Dominican low-cost carrier Arajet has quietly pulled off something few new airlines manage: in a single year, it's gone from scrappy upstart to the number two carrier in its home country. Fresh figures from the Dominican Civil Aviation Board show the airline carried 158,407 passengers in September (excluding connections), overtaking American Airlines, which managed 115,406 on the same routes.

Only JetBlue remains ahead, with 243,955 passengers. Behind Arajet come Copa (122,220), American, Delta (94,763) and United (94,288). Including connecting traffic, Arajet says its September total actually hit 180,841 — a 62% jump on the same month the previous year.

What's striking is where those passengers are going. The United States is now Arajet's largest market with 43,021 passengers that month, followed by Colombia (35,413) and Argentina (21,164). Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, Brazil and Canada round out the top markets. On individual routes, Bogotá led the pack with 18,413 passengers, ahead of Newark (16,952) and Buenos Aires (16,025). Miami, Medellín, San Juan, Lima and São Paulo fill out the busiest list — a map that leans heavily on South America, a market the big US carriers have never prioritised for Santo Domingo.

The airline only started flying in 2022, founded by CEO Víctor Pacheco, and its pitch has been simple: cheap fares and better connections between the Americas, with Santo Domingo as the pivot point. Pacheco says the goal is to turn the Dominican Republic into a genuine regional air hub, arguing that a homegrown carrier can go toe-to-toe with the US majors.

For travellers, this matters in practical terms. If you're flying between South America and the Caribbean — say Buenos Aires to Punta Cana, or Bogotá to Santo Domingo — Arajet has added competition where there used to be very little, and fares have typically reflected that. It also means more one-stop options into the Dominican Republic from cities like São Paulo, Lima and Medellín that previously required awkward routings through Panama or Miami. The caveat for anyone booking: Arajet is a low-cost carrier, so baggage, seat selection and changes cost extra, and its network is still building out. But with numbers like these, expect the route map to keep growing — and expect JetBlue, currently sitting comfortably in first place, to start looking over its shoulder.