Arajet will soon debut direct flights to Punta Cana for Canadian travellers
IAN STALKER
Dominican Republic carrier Arajet is adjusting its Canadian routes, a nod to those of us who appreciate sun-splashed Caribbean beaches.
The Santo Domingo-based airline currently has three weekly flights from both Montreal and Toronto to the Dominican capital, and also makes bus service available for passengers who want to continue from that city to Punta Cana, the country’s largest resort destination.
But Arajet’s chief of communications and external affairs officer Manuel Luna says come November the airline will fly directly from both Montreal and Toronto to Punta Cana, with bus service then made available from that beach community to Santo Domingo for those wanting to visit the Dominican Republic’s largest metropolis.
The upcoming adjustment is a sound business move as 80% of Canadians who fly to the Dominican Republic with Arajet are bound for Punta Cana, he reports. To date, almost 120,000 Canadians have flown with the airline.
Luna’s Toronto visit came as newish airline Arajet nears the first anniversary of its Canadian service and coincided with the showing of the movie Pepe, directed by the Dominican Republic’s Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias and shown during the Toronto International Film Festival, with Luna reporting that his homeland is seeing a growing movie industry.
“Arajet is committed to project the Dominican Republic beyond its borders, that the world be aware of our talents, culture and that we are more than beaches, merengue and rum,” he said.
Arajet now serves 23 destinations in 16 countries, with its network reaching such southerly cities as Santiago, Chile, and Buenos Airies. Half of Arajet’s Canadian passengers are bound for points beyond the Dominican Republic.
The carrier, which currently has one-way Toronto-Punta Cana fares starting at US$33, shuns the low-cost airline description, instead billing itself as a “low-price” airline, with Luna stating that low-cost carriers don’t have the the type of long-haul routes that Arajet does.
Besides offering what he says are “the best prices” between Canada and the Dominican Republic, Luna says Arajet clients can expect “state of the art service” and ‘”will feel the Dominican vibe.”
Arajet says it will be enlarging its current 10-plane fleet, with Luna adding the average age of its planes is two to three years, which he says makes it the youngest fleet in the Americas.
He adds that Arajet might increase its Canadian service next year.
“We’re creating a bigger cake,” he says. “We are seeing how the market is growing.”
He adds that he doesn’t believe that Arajet is taking business away from Canadian carriers serving the Dominican Republic. “I think there’s enough of a market for everybody.”
Arajet service has also led to surges in travel between Santo Domingo and such destinations as Mexico City, Lima and Costa Rica, he adds.
Punta Cana is the most popular Dominican destination in this country, with that part of the Dominican Republic known for its long beaches, and Luna adds that visitors will also receive “amazing” hotel service.
But he adds that Santo Domingo’s historic side makes it interesting, labeling it “the first city of the New World,” and adding it saw the first cathedral and first university in the Americas. Its old quarter is home to colonial architecture and has numerous bars, shops, hotels and restaurants.
There are other coastal Dominican Republic locations being eyed for tourism development, including one southwestern locale bordering a national park, Luna continues.
