# David Neeleman

> David Neeleman is a Brazilian-born American airline entrepreneur, the founder and founding CEO of JetBlue, founder of Azul and Breeze Airways, and a co-founder of Morris Air who also helped develop WestJet. His career connects ticketless reservations, passenger amenities and service to underserved markets. He is founder and CEO of Breeze Airways.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Breeze Airways
- **Organizations:** Breeze Airways, JetBlue Airways, Azul Brazilian Airlines, Morris Air, WestJet, Open Skies, Southwest Airlines, TAP Air Portugal
- **From:** São Paulo, Brazil
- **Nationality:** Brazilian-American; also holds Cypriot citizenship
- **Education:** Studied accounting; left without graduating, University of Utah
- **Known for:** Founded JetBlue and served as its founding CEO from 1998 to 2007., Co-founded Morris Air, acquired by Southwest in 1993., Implemented early electronic ticketing and home-based reservations at Morris Air.

## Career timeline

- **1959** — Born in São Paulo, Brazil; raised in Utah after moving to the United States as a child.
- **1980–1983** — Ran IFS, a Utah travel business; its Hawaii packages business collapsed after an airline supplier failed.
- **1984** — Co-founded Morris Air with June Morris.
- **1988** — Became president of Morris Air.
- **1993** — Southwest Airlines acquired Morris Air in a transaction reported at approximately $130 million.
- **1990s** — Worked briefly at Southwest, developed Open Skies reservation software and helped establish WestJet in Canada.
- **1998** — Founded JetBlue and became its founding CEO.
- **2000** — JetBlue commenced revenue service on February 11 between New York JFK and Fort Lauderdale.
- **2007** — Following JetBlue’s February operational crisis, Dave Barger replaced him as CEO in May; Neeleman remained chairman.
- **2008** — Founded Azul in Brazil; commercial operations began December 15.
- **2017** — Breeze corporate résumé dates his role as founder and CEO to 2017; the airline began flying in 2021.
- **2021** — Breeze Airways launched its first flight on May 27, from Tampa to Charleston.
- **2026** — Breeze expanded international service; Tampa–San José began October 3, and Tampa–Santo Domingo was announced for June 2027.

## Achievements

- Founded JetBlue and served as its founding CEO from 1998 to 2007.
- Co-founded Morris Air, acquired by Southwest in 1993.
- Implemented early electronic ticketing and home-based reservations at Morris Air.
- Helped develop WestJet, which began flying in 1996.
- Founded Azul in 2008 and Breeze, which began flight operations in 2021.
- Named among Utah Business’s 2025 CEOs of the Year.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — On October 13, Tampa International Airport announced Breeze nonstop service to Santo Domingo, scheduled to start June 18, 2027.
- **2026-10** — Breeze launched nonstop Tampa–San José, Costa Rica service on October 3.
- **2026-07** — Appeared in a Start School conversation with Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts about entrepreneurship, leadership, culture and technology.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-neeleman-06420a234/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/DavidNeeleman
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidneeleman/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidneeleman/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-neeleman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23