The head of the growing Dominican Republic-based discount carrier Arajet is optimistic that a recently negotiated Open Skies treaty will ease the process for it to begin servicing the U.S.
Arajet CEO Victor Pacheco said the airline hopes to launch routes to Miami, the New York area and San Juan from Santo Domingo and Punta Cana by Christmas, a timeline that he recognizes is hopeful.
"A man can only wish," Pacheco said.
The U.S. and the Dominican Republic signed an Open Skies agreement on Aug. 2, the 136th Open Skies treaty for the U.S. Once it is ratified by the Dominican Congress and receives sign-off from the U.S., the treaty is expected to streamline the path for airlines to add service between the two countries.
The agreement will allow airlines from each nation to fly unlimited frequencies to an unlimited number of points between the countries, and it will also open the door to stopover routes that service a third country.
The current U.S.-Dominican Republic treaty limits the number of destinations airlines from each nation can service in the other unless they receive ad hoc permission, although U.S. carriers have routinely received such permissions from a Dominican government eager for tourism.
Arajet, which launched service in September 2022, now serves 16 countries and 23 destinations with a fleet of 10 Boeing 737 Max 8s.
The airline, whose largest investor is Boston-based Bain Capital, is headquartered in Santo Domingo. But on Oct. 27 it will open a new base in Punta Cana, launching with 11 routes.
Arajet's destinations span the Americas, from Montreal and Toronto in the north to Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile, in the south. Yet the U.S. is conspicuously absent from its route map.
The carrier applied for U.S. route approvals in February 2023, but the application remains pending.
Two Dominican airlines currently fly to the U.S., Skyhigh Dominicana and Red Air. Skyhigh, the bigger of the two, offers 50 combined frequencies this month on three routes, Cirium flight schedule data shows.
The market, however, is dominated by much larger U.S. airlines. JetBlue, the leader, offered more than 241,000 seats between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic last month, a 43.4% share. American was the next biggest with 97,000 seats. Delta and United are also substantial players in the market, and Frontier, Spirit and Southwest each have a presence.
Pacheco said that once it is able to serve the U.S., Arajet has three target markets.
The primary focus is Dominicans in both countries visiting friends and family.
A second focus will be connecting leisure flyers, via Santo Domingo and Punta Cana, between the U.S. and various South American destinations, including Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Even in the absence of U.S. service, Arajet has optimized its network to facilitate 200 connecting itineraries, Pacheco said. The business model puts the airline in competition with Copa and its base in Panama City in the connecting market for the Americas and the Caribbean, the CAPA Centre for Aviation noted in a recent analysis. Pacheco said Arajet will also compete with Avianca's connecting network based in Bogota, Colombia.
Leisure travelers will be Arajet's third U.S. target market segment, Pacheco said. The airline will begin its first GDS distribution in November, he added, but he declined to reveal through which GDS since the deal has not yet been publicly announced.
To compete against the large and established U.S. airlines, Arajet will rely on low prices, reliable operations and passenger comfort that exceeds other discount airlines, Pacheco said.
Arajet's standard seats are configured with 28 inches between rows, which is the same as Frontier and Spirit, while extra-legroom seats offer 32 inches between rows. The carrier also provides reclining seatbacks on every seat as well as in-seat power (which Spirit and Frontier do not).
"We combine the power of low fares with a product that is on time and comfortable," Pacheco said.