Two years after being founded, on August 18 to be precise, Air Aruba (with the help of KLM and later Air Holland) carried out its first commercial flight with a YS-11 turbo-prop type aircraft operating between the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, as well as Caracas, Venezuela.

Over the years, Air Aruba expanded its schedule to various destinations in the Caribbean (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and St. Maarten), North America (Newark, Miami) and South America (São Paulo, Maracaibo, Las Piedras).

Air Aruba also expanded its reservations office in North America to meet the demand.

In December 1998, Air Aruba leased two brand new MD-90s, expanding the total fleet to 5 aircraft.

The rising cost of operations and management caused Air Aruba to file bankruptcy in 2000.