The flotillas of planes with blue, white and red colors of bankrupt Dominican airlines, remain in the memory of those who manage to see some of those old aircraft in the workshops of the Las Americas International Airport Jose Francisco Pena Gomez.
Decades before it happened to the state Dominican Aviationand more recently, in 2018, to Dominican Paw, owned by Simeon Garcia. But there is a truth that is irrefutable: the metallic giants are made to cross the skies.
The failure of some Dominican airlines it has not knocked down the spirit of the existing ones. In 2022, seven Dominican airlines mobilized 250,921 passengers, 85.9% more than in 2019 when 134,916 tourists entered and left the Dominican Republic, according to the Civil Aviation Board (J.A.C.).
arajet
This airline mobilized 85,616 passengers in 2022 to 11 countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Ecuador. But his story dates back to 2014, when Víctor Pacheco founded Dominican Wings with an Airbus A320-200, but it was not until 2019 that he changed his name to flycana by the hand of the partners William Shaw, founder of the airlines with suspended operations Viva Colombia and Viva Air Peru and Michael Powell, president of the board of Flybondi in Argentina.
Its goal is clear: to be the first airline to low cost of the country, so a new transformation occurs in 2021 and it becomes Arajet, with its base of operations at Las Américas International Airport, Santo Domingo.
Sky High Aviation Services
With 56,048 passengers mobilized in 2022, Sky High Aviation Services has been operating for 12 years to 21 destinations on direct flights such as Aruba, Curaçao, Antigua and Barbuda and Venezuela. Although its owner is Juan Bautista Chamizo, the commercial director is Cesarina Beauchamp.
This Dominican company offers its aeronautical services from its headquarters at Las Américas International Airport, in Santo Domingo. It is also characterized by offering regular and charter flights, aboard the fleet of Embraer brand aircraft to mobilize its customers and a Boeing 737 for cargo. For this 2023, its executives indicate as an objective the market US.
Sky Cana
Sky Cana reports the transit of 47,866 tourists from the Caribbean and the United States. With its foundation in 2012, it acquired the courier license and in 2014 began its air carrier certification process, which was granted in 2017 by the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC), but the start of commercial flights was registered in 2021. .
The executive director, Frank Díaz, explains that the company has the singularity of having two Las Américas terminals, in Santo Domingo, and the Cibao, in Santiago, as its logistics hubs. In addition, it is characterized by offering private jet charter flights, those people who rent a plane instead of buying a ticket on a commercial airline.
Air Century
Captain Omar Chahin Lama creates Air Century in 1992, with its base of operations at the old Herrera International Airport, now known as La Isabela.
In the beginning they provided services excursions and air advertising, then began to carry out charter and corporate flight operations, with regular domestic routes such as Santo Domingo to Punta Cana, Barahona, Santiago and Puerto Plata. According to the data, it mobilized 44,849 tourists in 2022.
Red Air
Red Air transported 8,605 passengers to and from the Dominican Republic during 2022. This Creole company has Héctor Gómez as executive president. But the company started commercial and regular passenger air transportation in November 2021 with low-cost tickets.
According to the datacarries out flights between Santo Domingo and Miami, United States, and its logistics hub is located at Las Américas Airport.
Sunrise Airways Dominican
He record de Geca dates from 2010 as an airline that charters flights, in 2011 it changed the modality to charter and then commercial to Haiti.
However, eight years later it was acquired by the Haitian businessman Philippe Bayard and became Sunrise Airways Dominican. According to data from the JAC, in 2022 it transported 4,054 tourists and operates the daily route between Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in a fleet of three Jetstream aircraft and one Airbus.
Helidosa Avation Group
The former Minister of Public Works and Communications, Gonzalo Castillo, inaugurated in 1992 Helidosa Aviation Group, based at the Herrera International Airport, today La Isabela. His vision was to provide corporate flights.
It has 23 helicopters and 13 Cessna Citation and Gulfstream fixed-wing aircraft. In 2022, the company indicates that Gonzalo Alexander Castillo López is its executive president. In addition, in that same period he recorded 3,841 passengers.
On the other hand, the flight instructor As Herínquez is the owner of Tropical Aero Servicios. Through resolution 310-2021, the JAC indicated that the company should renew the certifications in 2021 to offer non-scheduled air transportation services for passengers and cargo on domestic and international flights.
Air space
Dominican Republic registered 241 operations that mobilized 15,480,688 passengers in inputs and outputs through eight international airports, the one with the highest traffic being Punta Cana in La Altagracia, followed by the Las Américas terminal in Santo Domingo.
In addition, there is Gregorio Luperón in Puerto Plata and Cibao International Airport in Santiago; La Romana and El Catey, in Samaná; La Isabela, in El Higüero. Meanwhile, the María Montez terminal in Barahona is without operations.
Also, the JAC approved 4,070 flights specials. This modality is used by air operators to explore routes and markets, which shows the attractiveness and high interest in the country.
On the other hand, AVA Airways is an airline from the Dominican Republic with scheduled flight plans between Santo Domingo, Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean in the not too distant future. Its base of operations will be in Santo Domingo, according to its founder Oliver Arrindel.
In the history
Dominicana de Aviación was the airline National flag from Dominican Republic. Founded on May 4, 1944 to carry out domestic flights to Santiago, Barahona, Puerto Plata, Saint John of the MaguanaLa Romana and Montecristi.
In 1951 it began with international flights to cover the routes of NYSan Juan, Miami and Madrid due to the migration of Dominicans to seek a better quality of life.
According to historians, it flew until 1995 and closed its operations in 1999 due to the financial crisis. Although the company was owned by the Dominican State, its president was Charles McLaughin. In addition, with this company the tragedy of Río Verde happened in 1948.