Arajet S.A. is an ultra low-cost startup airline based in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. Operations began on the 15th of September, 2022, with a flight to

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

History

Early operations

In late 2014, Dominican Wings received its

air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in pla ...

from the Dominican Republic's civil aviation authority and planned to offer charter flights between the

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

for and on behalf of tour operators. Its first aircraft, an

Airbus A320-200 Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

, was delivered on May 3, 2015. On June 28, 2017,

Avion Express Avion Express is a Lithuanian Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance, ACMI and aircraft lease, aircraft leasing operator headquartered in Vilnius. The company is a part of Avia Solutions Group, a global aerospace business group. History Avion ...

announced that it has sold its 65% stake in Dominican Wings to the President of the company, Mr. Victor Pacheco who took complete control of the airline.

Rebrand

In 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. 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. 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, Kingdom of the Netherlands, United Mexican States, Panama, Aruba, French Republic, Guatemala, Republic of Peru, Haiti, Canada and Trinidad and Tobago in November 2021 during its plenary session. 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 Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Dominican Republic, on the island of Hispaniola and in all the Caribbean. At above sea level, it gives the Dominican Republic the 16th-highest maximum elevation of any island in the world. Additionally, it ...

'' 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. On March 14, 2022, Arajet was officially launched, along with the President of the Dominican Republic

Luis Abinader Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona (; born 12 July 1967) is a Dominican economist, businessman, and politician who is serving as the 54th president of the Dominican Republic since 2020. He served as the Modern Revolutionary Party candidate for Presi ...

, 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 The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

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. 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.

Destinations

AraJet plans to fly from the Dominican Republic to the United States, Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, St. Maarten, Curaçao, Mexico, Panama, Aruba, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Peru, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, El Salvador, and Jamaica. Initially, they are scheduled to serve the following destinations from its base in

: In regards to flights to the United States, the airline said that they are working with the Dominican government to receive the necessary permissions to start operations to cities like Boston and others at the end of 2022.

Fleet

Current fleet

, the Arajet fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Former fleet

As Dominican Wings, the company consisted of the following aircraft:

References

{{Airlines of the Dominican Republic Airlines of the Dominican Republic Airlines established in 2014 2014 establishments in the Dominican Republic Low-cost carriers