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JetBlue Founder Has No Interest in Buying His Old Airline

David Neeleman, founder of Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras, at an interview at his office in Darien, Conn., on Friday, Oct. 8, 2010
David Neeleman, founder of Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras, at an interview at his office in Darien, Conn., on Friday, Oct. 8, 2010Photograph by Chris Ware/Bloomberg

David Neeleman, the serial airline entrepreneur who founded JetBlue Airways, says he’s not plotting to acquire his former company as part of a larger scheme to build a new international carrier for Brazil. Not that he doesn’t think his own Brazilian upstart, Azul, could one day become a major international player.

“We haven’t ruled out Azul expanding internationally at some point in time,” Neeleman said today in a telephone interview. “That doesn’t mean we buy JetBlue.”