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Ryanair Sees Free In‑Flight Wi‑Fi in 3–5 Years as Budget Airlines Question Starlink Costs

O'Leary cites drag from roof‑mounted hardware as a dealbreaker for now, making adoption dependent on moving antennas inside the airframe.

Overview

  • Ryanair is keeping talks open with Starlink, Amazon Web Services and Vodafone but says current installations would add an unacceptable fuel‑drag cost.
  • Michael O'Leary estimates today's antenna setup would impose roughly a 2% fuel penalty costing about $200 million annually, a figure SpaceX disputes as closer to 0.3%.
  • The airline says it would adopt Wi‑Fi immediately if antennas could be integrated into areas like the hold or nose cone to eliminate external drag.
  • O'Leary now projects free connectivity across the Ryanair fleet within three to five years as integration improves and costs fall.
  • EasyJet said it has discussed Starlink but that the economics do not work yet for the carrier, even as it praises the service’s performance and keeps options under review.