NEW YORK, May 6, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- JetBlue founder David Neeleman's
Brazilian domestic airline may seem vaguely familiar to American travelers. The
airline will have a fleet of brand-new aircraft, all with ultra-leather seats
and inflight satellite TV. And now the airline even has a name: Azul (Portuguese
for Blue).
In announcing plans for the new venture a month ago, Mr. Neeleman announced a
contest for the Brazilian traveling public to name the airline via the website
www.voceescolhe.com.br (Portuguese for "you choose"). Since then, more than
157,000 entries were submitted by some 108,000 people. His team selected 10
names from the list for a final vote, which narrowed the lead entries to two
names: Azul and Samba.
Under the contest rules, the first person who entered the winning name receives
two lifetime passes for free travel on the airline. The first 1,000 people to
enter the winning selection receive two free tickets anywhere the airline flies.
While Samba actually received more votes, the team preferred Azul instead. As a
result, the company will honor free tickets to the people who entered both
names.
"Azul is a metaphor for security, serenity, loyalty, and quality -- as well as
connoting flight, as the color of the sky. But we want our company to define the
name, not have the name define our company," said Mr. Neeleman, Azul's Chief
Executive Officer. "Within a year, after thousands of customers will have flown
our new airline, Azul is going to signify something really special -- a new and
better way to fly.
"We're looking forward to keeping an ongoing dialogue with our customers and
naming the airline was just the first milestone in creating that relationship.
We're excited to continue engaging our customers' opinions as we create further
aspects of our product and service."
Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras, SA plans to commence service in January 2009 and
has ordered a fleet of 76 Embraer jets. The new airline proposes to bypass
congested hubs offering point-to-point service with exceptional quality and
lower prices. Azul's Embraer 195 aircraft will be equipped with 118
ultra-leather seats in a comfortable 2 by 2 configuration. In addition, these
state-of-the-art aircraft are configured with the latest technology including
dual heads up display, offering a new standard of operational safety. The new
company also will be the first in Latin America to install LiveTV, providing
live TV inflight via satellite.
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CONTACT: For David Neeleman
Gareth Edmondson-Jones
gejink@gmail.com
