Sky bus.

THE BRAZILIAN AIRLINE INDUSTRY IS ALL BUT grounded, fuel prices are sky high and everyone's talking about merging the best and sinking the bus rest. So, what's the best game plan?

Well, if you're the owner of the largest fleet of buses in the country, you start your own airline.

That's what' Constantino de Oliveira o Nene has done. The owner of 6,000 buses in Brazil figures that age 69 is a good time for a new challenge, so he's launched a new airline, Gol Transportes Aeros, offering discount rates for no-frill service.

He'll be running a four-plane fleet for domestic flights, but plans to increase the size by the end of 2001.

Recently, he told Veja magazine that he doesn't like to sell, he only likes to buy. The way things are going with Brazil's struggling airlines, he may have plenty of used planes to pick from.