Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:RYAAY) CEO Michael O'Leary has shared that most airlines would be offering free Wi-Fi services on board flights in the future.
‘We'll All Be Offering Free Wi-Fi,' Michael O'Leary Says
During Ryanair's earnings call on Monday, the CEO was asked about his views on offering in-flight Wi-Fi services. "I think most airlines will be fitting a WiFi access on board short-haul aircraft," O'Leary said, adding that Ryanair would do the same when "we don’t have to put an aerial outside the fuselage of the aircraft that has a fuel penalty or a fuel drag."
The CEO also shared that as the technology improves, the antennae could be added to some other place on the aircraft. "Anything that doesn’t involve you drilling holes in an aircraft fuselage and putting 1 or 2 aerials on it that has a fuel drag penalty," he said, adding that Ryanair would not pay 200 million euros per year to add the technology.
He then said that the company was in talks with SpaceX-backed Starlink, Amazon.com Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Leo, as well as Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD) (NASDAQ:VODPF) for offering the Wi-Fi services, but conceded that Ryanair thinks only 5-10% of the passengers would pay for the service.
"I have no doubt in my mind that a low fare will beat a free WiFi on board every single time," he said, but added that "as the WiFi technology improves over the next 4 or 5 years, we’ll all be offering free WiFi access."
Ryanair's Earnings
The airline, during its earnings call, reported an EPS of 7 cents per share, which was lower than the 18 cents per share consensus, as well as being down sharply from 30 cents per share from a year ago. Ryanair also paid a $351 million antitrust fine to Italian authorities, which is still under appeal.
Elon Musk Vs Michael O'Leary
The comments come as O'Leary faced off against billionaire Elon Musk, who suggested that the CEO was "an utter idiot." He also suggested the idea of purchasing the airline and firing the CEO, who he said would be replaced by someone named "Ryan."
O'Leary thanked Musk for the publicity and shared that the billionaire was "welcome to invest" in the company, but reiterated that since "non-European citizens cannot own a majority of European airlines," it would be unlikely that Musk could own the airline anytime soon.
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