Arajet and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Tuesday celebrated the launch of nonstop service between Newark to Las Américas Santo Domingo Airport with the inaugural flight from the Dominican Republic to Newark Liberty International Airport on June 16.
The Dominican Republic’s airlines have increased their total number of passengers carried by 25% this year, led by Arajet, the Caribbean nation’s low-price airline, which began service in 2022.
The full flight with 185 passengers arrived June 16, headed by the Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, David Collado, and the founder and CEO of Arajet, Victor Pacheco. Together, they raised the Dominican and New Jersey flags from the cockpit to demonstrate the importance of this new destination in the airline’s network, which became the third in the United States, along with Miami and San Juan, and the 28th overall in the Americas.
This achievement was partly made possible because of the Open Skies Agreement, which facilitates greater connectivity between the Dominican Republic and the United States. The new route between Santo Domingo and Newark represents a significant step in strengthening the country’s presence in international aviation.
“Offering this route has been the main objective since the beginning of our operations, with the goal to serve the large Dominican diaspora in New Jersey and New York as well as the many tourists flocking to the Dominican Republic,” said Arajet founder and CEO Victor Pacheco.
The new airline will be serving a burgeoning Dominican American population as well as other Americans who are going to the Caribbean nation for vacation. According to the U.S. Census 2020, an estimated 2.4 million Hispanics of Dominican origin resided in the United States, an increase of 200% from 2000. Dominicans are the fifth-largest population of Hispanic origin living in America, accounting for 3.86% of the U.S. Hispanic population. About 349,000 people of Dominican descent live in New Jersey, the second-most of any state. New York has more than 935,000 Dominican Americans.
“This new route isn’t just about travel, it’s about cultural connections,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “With the largest Dominican community outside the DR right here in the New York-New Jersey region, Arajet’s nonstop service to Santo Domingo strengthens the cultural, economic, and family ties that unite our communities.”
Arajet, with headquarters in Santo Domingo and Punta Cana, operates a fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Since launching in 2022, the airline has expanded to 28 destinations in 17 countries and recently surpassed the milestone of 2 million passengers.
