Manuel Luna, Director of Communications Arajet, analyzes the success of the airline in Latin America, the Ecuadorian market and its projection 2027.
in what was the ALTA AGM & Airline Leaders Forum 2026 on Mexico City, the dynamism of new generation low-cost airlines played a starring role. In this context, Manuel Luna, Director of Communications and External Relations Arajet, presented a detailed balance on the operational impact of the Dominican company on the continent, detailing his plans for Ecuador and the growth phenomenon that the airline has generated in the markets where it operates.
Ecuador: consolidation in Guayaquil and an eye on Quito
Regarding the airline's operations in the Ecuadorian market, Luna candidly addressed the challenge of resuming connectivity and the strategy that the company follows after the restructuring of its itineraries.
«Now we are going to concentrate on consolidating Guayaquil. It has not been easy to return to Guayaquil; when you leave a market and have to return, "We must convince the tour operator and the travel agencies again so that they gain trust.", explained Manuel Luna.
The first indicators of the restart of operations show an extremely positive performance. The first week of flights to the Main Port registered occupations higher than 90%, which allows us to project sustained growth for the coming months.
Regarding the possible return to the Ecuadorian capital, The airline maintains a cautious but receptive stance to market developments:
«If this continues like this, we could see a possible return to Quito in the second half of the year [2027]. It is not something that we have ruled out, but it is not in immediate plans either. It will depend on how the Guayaquil route develops. The first thing we could do is triangulate the Quito operation – Guayaquil – Punta Cana, until we see if the market matures enough to have both routes independently..
The "Arajet effect"
One of the most revealing aspects exposed by the directive of Arajet at ALTA AGM is how the entry of an operator with competitive rates and seat offerings does not take away passengers from the competition, but it drastically multiplies the total volume of travelers in the region.
The case of Mexico exemplifies this behavior:
- 2022: Between the Dominican Republic and Mexico they flew just 76.000 passengers.
- 2026: The projection aims to 400.000 passengers, which represents an accumulated growth greater than 500%.
Luna emphasized that this growth has benefited the entire ecosystem. On the Mexico route – Santo Domingo/Punta Cana, while Arajet went from transporting 19.000 passengers in their start 2022 to project more than 164.000, your direct competitor (Aeromexico) grew from 54.000 To over 151.000 passengers in the same period.
«It is not an unfair competition nor is it about taking the passenger from the other. It's about how we've grown the market. While we grew more than one 1.200%, competition also grew more than one 200%. "Together we are promoting the region", Luna pointed out..
This same pattern of massive expansion is repeated in other Latin American markets between 2022 and 2026:
- Colombia: Traffic between both countries went from 720.000 to a projection of 1,3 million passengers.
- Peru: grew from 220.000 To over 563.000 point to point passengers.
- Argentina: Recorded a jump of 70.000 a 425.000 passengers on direct routes (an increase greater than 300%).
- Regional global trafficking: The flow of passengers between the Dominican Republic and the Latin American markets served by Arajet went from 1,3 million in 2022 a 3,2 million passengers in 2026 (+150%).
What's more, the emergence of Arajet stimulated the growth of traditional operators on their routes to Dominican Republic: Aeroméxico grew 269%, LATAM a 127%, Argentine Airlines 99%, SKY Airline one 62% and Avianca a 56%.
Operational milestones and industrial impact
With just four years of existence, Arajet has begun to position itself as a structural player in Caribbean and Latin American aviation:
- Employment generation: The airline has more than 1.000 direct jobs and 2.100 indirect (with an estimated impact on the value chain of up to 10.000 indirect jobs under the HIGH metric).
- Talent development: It has more than 360 cabin crew and 242 pilots, promoting training programs for Dominican cadets with Boeing in simulators in Miami.
- International standards: Obtained operational safety certification JOSA from IATA and was a pioneer in the Caribbean in implementing the program Sunflower for passengers with cognitive disabilities.
- Fleet and network projection: On 2027 The company plans to become the second most important airline in the Dominican Republic by passenger traffic (behind JetBlue), reaching a fleet of 25 aeronaves Boeing 737 MAX and connecting 35 destinations in more than 20 countries through its dual hub in Santo Domingo and Punta Cana.
The strategy of Arajet demonstrates that stimulating demand through affordable prices and point-to-point connectivity not only transforms the travel habits of Latin American citizens—aligning with the regional goal of raising the per capita travel rate—, but strengthens the position of the Caribbean as a key hub between North and South America.
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