There is a new airline being started in Brazil: BRAZIL'S NEW AIRLINE 'TO BE A SUCCESS' : BRAZIL PROPERTY NEWS

They keep buying planes getting ready for their launch....

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There has been talk of Jet Blue for at least 4 yrs,but as of yet it has not happened.It will be interesting to see if Brasil will allow a cheap and safe budget airline rule the skies that could dominate Tam and Gol .Watch this thread!

Considering he is buying planes I would hazard a guess something is happening soon. Plus considering there used to be another 2 airlines (BRA and Varig) flying domestic routes, I can't see how another airline won't be allowed.

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Let's put a few records stright here. Ryanair will never go to Brazil it is not in their model and the crew costs wouldn't interest them. Secondly the internet model of buying one ways won't work as EU Immigration wont let Brasilians in on that basis. It would only be possible if only return flights were on sale. Low cost is what it says and they won't take on the return immigration risk and associated costs. Low cost long haul has generally failed already 4/5 like Maxjet, one from HK and others have gone bust..another one is now trying from Malaysia to UK but overall thereis no sign of success in thismarket. Oddly, as Brazil prices are so high, there is room in the price structure for a margin but again the immigration problem exists. The only possible chance is a HUB in Canary Islands or Cape Verde, then it might be workable with 737-800 workhorses and this would open up NE Brazil for sure. If anyone has been to Dubai, they have the HUB model correct and if some bright spark in the Brazilian Govt could see this and persuaded them to open "Emirates Latino" in Natal, you have got a proposition as a world crossover like Dubai is from NE to SW. Natal could easily be NW to SE and has a huge catchment onwards to Venezuala/Peru/Colombia etc etc. But and it is a huge but, brazil has yet to undiscover the concept of protectionism and until they do forget any property or tourist boom....they are all in Dubai at half the cost it takes to cross the south atlantic!

They are talking about JetBlue not RyanAir - Brazilian low cost airline not European.

Apart from that - the person who is running the plans for the airport in Natal is planning exactly what you are talking about. His (translated) words to me over two months ago when I went to London with him were "International Hub for Central and South America". He kept insisting on that idea as we looked at the plans for the projected phase 1, 2 and 3. Not only for passengers but also for cargo and what that would imply not only for tourism but also for the commerce of Rio Grande do Norte.

But whereas I've been saying for months that is what is being planned, you keep insisting that "someone should plan it". They are already, it just takes time (as always in Brasil) to implement, especially when we are talking about the kind of money involved here. That's why I'm still very optimistic about the future of the region.

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Have a nice day

Free zones was one of the first things that I looked when I heard about the new airport in Natal (free zones play an important role in Dubai as well). Natal has a ZPE (sort of free zone) approved, and it seems that it got a boost last week (http://www2.camara.gov.br/internet/h...html?pk=121358). But sure things may take a little (!?) while to happen.

BTW, last week was in Gulf News that Emaar Properties (Dubai partially owned) is looking to invest in Brazil together with a few other companies from here.

There was something in the news a while back regarding Dubai developers looking into financing part of the new airport and I know that some US representatives were in Natal about a month ago also for some talks about the airport but not sure what the outcome was...

"A little (!?) time"- hehe suppose it all depends on what you consider a "little time" for something of this size to go through in a country like Brazil They have been working on it for many years now so it's a question of how much of that "little time" is left

As the people living on the ground in Brazil can confirm, if you visit the site now the runways are pretty much done - I was told over two months ago that the runways have been tarmacced - question is will they (and are they in a position to) capitalise on that and move the terminal construction up "soon".

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Yes, I work for a Real Estate company doing market research and analysis but I'm not involved in sales.

Have a nice day

The point is that over-profits are being made by the few domestic players and competition is unsatisfactory. Consequently, new operators will enter the market notwithstanding the protectionist lobby and the prospective Jet Blue is an example of this phenomenon. Low cost airlines make money in Europe and the US so why not Brazil? Your idea of a hub from the Canaries is interesting, indeed charter flights from Scandinavia already stop there on route to Natal. Low cost long-haul is still in its infancy, people were also sceptical of low cost short-haul before Southwest/Ryanair etc. proved that the model could work. Regardless, there is a lot of money to be made in short-haul flights within Brazil, and a vast population who will travel by plane when the prices come down. In my view, a lot more affluent people from Sao Paolo/Rio would invest in properties in North Eastern Brazil if there was a Brazilian equivalent of Ryanair/EasyJet to take them there cheaply.

The authorites in Natal and NE Brasil may have the fancy idea of making it a hub, but just because they build a long runway doesn't mean it will work. The reason being that the airport doesn't make the hub, the airlines and the routes they can serve do. Brazil has a completely protectionist airline strategy, the Govt fixes routes, licences, prices etc etc and restricts international access. A hub means exatly what it says on the tin and a long haul carrier from Europe/MEast or US doesn't want to compete wth a local low cost airline...he need internal traffic rights and external onto other destinations like Chile/Peru/Colombia etc etc. This is everything Brasil restricts and just because some guy visits London and agrees to build a runway means nothing...there could be a hub already in Recife, so the airport is not the problem, the attitude towards a protectionist economy is the main stumbling block.

Low cost is what is say, and long haul is never going to be low cost...the crew costs for one, the aircraft cannot turn round quickly and increase the yield, you cannot remove the frills, baggage and handling is costly and the immigaration issue is a big one. Plus you need different aircraft than a 737 which adds to maintenance, parts and servicing...this osuld only work into a maximum of 4 hours or to Cape Verde or Canaries at a stretch. If however, someone like Emirates would do it then that is different..but is there the traffic east wets east? Plus they own and completely control the airport, air traffic, airline and duty free which does US$1 Billion a year.....an integral arrangement..everything Brazil is incapable of.

Yes JMBroad, you are right, by "little" I mean anytime between a few years and a couple of decades... Please, make sure the developers build things to last.

When no one was interested in Dubai, the Sheikh decided to start his own airline company (Emirates), build 5 stars hotels and tax free shopping malls. And put out an ad like "Hey! how about a stop over in our hotels, we have promotions, no tax on shopping..."

Emirates Airlines has firm orders for more 163 aircrafts (that doesn't count the options), incluing 58 super jumbos, a total of 58 billions dollars . I read a little while ago (little now means just about a year...) that their next South America destination may be Buenos Aires. But considering the huge success of the Dubai-SP route, and their interest in invest in tourism in Brazil, I will not be surprise if within few years, Emirates announces a direct flight to NE of Brazil. Sheiks here think really big; they own the property developers, Summer here (June-August) when everybody leaves is a proper time to go to NE of Brazil, and they own the airline; To fit their purposes, to spare only 1-2 aircrafts out of hundreds doesn't seems much. But yes, this is a total speculative statement because never read that they will do it.

Market in Brazil is quite restrict, I Agree; I remember a little while ago (now I mean 20 years ...) when to fly to Miami was cheaper than to Manaus (see! wheels, or wings, are in motion, little by little some improvements...). I think that is reasonable to expect more domestic and international flights at competitive prices. I hope things will get better, reality is sometimes quite powerful argument (as Celt pointed out). It will change, for sure, all the peaces for the puzzle are there, just a little time...