Arajet S.A. is an ultra low-cost airline and the flag carrier of the Dominican Republic.[3][4][5] Operations began on 15 September 2022 with a flight to Barranquilla, Colombia.[6]
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| Founded | 2014 (as Dominican Wings) 2021 (as Arajet) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 15 September 2022 | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Fleet size | 10 | ||||||
| Destinations | 22[2] | ||||||
| Headquarters | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | ||||||
| Key people | Victor Miguel Pacheco Mendez (Founder) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
History
editEarly operations
edit
In late 2014, Dominican Wings received its air operator's certificate from the Dominican Republic's civil aviation authority and planned to offer charter flights between the Dominican Republic to Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, and Argentina for and on behalf of tour operators.[7] Its first aircraft, an Airbus A320-200, was delivered on May 3, 2015.[8]
Rebrand
editIn early 2018, it was announced that the airline had transitioned from charter operations to scheduled ultra low-cost flights. The airline stated it had invested $60 million into its relaunch as an ultra-low-cost carrier.[9]
In September 2021, founder Victor Pacheco Mendez, along with the co-founder Mike Powell, announced it would rebrand the airline to Arajet and would operate as a low-cost carrier offering flights throughout the Caribbean and the Americas.[10][11][12]
The Junta de Aviación Civil (JAC) approved the request to amend the Certificate of Economic Authorization (CAE) number 25, issued to Arajet, to include 30 new routes and also authorizes the exploitation of regular and non-scheduled air transport services of passengers and cargo, in international operations, from the Dominican Republic to the United States, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Mexico, Panama, Aruba, France, Guatemala, Peru, Haiti, Canada, and Trinidad and Tobago in November 2021 during its plenary session.[13]
The Instituto Dominicano de Aviacion Civil (IDAC), in collaboration with Dominican carrier Arajet, achieved the certification of two Dominican inspectors at Boeing's facilities to be able to inspect the operations of Boeing-type aircraft in December 2021. Pico Duarte was the company's first aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, named after the Caribbean's highest mountainous elevation and a nature reserves in the Dominican Republic, completed its painting process In February 2022. Registered HI-1026, arrived at Las Américas International Airport on March 3, 2022.[14][15][16]
On March 14, 2022, Arajet was officially launched, along with the President of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader, who announced that the country was in the process of having a Dominican representative airline with a majority of Dominican capital. In the same event, Boeing announced an order of 20 Boeing 737 MAX 200 (with options for 15 more aircraft in the future) by the airline, becoming the first Caribbean operator of the type.[17][18]
During the ceremony it was announced that Arajet S.A. is funded by one of the world's largest private multi-asset alternative investment firms, Bain Capital, as well as Griffin Global Asset Management ("Griffin"), a commercial aircraft leasing and alternative asset management company.[19][20]
Destinations
edit
As of November 2024[update] the airline serves the following destinations:[23]
In addition to the stated destinations Arajet has plans to fly to:
Bahamas: Nassau[35]
Barbados: Bridgetown[36]
Belize: Belize City[36]
Bolivia: Santa Cruz de la Sierra[37]
Brazil: Manaus, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador[38]
Cayman Islands[35]
Cuba[39]
Guadeloupe[39]
Guyana: Georgetown[36]
Haiti: Port-au-Prince[39]
Honduras: San Pedro Sula[36]
Martinique: Fort-de-France[35]
Panama: Panama City[39]
Paraguay: Asunción[37]
Puerto Rico: San Juan
Trinidad and Tobago: Port of Spain[36]
Uruguay: Montevideo[37]
United States: New York, Miami, Boston, Orlando, Providence[37]
In regards to flights to the United States and to Puerto Rico, in March 2023, the airline requested authorization to the US Department of Transportation to start operating scheduled passenger services to San Juan, Miami, and New York by fall 2023.
