Arajet Becomes The Top Foreign Carrier At Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Ángeles In Mexico City
The Dominican airline startup Arajet has quickly become the top international operator at Mexico City’s new Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU). Since launching its route from Santo Domingo International (SDQ), Arajet has led all the carriers operating non-domestic routes.
Arajet’s strong debut
Arajet launched operations in September 2022. Employing a Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet, the Dominican carrier has used Santo Domingo’s geographic position to leverage its hub model, connecting with as many as 18 destinations across Latin America (though one of these destinations, Monterrey International, has already been canceled, and Arajet has requested authorization to launch eight new routes in 2023).
One of its top destinations in the region has been Mexico City. The airline was the first to launch operations directly to Mexico City’s new Felipe Ángeles International, rather than the older Benito Juárez International (MEX). It operates four weekly flights between Santo Domingo and Felipe Ángeles. Last year, Simple Flying flew this route, and we wrote an article reviewing their product, which you can read here.
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Since launching operations at Mexico City’s newest airport, Arajet has carried nearly 15,000 passengers. It has become the airport’s largest international airline by passengers carried. Felipe Ángeles International has connectivity with four non-domestic destinations: Caracas (Conviasa), Havana (Viva Aerobus), and Panama City (Copa Airlines).
A proud airline
Víctor Pacheco, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Arajet, said the airline is proud of its operations in Mexico (the carrier also flies to Cancun International). “Mexico is the second-largest commercial partner for the Dominican Republic, and Arajet has been able to consolidate, through our route, the mutual interest in the strengthening of the economic, touristic, and commercial ties,” he added.
The Dominican Republic and Panama are picking up
According to data released by Mexican authorities, the Dominican Republic and Panama are picking up as Felipe Ángeles’ top international destinations. Between September and December 2022, these two destinations received 11,685 and 9,107 passengers, respectively. In January 2023, they received 3,259 and 3,167 additional passengers. Meanwhile, Venezuela and Cuba have remained behind, with fewer passengers. Conviasa’s route to Caracas has struggled to pick up and remains with one weekly flight.
The Felipe Ángeles International Airport is set to have at least a new international destination in 2023. Earlier this month, Aeromexico proudly announced the launch of its route to Houston Intercontinental (IAH) starting on May 1. The Mexican carrier was able to circumvent Mexico’s ongoing Category 2 grade by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and will fly daily employing its Embraer E190 fleet, with the capacity to carry 98 or 99 passengers (depending on the configuration).
If the Mexican government approves the law reform to authorize cabotage flights in the country, the airport could possibly receive additional international routes. Nonetheless, the Mexican airline industry is strongly opposing the opening of domestic routes to foreign carriers.
The Felipe Ángeles International Airport received 912,415 passengers in 2022. Of this number, only 4% were international travelers.
Have you traveled with Arajet? How did you find the experience? Let us know in the comments below.