The Dominican Republic is set for a major boost in air service thanks to a significant expansion from Frontier Airlines.
Frontier, which has been steadily growing its Caribbean footprint in the last year, is planning to launch three new daily routes to the Dominican Republic from the continental United States this spring.
That will include new daily flights from Miami to the Dominican Republic’s capital, Santo Domingo, along with a pair of new daily flights from Newark: one to Santo Domingo and another daily route to Santiago de los Caballeros Cibao International Airport.
Frontier also said it would be launching daily flights between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, creating an additional aerial highway between the two neighboring destinations.
The new Miami-Santo Domingo service will be starting April 23, part of what will be Frontier’s new base in Miami, eventually home to 100 flight attendants and 30 pilots.
The new Newark-Santo Domingo flights will begin operating on March 10, while the Newark-Santiago flights will launch on May 28.
Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic flights are set to launch April 23.
““Frontier is among the fastest growing airlines in the U.S. and we are excited to introduce 25 new routes including more flights from Newark and expansion in the Dominican Republic,” said Daniel Shurz, senior vice president of commercial for Frontier Airlines, in a statement. “We recognize the demand for affordable air travel in these communities.”
It’s no coincidence that the crux of Frontier’s Dominican Republic expansion is in Santo Domingo, a destination in which the country’s tourism braintrust has been heavily investing.
And its tourism product has been improving accordingly.
Indeed, after major investments, the city’s five-hundred-year-old Colonial Zone is one of the most charming, walkable historic districts in the Caribbean, with an impressive portfolio of hotels like the Casas del XVI and the Billini.
That complements a growing, developing urban hotel core from the recently-transformed El Embajador (you may recognize it from The Godfather, Part II) to the state-of-the-art JW Marriott.
It all adds up to a rather complete destination, with vibrant nightlife, terrific shopping and a broad cultural offering.
That’s part of the reason why Santo Domingo has been seeing rapid growth in airlift in the last two years, particularly from major carriers like JetBlue and Delta. And now, Frontier has gotten into the game, too.