One thing about creating a new company and running a contest to name it: You’re free to interpret the contest results any way you want.
JetBlue founder David Neeleman is starting a new Brazilian domestic airline. He landed a name for it with a contest among the Brazilian traveling public and a website with the Portuguese words “you choose.” More than 100,000 people submitted names. After basking in the public relations hoopla, his management team selected 10 names from the list for a final vote, which narrowed the field to two names: Azul and Samba.
While Samba actually received more votes, the management team preferred Azul. The contest rules stated that the first person who entered the winning name would receive two lifetime passes for free travel on the airline. So the company is granting free passes to the first people who entered both names.
Why a Brazilian airline, you may wonder? Neeleman was born in Brazil, where his journalist father was UPI bureau chief, and he holds dual citizenship. Two airlines control 90% of the domestic market there, he says, and prices are high. There is no passenger rail service to speak of, and people who can’t afford to fly will travel long distances by bus.
Why Azul? The word is Portuguese (and Spanish) for blue. “It’s a metaphor for security, serenity, loyalty and quality, as well as the color of the sky,” says Neeleman.
There’s more than a little “blue” in his past and new airline. Azul will use Embraer planes similar to those used by JetBlue. And Azul will be outfitted with leather seats and free satellite TV – amenities familiar to JetBlue customers, but virtually unheard of in Brazil.
Azul plans to start taking delivery of new aircraft in December 2008 or January 2009. The Brazilian aviation authority has cleared Azul for takeoff.
For more on the use of contests to find a new name, see:
