I flew with Arajet from Felipe Ángeles (Mexico) to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). This is my review:
Flight: Arajet DM 4161
From: Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU) To: Santo Domingo (SDQ)
Arajet is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Dominican Republic, with its headquarters in Santo Domingo. Established in 2022, the airline provides low-cost flights to destinations in North, Central, and South America.
Applying for the e-Ticket for the Dominican Republic
You need to do a pre-flight registration. They call it an e-Ticket, but it’s just like the old landing cards they used to hand out.
It’s pretty easy. Just follow the steps. I made an arrival and departure electronic ticket separately and emailed myself the documents after each process.
The e-Ticket is free.
My flight was from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), which is located 40 km from Mexico City. I took an ETN Turistar bus from the Central del Norte Bus Station:
It was a night flight, scheduled to depart at 23:44 and arrive at 05:59. The Dominican Republic is on Atlantic Standard Time, which is four hours behind GMT and two hours ahead of Mexico City. (Mexico abolished daylight saving time a few years ago.)
In reality, takeoff was at 11:50 pm and arrival was at 5:30. The total flight time was 3 hours 40 minutes.
I had booked the SMART option, so I had a 20 kg checked-in bag and a 6 kg personal item for my laptop and other essentials, which easily fitted under the seat in front.
Checking in for my Arajet flight
I had to show my e-ticket and return ticket (which I had).
Now that I have temporary residency in Mexico, I need to visit the immigration office before leaving the country.
Boarding pass with RT written on it:
So I headed off to the IMM office, hidden away in a corner of the Felipe Angeles Airport:
Everyone who comes in here has residency. Some guy starts flicking through the passport. 4 of them are discussing my 180 entry stamp, which was expiring that very day. They tell me to wait.
Another dude comes in. They process him within 30 seconds. I asked if there was a problem. “No problem, sir”.
I explained my situation:
I arrived as a tourist back in September, got married in January and got my residency permit in February. This is my first trip out of the country.
They enter the details again. I waited some more.
After a lengthy wait of 20 minutes, they finally stamped my passport and returned all my documents.
I head to security.
They checked the documents. I give them my card first and tell them I have temporary residency. “Did you go to Immigration?”
Again, they are looking like they have never seen a residency card. They tapped the details into the computer.
All very complicated. Why can’t they just scan the card?
I am waiting for my flight:
Review of my Arajet flight:
Arajet is a no-frills airline. There are some pretty bad reviews about Arajet, especially customer service but to be honest, people just love to complain and a lot of the reviews are written by people (or bots) who are paid to leave bad reviews. Customer Service at Ryanair, Easyjet, Volaris and British Airways is equally as bad.
Well mine is a genuine review because I actually flew with them.
There was no free food or drinks. I asked twice for a vaso de agua. The air was very dry, so I masked up.
I flicked through the in-flight magazine:
Arajet fly to 24 destinations in 17 countries, with Santo Domingo and Punta Cana as their hubs:
I had 3 seats to myself, and for once, I was pretty comfortable. I reckon I slept for 30 minutes.
Arrival in the Dominican Republic:
Immigration was fast and efficient. Here is my 30-day stamp:
I was expecting to have to pay 10 USD for a tourist card, but no.
Welcome to the Dominican Republic!
I drank a coffee, checked out the airport, withdrew some cash from the ATM, then walked to the highway to get the GuaGua to Santo Domingo.