Travel between Miami and the DR just got easier. What to know about flights
The Dominican low-cost carrier Arajet is adding flights to and from Miami International Airport just as it made its first flight to the United States on Friday.
Here’s what to know:
What are details on the new flights?
The Santo Domingo and Punta Cana-based airline will increase direct flights between Santo Domingo and MIA from four times a week to daily for the coming summer, the company’s top executive said in an interview with the Miami Herald. It will also start daily non-stop flights between Punta Cana and MIA on June 2, earlier than it had planned. That’s a result of stronger than expected demand since tickets initially went on sale in January.
Also, in June, Arajet will begin non-stop service four times a week between Santo Domingo and San Juan, Puerto Rico, starting June 4, and Newark on June 16, , said Arajet CEO Victor Pacheco Méndez.
The additions come as Arajet made its debut flight to the U.S. on Friday. It touched down at MIA before noon with a traditional water cannon salute. The flight was greeted by public officials including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
What type of plane is being used?
Arajet uses new Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, with an original capacity of 185 passengers. Cabins are mostly economy, although some seats will have extra legroom and cost more.
Pacheco Méndez wanted to launch what’s dubbed an ultra-low-cost-carrier because he found flying in the DR far too expensive. Foreign carriers would come, he said, but they were careful about offering excess seat capacity because they viewed the nation merely as a tourist destination, not as a market to be developed.
“They do a good job making money for their companies,” he said.
Only an airline based in the DR and “that needed to scale in order to become profitable” could give consumers better choices, he said.
U.S. and Dominican tourism
The long-awaited debut flights between Santo Domingo and MIA are part of a larger opening between the Dominican Republic and the U.S., and a potential boon for travelers and the tourism industry.
The new flights come after the Dominican carrier received U.S. Department of Transportation approval in December as part of an agreement between the U.S. and the Caribbean country that makes it easier for airlines to fly in and out of each country.
“This agreement with the Dominican Republic is a step forward in liberalizing the international civil aviation sector in the Western Hemisphere,” the State Department said then in a statement.
The airline received U.S. government approval to start selling tickets on Jan. 17.
Tourism growth in the Domincan Republic
Arajet’s expansion comes as tourism in the Dominican Republic is breaking records.
In 2023, the DR received over 10 million tourists by land and sea, a high, according to the newspaper Dominican Today. That number reached 11.2 million in 2024, another record, according to the media outlet.
The Dominican Republic’s ties with South Florida also are strengthening.. In 2022 and 2023, the Dominican Republic was Miami International Airport’s third largest source of international passengers, behind only Colombia and Mexico, and the numbers are expected to increase this year.
Miami VIPs have been flying to Casa de Campo Resort & Villas, a favorite getaway. Pitbull and Marc Anthony are regulars. Lili Estefan, host of Univision’s El Gordo y la Flaca, attended the resort’s 50th year anniversary in October. She told the Miami Herald she’s been frequenting Casa de Campo for 25 years and loves the Dominican Republic.
Arajet plans to focus on MIA and doesn’t have plans to start flights at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, said Pacheco Méndez, the CEO. “For now, we want to focus growth on the Miami area.”
Plans for other U.S. cities
Arajet expects to add other U.S. airports by year-end. While it hasn’t yet finalized those plans, airline is looking at Chicago O’Hare, Washington D.C. Reagan National, Orlando, and Providence, Rhode Island.
Another possible beneficiary from the increased flights is Japan, which keeps a consulate in Miami and is actively promoting increased business with the 305.
Japan’s professional baseball league recruits heavily from the Dominican Republic. Hiroshima Toyo Carp, a Japanese team, has a baseball academy in the DR.
“We are very keen to know the young talent in that area,” Kazuhiro Nakai, consul general of Japan in Miami, told the Miami Herald in 2023, when he served that role. He emphasized the importance of the DR as a source of baseball talent.
Arajet’s new flights could also be a boon for places beyond the Dominican Republic and travelers looking to get there.
The airline already goes to 26 destinations in 18 countries. Arajet operates 10 jets, Pacheco Méndez said, and expects to receive three more this year from an already-placed order of 20.
The executive said he expects Argentines and Brazilians, who are more sensitive to price and have extra time when they visit their countries, to become big customers.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for people in Miami,” he said.
Arajet transported more than 1.2 million passengers in 2024 and expects that to increase to 1.7 million in 2025.
The carrier, founded in 2022, was about 10 years in the making. Pacheco Méndez initially ran a charter airline company with one A-320 jet.
This story was originally published April 11, 2025 at 12:52 PM.