American Airlines announces flight from DFW to New Zealand as they look to get deal done with pilots

DALLAS - American Airlines is expanding its presence at DFW Airport.

On Friday, the North Texas-based carrier announced the addition of a daily nonstop flight to Auckland, New Zealand during season.

The addition of the new route to New Zealand comes ahead of the busy holiday travel season.

"Some think New Zealand is quite far away, but with the launch of this service, we're connected more than ever before through this hub at DFW," said Declan Malone, with the New Zealand Tourism Board.

That route is in addition to some 230 destination American already flies to out of DFW Airport.

"As we head into the busy holiday season, we’re staffed well and we're welcoming customers back to travel," said Jim Moses, who is VP of DFW Operations for American.

Last month, hundreds of off-duty American Airlines pilots picketed outside the carrier's corporate headquarters in Fort Worth.

They lined the sidewalk with signs complaining about their ongoing contract negotiations and overly ambitious flight schedules, which the union president said is putting consumers at risk of being grounded.

"All it takes is one thing and the whole system comes tumbling down," Ed Sicher, who is president of the Allied Pilots Association, said back in September.

American Airlines aircraft.(Photo by Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Earlier this week, American offered its pilots a 20% salary increase over two years as part of a new contract.

The current offer is 3% better than the one presented to pilots at the end of June.

The union's bargaining committee has accepted American’s offer, but the Allied Pilots Association leadership and general membership must also approve before anything is final.

"We had a busy summer. We're going to have a busy fall," Moses said.

Moses did not talk about the contract negotiations, but speaking in general terms, said American is prepared to handle the busy holiday travel season ahead, pointing to a smooth Labor Day travel weekend in September.

"We're very, very happy about our completion factor and how well we've been doing," he said.

FOX 4 reached out to the Allied Pilots Association for comment, but has not heard back.

Meanwhile, the inaugural flight from DFW to Auckland takes off Saturday night.