JetBlue to use new airplane

Discount airline JetBlue has officially received an Embraer 190 jet, an aircraft that many analysts believe could reshape the aviation industry.

JetBlue will be the first airline to use the plane when it goes into service in November. Another 100 Embraer's are on order, and 25 of them should be serving JetBlue's routes by the end of 2006.

The new 100-seat plane is similar to the Airbus A320 that JetBlue currently uses, except that this jet has leather seats, satellite radio, DIRECTV, and four seats across every row, meaning that no passenger has to sit in the middle.

Billed by JetBlue executives as the "little big jet", the Embraer essentially has all the amenities of a large plane, at a fraction of the cost, and with the ability to serve smaller and more regional airports.

The discount airline plans to use the plane to expand its routes to dozens of smaller cities in the United States.

JetBlue's chief executive David Neeleman believes the Embraer is the plane of the future, he said: "As I look at this beautiful new aircraft I see many opportunities to bring the JetBlue experience to communities all over North America. I am confident this plane will turn heads everywhere it lands."

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