A "direct" flight is, for example, NW802. NW802 is a "direct" flight between HNL and MSP, but it takes a stop in LAX. By virtue of giving the flight the same flight number, it's considered a "direct" HNL-MSP flight (as opposed to a non-stop HNL-MSP flight, which would be NW808).

If elite upgrades were allowed on Hawaii flights, one would need to see R class for the "direct" flight (HNL-MSP) as opposed to the individual segments (e.g., HNL-LAX-MSP). One can't clear the individual segments via EUA.