A low-cost carrier launched in 2022 has just nudged one of the world's biggest airlines off the podium. Arajet, the Dominican budget airline based in Santo Domingo, carried 158,407 passengers to and from the Dominican Republic in September, putting it ahead of American Airlines (115,406) and behind only JetBlue (243,955), according to Civil Aviation Board figures. Counting connecting passengers, the airline says the monthly total climbs to 180,841.
The numbers represent 62% year-on-year growth — up from 97,797 passengers in the same month a year earlier. Copa Airlines (122,220), Delta (94,763) and United (94,288) round out the top six on the Dominican market.
Where are all these travellers going? The United States is Arajet's biggest market with 43,021 passengers, followed by Colombia (35,413), Argentina (21,164) and Mexico (16,356), with Puerto Rico, Peru, Brazil and Canada filling out the list. Bogotá was the single busiest route at 18,413 passengers, ahead of Newark (16,952), Buenos Aires (16,025), Miami (15,654) and Medellín (15,569).
Founder and CEO Víctor Pacheco credits the growth to a strategy built on cheap fares and using the Dominican Republic as a connecting point between destinations across the Americas — think flying Bogotá to Buenos Aires via Santo Domingo rather than through a traditional hub. He says the airline intends to keep expanding connectivity and pushing the country's ambition to become a regional aviation hub.
Why should this matter to anyone booking a Caribbean holiday? Arajet's rise means more competition and more route options into Santo Domingo, often at fares that legacy carriers struggle to match. It also makes the Dominican Republic a viable stopover or dual-destination trip: a few days on the beach in Punta Cana or in Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial, paired with a cheap onward hop to Colombia, Argentina, Mexico or the US. If you've been pricing flights to the Caribbean and flinching at the fares, a carrier growing at 62% a year is exactly the kind of competition that pushes prices down.
