Flights to This Caribbean Nation Could Soon Get Cheaper Thanks to An ‘Open Skies’ Agreement

The white sand beaches and turquoise waters of the Dominican Republic are just under a 4-hour flight away from New York City. In good news for those looking to book a quick getaway, flights between the US and the Caribbean nation could soon get cheaper—all thanks to a federal aviation policy that few travelers know exists.

Known as an Open Skies agreement, the pact essentially removes any government restrictions on flight routes, capacity, frequency, and pricing for commercial air service operating between the two participating countries: in this case, between the US and the Dominican Republic.

“This pro-consumer agreement will provide more flight options between the US and DR, lower airline fares, increase travel, and spur economic growth in both of our great nations,” US Congressional Representative Adriano Espaillat said in a statement following the announcement last Friday. “Perhaps most importantly, today’s historic agreement will directly allow more Dominican American families, visitors, and American tourists affordable travel options to visit the country and their loved ones abroad.”

Historically, the open market approach has made airfares more affordable by increasing competition on routes. Airfares for routes protected by the Open Skies policy are 32% cheaper, according to the US Travel Association. In total, this saves travelers around the world over $4 billion per year, The Brookings Institution estimates.

However, because US carriers already offer regular flights to multiple cities in the Dominican Republic, the new Open Skies agreement may not “bring about any radical change” to airfares or flight frequency, George Dimitroff, an analyst with Ascend by Cirium, an aviation consultancy, tells Condé Nast Traveler.

Right now, an average of 95 flights depart the US for the Dominican Republic each day, according to Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper. US carriers including American Airlines, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit, and United Airlines offer nonstop flights from various cities in the US to Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo, and Santiago de los Caballeros. A “good deal” for roundtrip airfare between the US and Santo Domingo is currently about $450, according to data from Hopper.

“Overall the signing of the agreement is good for trade and tourism flows,” Dimitroff says. “One downside is that although in theory a Dominican domiciled airline can fly unlimited frequencies to anywhere in the US, it would be quite difficult for a small DR-based startup to compete against multiple established US Carriers that can add frequency without restraint to protect their market dominance. The agreement could also offer the potential for some US carriers to set up bases in DR for service to other countries, or to set up crew bases there with lower labor costs.”

Even if flight prices and options don’t shift dramatically, Open Skies agreements typically have a positive impact on tourism between the two participating countries. For example, the deregulation of Brazil’s aviation industry helped increase the number of visitors from Brazil to Orlando from 74,000 in 2004 to 768,000 in 2013, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority estimates.

Currently, 70% of international departures from the US fly to the 130 countries that are reciprocal Open Skies partners, per the US Department of State. Only a few nations do not have an Open Skies pact with the US, including Dominica, St. Lucia, Venezuela, and Cuba.