Fleet
editCurrent fleet
editAs of August 2024[update], the Arajet fleet consists of the following aircraft:[40]
| Aircraft | In service |
Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Y | Total | ||||
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 10 | — | 8 | 177 | 185 | [41] |
| Boeing 737 MAX 200 | — | 20 | TBA | Order with 15 options.[42] | ||
| Total | 10 | 20 | ||||
Former fleet
editAs Dominican Wings, the company consisted of the following aircraft:[43]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 1 | 2015 | 2017 | Leased from Avion Express |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Casey, David (2024-07-09). "Arajet Seeks To Add Nearly 20 International Routes From Punta Cana". AviationWeek. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
- ^ "Arajet on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
- ^ Dominican Wings. centreforaviation.com. retrieved 14 April 2015
- ^ Dominican Republic's flycana to rebrand as Arajet, add MAX. ch-aviation, 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Nueva aerolínea dominicana Arajet operará con cinco Boeing 737 MAX 8". Avion Revue Internacional (in Spanish). 2021-11-13. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
- ^ Mazó, Edgardo Gimenez (2022-09-15). "Caribbean Revolution: Arajet inaugurated its regular flights with the aim of a new era in low-cost flights in the region". Aviacionline.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-09-15.
- ^ Dominican Wings secures AOC, Argentina flights to begin shortly. airsoc.com. retrieved 14 April 2015
- ^ "Dominican Wings". Airliner World: 13. July 2015.
- ^ "Dominican Wings relaunched as a ULCC". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ "Dominican Republic's flycana to rebrand as Arajet, add MAX". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- ^ "News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry | CAPA". centreforaviation.com. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- ^ Gianfranco, Durante (2021-09-28). "Flycana cambia de nombre y renace como Arajet". Aviacionline.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- ^ "Junta de Aviación Civil | JAC - JAC aprueba 30 nuevas rutas a operador aéreo nacional". jac.gob.do (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-11-17.
- ^ "Arajet ya tiene personal certificado en RD para sus Boeing 737-8 MAX - Noticias de turismo - arecoa.com" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-03-05.
- ^ "Aerolínea dominicana Arajet trae al país su primer avión Boeing". El Nuevo Diario (República Dominicana) (in Spanish). 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
- ^ Lluberes, Juan Ulises De La Cruz (2022-02-01). "El primer avión Boeing de Arajet ya está listo para iniciar vuelos de prueba" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ "Arajet, línea aérea comercial local marca el fin de las altas tarifas". Revista Mercado (in Spanish). 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
- ^ "Arajet, New Airline in Caribbean, Orders 20 737 MAX Jets". MediaRoom. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
- ^ Capital, Bain. "Arajet Takes Flight as The Dominican Republic's New Ultra-Low Cost Airline". Bain Capital. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ Management, Griffin Global Asset (2022-03-14). "Griffin Global Asset Management Announces the Delivery of One Boeing 737 MAX 8 to Arajet". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ "Route map AraJet". Flightconnections. 6 May 2023.
- ^ "AraJet Online Booking". AraJet. 6 May 2023.
- ^ "Destinations". www.arajet.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Arajet Schedules starts ticket sales for November 2023 Buenos Aires Launch". Reportur. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Arajet Schedules late-September 2023 Sao Paulo Launch". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Montreal, nuevo destino en Canadá de Arajet". 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Arajet launches sales of its Toronto-Santo Domingo". 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Arajet Schedules Chile Launch in late-Oct 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ volavi, Equipo (9 August 2022). "Arajet llega a destinos en Colombia y se expande". volavi (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Arajet inició operaciones y aterrizó en Colombia". Volavi.co (in Spanish). 15 September 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Staff, Forbes (9 August 2022). "Línea aérea dominicana Arajet inicia vuelos en septiembre. Aquí los precios y rutas". Forbes República Dominicana (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Arajet to begin operations from Punta Cana Airport in November". Aviación al día. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ a b "El efecto low cost de Arajet: boletos desde US$55 el trayecto - Noticias de turismo - arecoa.com" (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Arajet 1Q23 Network Changes – 26DEC22". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ a b c "Arajet took delivery of its third Boeing 737 Max and disclosed its first 23 destinations". 8 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Arajet gets permission to fly to Trinidad, Belize, Guyana and Barbados". caribbean.loopnews.com. 7 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Arajet Expands to South America with Flights to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay". 3 May 2023.
- ^ "Low-Cost Dominican Carrier Arajet Challenges Aerolíneas Argentinas with Flights to Buenos Aires". aviacionline.com. 8 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d "A Game Changer Called AraJet". 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "Arajet Fleet". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ "Arajet Fleet Information". Arajet.
- ^ "Arajet, New Airline in Caribbean, Orders 20 737 MAX Jets". www.prnewswire.com (Press release).
- ^ "Dominican Wings Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
