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Rampant Speculation: A Neeleman-Branson Airline?

So last week we got this surprise phone call from Richard Branson. And since we hung up, we've been ruminating on his admission that he's scouting South America for his next airline project. Where would it be? When would it happen? Would there be soccer cheerleaders at the launch party?

As we pondered the very concept of soccer cheerleaders, we stumbled upon some other interesting news. JetBlue founder David Neeleman is planning to buy 36 E-190s from Embraer and he has close to $200 million lined up to finance a project. He may have already secured authorization to operate an airline in Brazil, a certificate known as a "cheta."

See where we're going with this? Branson has run into regulatory problems before because of foreign ownership rules. (It happened in the States, and it's a hurdle in India.) But Neeleman holds Brazilian citizenship. If these two are getting together on a secret airline, we'll be flying to South America to try it out.

Related Stories:
· A Surprise Call from Richard Branson [Jaunted]
· Neeleman Reportedly Starting Another Airline [PlaneBuzz]
· Richard Branson coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Neeleman: Wikipedia]