Direct vs Nonstop
I’m beginning to get annoyed by people who travel frequently but don’t know the difference between nonstop and direct flights. If you travel so much, you might as well get the terminology right.
Nonstop means that you go from origin to destination without the plane stopping anywhere else first. You have one flight number, one takeoff and one landing.
Direct means going from origin to destination on one flight number, but with a stop somewhere in between. They usually are spoken of as having “continuing service to…” when the pilot/flight attendants make announcements. For example, you might board NW 562, which you had purchased thinking it went from MSN right to DEN. However, it operates as a direct flight most of the time and stops in MSP first. You might even switch planes in MSP, but the next plane you get on will still be NW 562.
What gets me about this is you don’t earn miles or segmetns for direct flights, even if you have to switch planes. It makes no sense that you can get on NW 562 from MSN to DEN and top in MSP but not have it count. Passengers still get off in MSP and board a different plane, but NW pretends that doesn’t happen and just credits you with miles “as the crow flies” from MSN to DEN.