Beware....."Direct Flight" is NOT the same as non stop. A direct flight may land at an intermediate airport, deplane and board other passengers, and then resume to the next and hopefully final destination. A great example of this is Southwest, they had a "direct flight" from Baltimore to Phoenix, it made 2 stops and took 9 hours to get here. Yes, it was $89 USD, but that is a lot of waiting. It is very hard to get a non stop between coasts, for me, because Delta is my carrier of choice, I have to go west to Salt Lake, then N/S to Orlando. Coming home, Orlando to Dallas, connecting to Phoenix. BTW, Connecting almost always involves a change of aircraft, but not every time. I could go N/S on America Worst, er West, but it's easy to see how I feel about them.
Always, always reconfirm everything with the airline before you go, if you aren't sure. There are plenty of experts here on the Dis, but airlines have a sneaky (?) habit of changing things at the last minute. I got a call one Saturday informing me my flight had been cancelled. Of course the call came while I was on the way to the airport. But it all worked out at the ticket counter. I was just glad DH hadn't gotten far from dropping me off, and could just loop around Tempe and pick me back up.
I just keep telling myself, I'll be in the world soon, I'll be in the world soon, I'll be in the world soon..............