Dominicana was established in 1944 in an effort to create a national airline aiming at the large number of Dominican citizens who emigrated to the United States, Puerto Rico and Spain.

During the 1950s, Dominicana launched a domestic route network to places such as Puerto Plata, La Romana and Santiago de los Caballeros, acquiring Curtiss C-46 Commando and Aviation Traders Carvair airplanes.

At the end of the decade, the airline's economic situation worsened due to poor management, lack of innovation or cost-cutting culture, and the heavy maintenance costs of its aging fleet.

More importantly, on the revenue side, government employees also sought to fly non-revenue, given the typical patronage in the Dominican Republic with many flights full of them often displacing paying passengers.

American Airlines and later JetBlue dominated the market and the business case for a new Dominican flag carrier is relatively weak given the investment that would be required and the debts that would have to be honored in order to use the Dominicana name.