Arajet, an airline based in the Dominican Republic, has announced new flight routes connecting two cities in the Dominican Republic with San Juan, Puerto Rico. The flights are set to begin in June 2025. The airline will operate four weekly flights between Santo Domingo and San Juan starting June 5, utilizing a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Additionally, Arajet plans to launch three weekly flights from Punta Cana to San Juan beginning on June 6.
The airline also disclosed plans to start services from Santo Domingo to Miami International Airport on April 11 and from Punta Cana to Miami on June 13. Arajet’s CEO and founder Victor Pacheco expressed enthusiasm about welcoming tourists and members of the Dominican diaspora with affordable fares. “Miami, San Juan, and coming soon New York represent strong tourism markets,” he stated.
In its short operational history of two years, Arajet claims it has significantly contributed to local tourism by transporting over 1.2 million passengers in 2024. The introduction of these US routes is described as a pivotal moment for the airline.
Looking ahead, Arajet intends to offer direct flights from the Dominican Republic to New York by June 2025. This would mark the first such direct connection in three decades according to Arajet’s statements; however, data from Cirium’s Diio Mi planning tool indicates that several US carriers have already been operating this route since at least 2020.
Arajet’s entry into the US market faced challenges when six stakeholders objected to its application filed with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) on March 1, 2023. The objections cited issues regarding Arajet’s organizational history and transparency concerns during its licensing process in the Dominican Republic.
Despite these challenges, Arajet maintained that it was duly licensed by Dominican authorities for US operations and had completed licensing requirements in other countries as well. On December 19, 2024, DOT granted approval for Arajet’s services between the Dominican Republic and Miami, New York, and San Juan for a period of two years.
