Dear Editor,
For quite some time we have been reading and/or hearing of various airlines offering, starting or contemplating direct flights from Guyana to North America, when the correct terminology should be non-stop flights.
Direct and non-stop are not interchangeable terms. Non-stop is self-explanatory. The aircraft flies from departure airport to destination airport without making any intermediate stop.
In a direct flight the aircraft leaves the departure airport and makes one (or more) intermediate stop before arriving at the destination airport. However, and very important, there is no change of aircraft and no change of flight number. Connecting flights involve a change of aircraft, flight number and even airline during the journey.
Yours faithfully,
Lloyd H Marshall
