skeptical of his actual engineering contributions beyond the grand vision of reaching Mars and finding likeminded, SMART people and pushing them to reach it. Because every time Elon stops talking about rockets and starts talking about subjects I'm knowledgeable in, he reveals himself to be an utter moron. Who knows, he could be really knowledgeable on rockets but that malignant narcissist streak puts him on Peak Dunning-Kruger for anything else.
And lastly, he did make money. He made a huge amount off Paypal in 2004 IIRC, and today he's the richest man on earth. He deserves the criticism when he strays outside his lane and says stupid things, which is often.
Lack of a sense of humor is one symptom of neurodiversity.
Elon Musk is awesome! I bought a Tesla last year just to support him. Keep fighthing the good fight Elon!
Just in case I was ever inclined to doubt PT Barnum's adage...
O'Leary definitely knows how to market his airline on the cheap.
I never flew RyanAir and will never fly them. However, I am squarely in O'Leary's corner on this one. Musk is butt-hurt that RyanAir doesn't want to install StarLink. Pissing off people that don't buy your product today guarantees that they are never going too. Only an "IDIOT" doesn't get that.
All these improbable converts who claim to suddenly "love" O'Dreary and just magically forget decades of shady customer service and sharp practice by Ryanair. And they're doing this not because O'Dreary is a terrific guy (hint: he isn't), not because Ryanair is a fantastic airline (hint: it isn't), but because they don't like Musk(!) Go ahead - hate Musk. But don't claim to like a POS because he also hates Musk. Here's a piece of...
All these improbable converts who claim to suddenly "love" O'Dreary and just magically forget decades of shady customer service and sharp practice by Ryanair. And they're doing this not because O'Dreary is a terrific guy (hint: he isn't), not because Ryanair is a fantastic airline (hint: it isn't), but because they don't like Musk(!) Go ahead - hate Musk. But don't claim to like a POS because he also hates Musk. Here's a piece of advice you guys badly need: the enemy of your enemy...is still your enemy. O'Dreary is not a better person, and will not treat you or your family and friends and colleagues better just because you both happen to hate Musk.
What shady customer service? I usually don't fly FR as their policies and overall experience don't suit me, but there's nothing shady about the airline. Their policies are strict but well-published and as long as you follow them, you won't have a problem. On those few occasions when I did take their flights, the customer service was on par or better than legacies (e.g. Lufthansa which is a disaster compared to FR).
Their IROPS handling isn't always ideal, but the same could also be said for other airlines...
@John
This is one of the most ridiculous posts I have read here for a while. Musk, is at a minimum- a fascist and should be avoided at all cost. That you took the time to extol the negatives of Mr. O'Leary and his organization, while blatantly avoiding mention of his opponent, screams your bias.
And no- I live in the USA and have never and have no intention of flying RyanAir. And yes, just as you dislike Mr. O'Leary, so I despise musk.
"At a minimum, a fascist." Oh brother! More hysteria and hyperbole. 99.99999% of people misuse the word fascist because they don't know it's true definition. Hint, it's not a strongman, egotistical ruler. Please, can you guys get new words to replace nazi and fascist. It's all so retarded.
Relax. I don't think O'Leary hates musk. He just thinks Musk is an idiot.
excuse me, clearly u haven't read the art of war: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Hey John. O'Leary is a big twat, Elon is a gargantuan twat. Sometimes you need to pick the lesser of two twats.
With NO RESPECT, anyone who cannot post without using the same foul expletive THREE times in a twenty two word post, demonstrates their complete lack of self respect and that for other readers too. Crawl back into the hole which you obviously inhabit, you foul mouthed clown.
They are an extremely successful, highly profitable, airline with a great business model. Over 200 million passengers annually. They also have a great advertising and social media team. I’ve flown within them many times and had two tech delays, been paid comp within 6 days. Friendly staff and really never had any issues. I’ve also flown first class on several legacy carriers and Concorde twice.
This is so very funny. Musk is not the only super thin skinned “man” in the US right now. And both are destroying brand value at incredible speed
Embarrassing for both of them. Is this the type of behavior you’d like to see in men responsible for 10.000s of staff?
And, Ben, sorry to disagree. Ryanair might be profitable, but „well run“?? This is a company that takes pride in disrespecting their customers and making fun of them. Every European has witnessed over and over again Ryanair customers left alone, helpless, lost in cases of cancellations, bad weather, delays without connections. Customer...
Embarrassing for both of them. Is this the type of behavior you’d like to see in men responsible for 10.000s of staff?
And, Ben, sorry to disagree. Ryanair might be profitable, but „well run“?? This is a company that takes pride in disrespecting their customers and making fun of them. Every European has witnessed over and over again Ryanair customers left alone, helpless, lost in cases of cancellations, bad weather, delays without connections. Customer service: zero. Too expensive, obviously. This is your definition of a „well run“ company??
Just saw an old movie poster for a movie called 'Alien vs Predator' and the tagline for the movie applies here:
"Whoever wins, we lose."
Having said that, I hope Elon continues to get humiliated and I stan Michael O'Leary on this and this alone
lmao how am I supposed to hate on this company
O'Leary capitalizing on it as expected lol. Musk took the bait hook, line, and sinker and is just feeding Ryan Air's publicity machine at this point.
