JetBlue founder to start new airline in Brazil

SAO PAULO, March 27 (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) founder David Neeleman unveiled plans on Thursday for a new low-cost airline in Brazil.

The carrier, still unnamed, will start with a fleet of three Embraer 195 jets made by the Brazilian manufacturer (EMBR3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(ERJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and should take to the skies at the beginning of 2009, Neeleman said at a news conference in Sao Paulo.

Like JetBlue, the U.S. discount carrier that Neeleman founded in 1998, the new Brazilian airline will offer low fares and use a point-to-point route structure that flies travelers from one city to another without layovers. (Reporting by Todd Benson, writing by Elzio Barreto)