JetBlue founder expected to launch new start-up airline

JetBlue Airways founder David Neeleman is planning to launch a new U.S.-based airline by 2021, aiming to capitalize on consumer frustration with major airline companies.

Neeleman said in a statement Tuesday accompanying the purchase of 60 Airbus A220-300 jets that his new company, “Moxy,” will seek to capitalize on anger aimed at congested larger airports, according to USA Today.

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“After years of U.S. airline consolidation, the conditions are improving for a new generation of U.S. airline to emerge, focused on passenger service and satisfaction,” he said. 

“The A220 will enable us to serve thinner routes in comfort without compromising cost, especially on longer-range missions. With deliveries starting in 2021, we will have ample time to assemble a world-class management team and another winning business model.”

Trade publication Airline Weekly reported in June that Neeleman’s company plans to target smaller airports for entry into the U.S. market, hoping to draw passengers away from larger travel hubs, where flyers face longer waits in congested terminals.

“According to the presentation, the startup sees big opportunity in smallish airports, detecting consumer frustration with increasingly congested mega-hubs in regions like the U.S. northeast and west coast. Consolidation, it says, has reduced options while creating a ‘comfortable oligopoly’ of carriers with high fares and higher-than ever profits,” the publication reported.

“Moxy seems keen on secondary airports in the country’s biggest metro areas like Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles,” Airline Weekly’s report added, noting Rhode Island’s Providence airport as one example of a smaller airport that could be an option.

Neeleman, a Brazilian-American entrepreneur, is best known for founding JetBlue, which began flying in 2000. He has also founded several other airline companies, including Morris Air, WestJet, and Azul Brazilian Airlines.