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A direct flight to Dallas would be wonderful, but it probably won't be Southwest that offers it. Southwest operates exclusively out of Love Field in Dallas, which is limited to 20 gates as part of the agreement to end the "Wright Amendment" which was put in place when the larger DFW International Airport was constructed. That agreement - no longer in force - limited service from Dallas Love Field to destinations in Texas and adjoining states to prevent competition between the airports in the region. Of the 20 gates at Dallas Love Field, SWA operates out of 18 of them and is at or close to capacity, hence their reluctance to add a PVD-DAL flight.

American Airlines is the best opportunity for starting service to Dallas. They operate out of the much larger DFW International Airport. Since the merger of US Airways and American in 2015, American now operates out of TF Green. Beyond this, as one of American's biggest hubs (and their home base), DFW also would open a multitude of connecting international flight options to passengers flying from TF Green.

There's a good business case to made to American for a DFW-PVD flight. I think stronger than the recently added routes of PDV-DCA, and perhaps also PVD-ORD (Chicago O'Hare), given that Southwest already flies to Chicago Midway and therefore it at least partly in competition with American on this route.