There’s a new airline in town. Canadian operators have no doubt taken note of additional capacity to Punta Cana from Montreal and Toronto.
The DR’s LCC Arajet has inaugurated operations from Punta Cana Airport (PUJ), expanding its network of destinations and connections with North America.
The airline will initially have 14 destinations linking to Punta Cana. Those include YYZ and YUL in Canada, as well as Sao Paulo, Lima, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Cancun, Kingston, Jamaica, Santiago, Chile, Bogotá, Cartagena, and Medellín in Colombia, and Quito and Guayaquil in Ecuador.
An Arajet spokesperson told Open Jaw on 28OCT that there are four flights to and from YYZ: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, moving to every day of the week except Thursday on 18NOV, 2024. For Montreal, flights will be Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday. That changes to Monday to Saturday on 25NOV, 2024.
“For Arajet, it is a firm commitment to continue democratizing the skies and connecting the continent from Canada to Argentina at the best market prices with world-class service,” said Víctor Pacheco, the company’s CEO and founder..
He stressed that the airline aims to increase passenger mobility from Punta Cana Airport, the busiest in the country. This effort seeks to position the Dominican Republic as the new air hub of the continent.
Punta Cana Airport connects with 75 cities in 34 countries through 58 airlines and mobilizes more than 9 million passengers a year.
"This strategic alliance responds to our mission of continuing to be the airport with the most air traffic in the Dominican Republic, receiving 68% of the tourists who arrive in our country. We thank Arajet for placing its trust in our airport and inviting us to be part of its expansion plans in the country, with the purpose of promoting tourism," said Giovanni Rainieri, Airside Operations Director at PUJ.
Arajet has established itself as the Dominican airline with the largest passenger movement, surpassing the barrier of 100,000 passengers for several consecutive months. This represents more than seven per cent of the total number of passengers flying to and from the DR.
Arajet's chief communications and external affairs officer, Manuel Luna, was in Toronto in September and said the airline sold more than 125,000 tickets in its first 11 months of operation.
Arajet's routes are operated on its fleet of Boeing 737 Max jets.
"Right now, we have 10 [aircraft]; we are receiving our 11th in January and expecting to finish 2025 with 15, with a total order of 45 by around 2028," Luna told Open Jaw.
Luna also said Arajet is looking to enter the U.S. market.
He told the media in September that Arajet doesn’t offer commissions, but does work with some travel agencies.
