The Difference Between Direct and Non Stop Flights

Flights can be really confusing, particularly for first time travellers or even for those not so much into the nitty gritty of aviation. There is so much you need to know about in order to get the best deals day in and day out. However sometimes even the most simple concepts can create confusion. A simple concept such as the difference between a direct and a nonstop flight. What is the difference?

The Difference Between A Direct And Nonstop Flights

Although they might seem to mean the same thing to many people, there is a fine difference between the two concepts. A difference which could cause you to get on a flight with an itinerary you might not expect. Furthermore often in everyday conversations people even mix up one type of flight with the other.

A direct flight is a flight from point A to Point B which doesn’t involve a plane change at any point during the service. Therefore the airline can sell you as a direct flight say a flight from Dubai to Colombo with a stopover in Male (Maldives). I chose that example as I worked countless times on this type of flight while being a cabin crew. However the stops could also be more than one along the way to reach your final destination.

When you think of a flight with no intermediate stops along the way that is a nonstop flight. These flights get you from departure point to arrival point, usually in the shortest time possible.

Which Flight Type is More Expensive?

Let’s take another example of a direct flight with a stopover on the way to talk about pricing differences with nonstop services. Emirates used to fly one of its flights to Sydney, before the pandemic, via Bangkok. Specifically this used to be flight number EK418 which used to go on to Christchurch in New Zealand.

This flight was regularly and consistently sold at a lower price than the direct option between Dubai and Sydney. I know as a fact because I booked my parents on it a couple of times.

The reason I’m bringing this up is that in order to fill seats that might risk remaining empty on this route the airline will incentivise travellers to choose if by offering it at a cheaper price than the direct option. It’s more or less the same logic for which airlines sell flights with a transit at a lower price than direct options. The inconvenience of not having a direct flight is discounted in the fare price.

So long story short often your will find that flights with a stopover are cheaper than the direct counterpart.