Arajet's director of communications Geraldine Villasmil Febres (centre) with (to her right) Dominican Republic Consul in St. Maarten Edwin Vidal Díaz and (to her left) vice-consul Pablo Hanson, at the launch of Arajet in Philipsburg.
PHILIPSBURG--The Dominican Republic airline Arajet S.A. was officially introduced in St. Maarten on Monday morning. During a presentation in Bold Buddha restaurant in Philipsburg, Arajet director of communications Geraldine Villasmil Febres explained how the airline is rapidly expanding, first and foremost serving the Dominicano diaspora.
There are three million Dominicanos in the United States and scattered throughout the Caribbean, Villasmil Febres said. “We want them to be able to come home, see their family. To make that possible, Arajet keeps prices low. Extremely low." Arajet founder and Chief Executive Officer Víctor Pacheco Méndez has strong connections with Dominicano organisations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, Villasmil Febres said. “Proudly carrying the Dominicano flag, Arajet caters to people with ties to the Dominican Republic, friends and family members that are living abroad, secondly to business travellers and last, but not least, tourists.” While the Dominican Republic is the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean, with six million tourists visiting the country annually, putting it in the top five of the Americas, Arajet aims to differentiate itself from the competition by targeting a different segment of travellers. focus and price war. The average fare from Arajet stands currently at US $158, which is the lowest in the region. Based at Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the new national airline started its operations just five weeks ago, on September 15, 2022, with flights to Barranquilla and Cali in Colombia. After adding Cancun and other destinations in Mexico, the airline rapidly expanded its network, currently serving 20 destinations in 12 countries. Island destinations include Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and Jamaica. Arajet is strategically supported by experienced global aviation investors Bain Capital and Griffin Global Asset Management while working closely with leading global aerospace company Boeing. “Boeing allowed us to start our operations with five brand-new aircrafts, equipped with the latest technology, ensuring more sustainable, eco-friendly air transport,” said Villasmil Febres, stressing that the Boeing 737 planes that come to St. Maarten on Saturdays and Tuesdays, carrying 185 passengers maximum, are “the most modern aircrafts in the Caribbean region.”
According to Boeing, the 737 MAX family of aircraft is a good fit for the Arajet network. "The flexibility of the 737 MAX ensures that Arajet can meet its goal of making flying more affordable and accessible throughout the Caribbean and beyond, with a safe, sustainable and reliable service," the president of marketing and commercial sales said at the launch.
Arajet aims to expand the fleet to 29 aircraft in four years; from 5 in 2022 to 11 in 2023, to 17 a year later, to 23 in 2025, to a total of 29 in 2026.
“The mission is to exponentially grow tourism in the Dominican Republic and the region based on the low-fare business model,” said Villasmil Febres. “We want to make air travel possible for people who have never been able to board an airplane before. Arajet wants to democratise the market, make it more accessible, and therefore opts for flight routes that are not yet served by many other airlines.”
Creating connectivity in the larger Caribbean region, Villasmil Febres said, “is our first priority.” A direct connection is also created with Dominicano enclaves in the United States, the country that has by far the most Dominicano emigrants. In 2023, Arajet plans to announce 17 new destinations in the United States.
“Mostly destinations that have not been served from the Dominican Republic before,” said Villasmil Febres. “Because we work with a single family of aircrafts, we can keep our costs very low to really maintain the lowest possible fares.” With five aircrafts, Arajet is scheduled to transport 150,000 passengers before the end of 2022. “But from 2026 we will welcome 8.2 million passengers per year aboard our 29 aircrafts,” Villasmil Febres said. “This is why we are growing in such an aggressive way, to be able to serve all these new routes and destinations and connect the Americas and islands in the Caribbean.”
