David Neeleman
David Neeleman
David G. Neelemanis a Brazilian-American entrepreneur who has founded four commercial airlines, Morris Air, Westjet, JetBlue Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines. He is also the co-owner of TAP Portugal, along with Humberto Pedrosa...
NationalityBrazilian
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth16 October 1959
CountryBrazil
thinking traveler
I think there's a big market in North America [with travelers] going to Lisbon and connecting over Lisbon.
children father nine
And you've got to remember that I'm also the father of nine children.
important suggestions customers
It's so important to experience what your customers are experiencing and listen to their suggestions.
smile fun people
We tried to set up a company that patterned ourselves after Southwest in all the fun, the spirit, the great people, the smile, the efficiency side of it, but we've added some extras that people aren't used to finding on Southwest.
alarming costs double less percent
Right now only 15 percent of costs are fuel-related. If costs double that has an effect, but it will be less on us than our competitors. It's not alarming right now.
airport four john kennedy major miles operations top
Our major headquarters is at John F. Kennedy airport. We are four miles from the airport and are on top of our operations everyday.
million millions
Be it $15 million here and $11 million there, it takes hundreds of millions to be successful in this business.
world empty gates
When you can sell [empty seats] at the gate for an upgrade for 500 bucks or 600 bucks... it makes all the sense in the world.
airlines business higher hurts pass tried
I think it hurts profitability more than the business because the airlines have tried and tried to pass on higher fares, and it's not going to happen.
silly thinking people
I just don't think it's good public policy to tax fuel. It's kind of silly. It stops people from traveling and actually costs the economy more money than what you gain in the taxes.
country important going-away
The Lisbon hub is important to Portugal, the country. That's not going to go away. It needs to be there. The country depends on tourism.
coaches
Those wedgie seats, whatever they call them, those recliners, they're just not competitive anymore. The difference between those and a coach seat isn't that great to be able to warrant charging the amount. You need a little more space for a lie-flat, but not that much more.
thinking optimism feelings
I think there's new optimism in Brazil. The Olympics went well. Our demand is good. Costs are down. We're back in the black. We're feeling really good about what's going on in Brazil.
flying helping torture
If it's torture flying one airline and [yours] is a pleasant experience, it certainly helps your revenue.