I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who sought my help in buying his flight from HKG-PEN. He had used Kayak to find a flight sold by Vayama on an airline I had never heard of (Hong Kong Express Airways). He got as far as entering his credit card number before giving me a call; he wanted to know whether Kayak was "safe" to use.

I first explained to him that Kayak was just an aggregator (search engine), and that he would actually be purchasing his flight from Vayama. I went on to ask him why he didn't consider flying on MH or KA, two well-known carriers that I trust, who also fly this route. He explained that they were "too expensive."

So I went on ITA and found several flights on MH that cost a few dollars more than the flights on this unknown (to me and him) carrier. "Yes," he aknowledged, "but those are connecting flights; I want non-stop flights."

I pointed out that flying MH via KUL only adds about 2 hours to the total 4-hour flight time (including the layover), costs about the same, and would be on a major airline (and thus much more reliable in case of IRROPS). I never even touched on the FF aspect (earning additional miles by connecting while also saving money). He reiterated, "I don't want to have to connect; I want non-stop flights." I couldn't convince him to give any consideration to any of the cheap connecting flights at all, which left me wondering:

Why do some people try so hard to avoid connecting flights?

Now, I understand the basic reasons to prefer non-stop flights: Shorter travel time, less chance of misconnects, etc. What I don't understand is why my friend, who is a seasoned business traveller, would consider flying non-stop on this unknown (again, to both of us) airline when there are at least two major carriers flying this route with connecting flights that cost around the same price.

To be sure, I fly new air carriers once in awhile, but I always do several hours of research on the airline both here on FT and via Google, and I recommended that my friend do his own research before purchasing. Ultimately, he chose to buy (at twice the cost) the non-stop on MH. But he would give no consideration to any of the connecting flights offered by MH, Jetstar, and several other airlines.

I'll be sure to ask my friend more when I see him in person, but if I'm going to be able to advise him in the future, I'd like to understand his motivations for paying twice the price (or flying an unfamiliar airline) just to avoid connecting flights. If anyone here feels the same way as he does, I would be very appreciative if you could help me understand his (and your) perspectives.