Arajet today announced its arrival as the Caribbean market’s first ultra-low cost airline, headquartered in Santo Domingo with a mission to make air travel accessible to travelers to and from the Dominican Republican, the Caribbean, and North and South America.
“Arajet will have the full support of the Dominican government, as they seek to grow tourism into the country and enable Dominicans living abroad to visit their home with low-priced air fares,” said His Excellency Mr. Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona, President of the Dominican Republic.
Arajet is expected to commence operations from Las Americas International Airport of Santo Domingo with flights to the Caribbean islands and Central America starting this Spring. Arajet expects to add flights later this year to key North American markets with populations having significant familial ties to the Dominican Republic, including New York, Boston, Miami, and Chicago. An estimated 2.2 million people of Dominican descent live in the United States.
“The Dominican Republican and the wider Caribbean region is underserved by low-cost airlines and passengers deserve a more affordable way to travel in our market. We believe Arajet is well-positioned to transform the Santo Domingo Airport into a modern, new hub for destination and connecting traffic,” said Founder and Executive Officer Victor Pacheco. “We are excited that our passengers will be the winners by paying the lowest fares while flying on brand new airplanes. Arajet is also proud to play a significant role in job creation and GDP growth in the Dominican Republic, and we look forward to working closely with President Abinader and his administration to advance his pro-growth agenda.”
Arajet will adopt the ultra low-cost carrier model (ULCC), which has revolutionized air travel across North and South America, offering low fares, schedule flexibility and choice of services. The business will be led by Pacheco and Mike Powell, who formerly served as the Chief Financial Officer of Wizz Airlines, who have assembled a world class management team with extensive aviation and airline experience, including those involved in implementing the ULCC model on three continents. Arajet is financially backed by experienced global aviation investors in Bain Capital Special Situations (“Bain Capital”) and Griffin Global Asset Management (“Griffin”). The airline also has the support of the Dominican government and Vinci Airports.
“We are pleased to be Arajet’s strategic partner and look forward to supporting Victor, Mike and their team’s growth plans and mission of dramatically reducing the cost of flying while making air travel more accessible to a wider range of people,” said Ryan McKenna, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Griffin.
Arajet will feature a fleet of brand-new Boeing 737-8 aircraft, which will immediately position the airline as a global leader in environmental efficiency by operating the most fuel-efficient fleet of aircraft in the market today. Arajet has firm orders, purchase options and lease agreements in place for their first 40 aircraft to deliver over the next several years to meet anticipated demand. Arajet’s first jet leased from Griffin, named after the country’s highest mountain ‘Pico Duarte,’ arrived at Las Americas International Airport earlier this month.
“We are excited to support Arajet as they build a leading ULCC in the Dominican Republican by providing the necessary financial and operational resources that will enable the airline to significantly scale its operations and serve more customers,” said Matt Evans, a Managing Director at Bain Capital.
