Dominican Republic’s Arajet receives its first jet, a Boeing 737-8 Max

Arajet has taken delivery of its first aircraft following the arrival of Boeing 737-8 HI1026 (msn 60195) at Santo Domingo Las Américas on March 3. The Boeing jet’s arrival heralds the start-up’s impending certification amid pre-existing plans to start commercial flights this quarter.

Founder Víctor Méndez has since told ch-aviation the aircraft, which is leased from Griffin Global Asset Management, will be reconfigured from its current 185-seat layout (eight in premium and 177 in economy) into 189 all-economy seats.

Backed by US private-equity firm Bain Capital, Arajet will target the budget niche and has traffic rights to connect the Caribbean island with various points across the United States, Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, St. Maarten, Curaçao, Mexico, Panama, Aruba, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Peru, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, and Canada.