The San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport welcomed its first daily nonstop flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on April 2.

American Airlines first announced the flight from SLO to the busy national and international travel hub in December, which will enable an additional 89 connections, expanding Central Coast access to the South, the Caribbean and South America.

“This Dallas flight is an important part of our strategy to establish SLO as a leading destination,” said Chuck Davison, president and CEO of Visit SLO CAL, in a news release. “Increasing air service into SLO is not only vital to the strength of our tourism industry, it is essential to the sustainability of our economy and overall quality of life. These new flights don’t just connect people, they connect economies, and each time we do that we make this an even better place to live, work and visit.”

The route will help extend the airport’s recent growth streak. San Luis Obispo now has service to six major cities with a total of 16 flights each day, and has virtually doubled its passenger traffic over the last five years.

The route will be served by an Embraer 175 jet, which has 12 first class seats, 20 seats with extra legroom and 44 seats in the main cabin. Visit aa.com to purchase tickets.

This will be the second nonstop flight to Dallas from a Central Coast airport. American flies a single flight daily from Santa Barbara to Dallas on a CRJ-900 aircraft with 76 seats in first and economy class. The flight time from the Central Coast to Dallas is about three hours.

The SLO airport has been on a fast-track over the past several years, in part because it’s catching up to a customer base that has always existed but was largely underserved before, SLO Airport Director Kevin Bumen previously told the Business Times.

• Contact Annabelle Blair at ablair@pacbiztimes.com.