Originally Posted by emma dog

FYI, Direct flights stop somewhere. Non-stop flights don't.

For example, UA916 flies SEA-IAD-FRA. This is considered a "Direct" flight... however you get the "benefit" of changing planes and terminals at IAD. It gets better... if your 916 from SEA-IAD is super late, you'll miss your connecting 916 to FRA. And you also only get 4800 miles versus 5982 miles that one would get if you actually accounted for the fact that the plane stops in IAD.