BRUSSELS, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Ryanair on Wednesday ruled out equipping its jets with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service, citing the impact of fuel costs from drag caused by the antenna and the short length of its flights.
Rival Lufthansa on Tuesday announced a deal to install Starlink on its aircraft and Scandinavian airline SAS last year picked the provider, saying the aerodynamic drag of the system was lower than rivals.
“You need to put antenna on fuselage it comes with a 2% fuel penalty because of the weight and drag,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told Reuters. “We don’t think our passengers are willing to pay for WiFi for an average 1-hour flight.”
(Reporting by Julia Payne; Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Padraic Halpin)
