Originally Posted by
NetBrowser07
Searching for award space on United.. I see a number of 'direct flights' with 'Time on ground - Change planes' listed. How is that not a 1-stopper?
The two aircraft carry the same flight number. "Direct" means "same flight number" and nothing else.
Originally Posted by
jmastron
I think the point was that on WN at least direct means "same plane", so you can stay onboard and generally won't miss a connection (though that's not guaranteed) -- other airlines (like UA) use the same flight number even when you must exit and connect to a completely different plane, which IMHO is just dishonest...
Actually with WN 'direct' means no change of gauge, but only because WN operates only 737's, albeit of varying model age etc. Most of them are indeed the same aircraft but by no means all.
I understand the frustration people find with the terminology. I am not trying to defend the use either, but only point out that as was said upthread, the practice predates airplanes when it was used in railroads.
Thus, it seems a bit harsh to me to call that dishonest just because many people have forgotten what the words mean if they ever knew. It is sad that many airline employees and travel agents now don't know the difference themselves.
It would be easier if the two words could continue to be used in their original meanings. It seems useful to me to have the distinction, not least because of sector counts and direct vs segment mileage credit. For taht reason I rarely book direct flights when I can book connecting non-stops instead. Only if the direct is cheaper do I consider it.