Seen in December, 1985, and bought from Frontier Airliners a few months earlier, it still wears their registration, although the fleet number is UAL's, 9276. A month later it became N976UA.

As one of the largest Hispanic countries in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic has always had strong links with Venezuela. With the current ban on Venezuelan carriers in the US, many passengers use Santo Domingo as a transit stop to enter the USA. Venezolana is one of several Venezuelan carriers taking advantage of this market.