By Todd Benson
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O: Quote, Profile, Research) founder David Neeleman unveiled plans on Thursday for a new low-cost airline in Brazil’s fast-growing aviation market, saying he had already raised $150 million for the venture.
The carrier, still unnamed, will start with a fleet of three jets made by the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer (EMBR3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research)(ERJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and should take to the skies in early 2009. In five years, it expects to have a fleet of 76 planes.
“Brazil is a country that needs more competitors, and in particular a different type of competitor,” Neeleman said in Portuguese at a news conference in Sao Paulo.
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