" 'Musk knows even less about airline ownership rules than he does about aircraft aerodynamics,' which is quite the dig, and a clear reference to Musk not even being able to buy Ryanair directly..."
I read that as a dig at Musk for not being able to keep his SpaceX rockets from exploding after takeoff.
Oh my God, the most ignorant comment I’ve ever read. I’m not gonna even bother and answer this stupidity.
It’s unreal how this following is a bunch of democratic Whack jobs. It’s as bad as Facebook
One saying that his rockets explode. Obviously, that’s how you learn. They’re called experimental to learn to make each one better.
The reason why he is the richest human in this world, because he’s beyond intelligent, and 10 chest moves ahead of any of - physics is what drives him and he’s right about that
Mind blowing the Idiocracy of people
@Linda Lee
He'd have more credibility with people if he stuck to making his rockets and didn't try to pass himself off as the most intelligent and important person on the planet. Too bad for him he's a malignant narcissist that can't stand not being the center of attention, so the rest of us all get to laugh when he stupid crap on topics he knows literally nothing about. This RyanAir thing isn't the first time.
O’Leary has no idea who he’s messing with. This will not well for the real idiot.
Whats Musk going to do? Take more ket?
Elon Musks net worth is nearly 500 billion dollars. He literally can do whatever he wants. O’Leary will be crying like a little baby soon
Can he stop being an idiot? Doesn’t seem the 500 billion dollars helps that?
No Idiot can accumulate $500 billion dollars. Sorry, but Elons intelligence is off the charts.
Trump is believed to be a billionaire and he's an idiot and a moron.
President Trump did become the leader of the most powerful nation on earth by being an “idiot”. Nice try though.
Why inverted commas? What am I missing?
Who said idiots can’t be powerful?
"President Trump did become the leader of the most powerful nation on earth by being an “idiot”. Nice try though."
No, President Trump became leader of the once most respected nation in the free world by millions of other Americans being idiots. Trump of course is also an idiot, but his idiocy did not win him the presidency. Nice win!
"President Trump did become the leader of the most powerful nation on earth by being an “idiot”. Nice try though."
No, President Trump became leader of the once most respected nation in the free world by millions of other Americans being idiots. Trump of course is also an idiot, but his idiocy did not win him the presidency. Nice win Faron Key!
No, he can't do whatever he wants (E.g. kill people).
There are things called laws.
Faron, the ‘Key’ to posting herein, is not to act like the “Baby” of which you speak, grow up and get with the reality of the situation …. Yes?
Maybe SpaceX can crash a Starship into O'Leary's house.
They have plenty of practise.
Faron Key, think on how embarrassing it is for you to simp for a bloated baby like Elon
That’s brilliant. Well done!
But yeah Elon naively assumes his MAGA fanboys on X represent general public sentiment, so he is quite thrown off by this situation!!
I thought the latest Ryanair advert was funny, the Elon twist…classic
https://youtube.com/shorts/crD_uCULO0E?si=Rh93ksII5kj1Vf4M
First time I have ever given kudos to Ryan Air or O'Leary.
Well done.
Like you I'm normally not a fan of this but I can't help loving it. Musk is insanely thin skinned and immature and Ryanair is taking that to town.
To anyone that would want to fly on what equates to the flat bed of a chicken truck.
Largest non-US airline by passenger count (and number 3 overall) so i think they have no trouble findibg willing customers….
They're perfectly fine, for short flights anyway. They have a decent on-time record and run an efficient operation. Not luxury by any means, but also not as bad as a chicken truck.
Have you grown them?
Every time I read something about Michael O'Leary, I like him more.
Why couldn't Musk buy Ryanair?
EU rules forbid it.
The rules don't actually forbid him buying the company; just operating flights.
I'm hoping he does buy it; O'Leary and staff set up a new airline, and Musk is left with a zero-value investment!
"EU Rules forbid it".
I'm sure Musk could get EU citizenship very easily if he wanted.
Pst! EU citizenship? In what state did you learn geography?
He could buy it, but he would then have to shut it down, since Ryanair would lose EU traffic rights. To have a status of an EU airline, majority of shares must be controlled by EU nationals.
@Samo: Not stated in Musk's plan was his intention to get Orban to grant him instant Hungarian citizenship. Voila!
Where are the usual hue and cries of the evils of nationalism? Oh, because it's done to ridicule Musk then it's ok. Adults these days are incredibly immature.
By the way, everyone keeps assuming Musk will buy it as an individual. There's no reason to assume he won't use a partnership or corporation with majority EU nationals as shareholders as the actual buyer. He can still be a shareholder and/or officer of that purchasing entity.
Oh Timo, love how you MAGAs act a fool and then try to shame others when you get your little snowflake feelings hurt
It is my understanding that Musk, could not buy and run Ryanair. Under EU rules and control laws, 50% + 1 share must be owned and controlled by EU nationals.
That's right an example is Virgin Atlantic. Pre Brexit Delta owned 30% and air france owned 51 percent which Delta trusted because of being close friends. Seconds after Delta and Air france switched shares
Walter, Virgin Group owns 51%, while Delta 49% of shares.
That’s hilarious!
First time I've ever been on Ryanair's side. Well done!