The conversation was almost over when the most personal question was asked: how does arajet? The CEO of the new airline, Victor Pachecoresponded by narrating what happened in the last decade of his 40 years of life.
He said that 10 years ago, he worked in Vimenca, with his grandfather, as Vice President of Business Development. He came from a university training in business administration.
Some Icelanders, who promoted aviation, visited the Dominican Republic, and aroused in Pacheco an interest in the aeronautical world. He decided to enter this industry with the aim of making the tickets cheaper.
75%
Percentage of Arajet shares that correspond to foreign capital.
It was aided by a technical team of professionals who had implemented this model in other countries, and they raised seed capital to be able to sell the plan to institutional funds.
“There were around 27 people who contributed to raise two and a half million dollars, which was the initial capital, for us to be able, from 2017 to 2022, to be able to market this already with a financial model, with a business plan, with a market study and with a team of executives”, he summarized.
He mentioned that, from the Dominican point of view, he was accompanied by Marcos José Jorge León, Manuel Diez Cabral and Manuel Ramos. “They were the ones who took a chance in 2018 and said: this young man has a plan that catches my attention,” he said. Pacheco’s mother, Giselle Méndez, also put up $30,000, and Salvadoran Julia Borja around $100,000.
The rest of the capital came from foreign investors who had “successfully” invested in low-cost airlines, with whom he managed to partner after a persistent search.
Today, Bain Capital controls over 75% of the shares of arajet and is majority in the Board of Directors. Pacheco has around 10%. “But I have the opportunity. As a young entrepreneur, 40 years old, I am the youngest CEO in the aeronautics industry and I am also the Chairman of the Board of my company”, he reflected.
In a post-pandemic context, with more expensive fuels and in which international airlines seek to shake off the economic crisis, Pacheco promotes arajet.
“The last airline that was born in Latin America was in 2017. It is not easy for an airline to be born, due to the effort, capital and risk that it entails,” he said.
He also founded Laytrip in 2021, a digital application to schedule trips in installments.
And what does it mean arajet?
Ara was the term with which the Taínos referred to the macaws. The airline adopted this bird for its identity because it is representative in Latin America and its relationship with the flight. In addition, it evokes biodiversity and the environment, whose protection the company promotes. In fact, the names of the five planes that it already has in the country are associated with protected areas, which are: Pico Duarte, Jaragua, Los Tres Ojos, Ojos Indígenas and Valle Nuevo.
For Víctor Pacheco, Arajet represents the future of new commercial relationships that will impact the Dominican economy thanks to the fact that investors will be able to reduce their operating costs by sending products directly to destinations.
“arajet was born to be an airline that opens direct routes”
With the first commercial flight of the new Dominican airline, arajet, the possibilities of new routes to low-cost destinations will remain open, becoming an expansion opportunity for Dominican exports, especially for products that require fast delivery. As of September 15, Dominicans will be able to travel on direct and low-cost flights to and from the Dominican Republic and to more than a dozen destinations, some of which previously could not be reached without a stopover. arajet will start operations with its first commercial trip to Calí, Colombia.
After the offers of flights from 55 dollars one way and 149 dollars round trip from the new Dominican airline of “ultra low cost”, at the beginning of August, the population is expectant of the new routes that the new air service competitor will include. which is already certified for operations to different cities.
“arajet was born to be an airline that opens direct routes” and, above all, at low prices, which makes its offers more attractive, said its CEO and president, Victor Pacheco Méndez, during an interview at the Free Dialogue carried out by this medium, in which he expressed that the country must prepare for “the new era of aviation”.
Among the main destinations that since August promotes arajet are Calí, Barranquilla and Cartagena in Colombia; Mexico City, Cancun and Monterrey in Mexico; Guayaquil and Quito in Ecuador; Lima Peru. They will also offer services to islands in the Caribbean Sea: Aruba, Curaçao and Saint Martin.
The new airline of mixed capital, foreign and Dominican, will include within its catalog of destinations with direct trips to Medellín, Bogotá, Montreal, Toronto and Kinston with a view to being able to offer more routes so that Dominicans give themselves the opportunity to travel to new Destinations.
He stated that the travel process that has been carried out in recent years has an impact on the economy of air transport users. “All Dominicans who today have to connect with other nations in order to reach their destination lose the entire day, from 14 to 16 hours to be able to reach a relatively close point,” he said.
He stressed that in Europe you can travel between different cities for 10 euros, maintaining the quality of service and sustainability of the operating system. “Why can’t we have a project like that in the Dominican Republic,” he added, “if we are a tourism hub that grows because of people’s trust.”
In this sense, he exclaimed his aspiration to promote new routes that become opportunities. “We believe that we can open new markets that allow Dominicans to connect with new destinations,” since there are only five points from the country to which you can fly directly, he pointed out.
Exporters
With direct flights, several joint goals are achieved in the agricultural sector, tourism, free zones, among other productive areas that can take advantage of the flights and send merchandise, he considered.
For Pacheco, arajet represents the future of new commercial relationships that will impact the Dominican economy thanks to the fact that investors will be able to reduce their operating costs. The young businessman confirmed that several exporting companies have already approached him to evaluate the issue.
