Direct or one stop: what the fare difference buys
On the 11 routes that show both kinds of month, the median direct fare is 42% above the median fare with stops, and a stop adds a median of 7 h 59 min. Across a mix of routes, direct months sit 3 points above one-stop months (101% against 98% of each route's median), and a stop adds hours: 2 h 25 min for a direct flight against 12 h 55 min with one stop.
What we looked at
Each month of each route shows the cheapest fare found, and whether that fare is direct or has stops. Across the 28 published routes that gives 212 route-months: 133 direct, 73 with one stop and 6 with two or more. Fares are set against the median of their own route, so that a short hop and a long-haul flight, in pounds or dollars, can share a table. That table is a mix of routes; the within-route comparison further down is the sharper one.
Routes that show both
11 routes have at least two direct months and at least two months with stops. On Chicago to New York, London to Istanbul, Los Angeles to New York, New York to Chicago, New York to Fort Lauderdale, New York to Houston, New York to Los Angeles, New York to Miami, New York to Punta Cana and New York to San Francisco, the months with stops show the lower median fare. The median extra time with stops across these routes is 7 h 59 min.
| Route | Direct months, median fare | Months with stops, median fare | Extra time with stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago to New York | 7, $167 | 3, $108 | 7 h 7 min |
| London to Istanbul | 3, £60 | 7, £57 | 11 h 45 min |
| Los Angeles to New York | 7, $200 | 3, $179 | 8 h 20 min |
| New York to Chicago | 5, $173 | 4, $115 | 4 h 46 min |
| New York to Fort Lauderdale | 7, $243 | 3, $101 | 10 h 27 min |
| New York to Houston | 2, $210 | 4, $126 | 6 h 17 min |
| New York to Los Angeles | 3, $203 | 6, $143 | 6 h 33 min |
| New York to Miami | 6, $203 | 4, $112 | 12 h 22 min |
| New York to Orlando | 3, $61 | 2, $73 | 7 h 59 min |
| New York to Punta Cana | 2, $202 | 4, $145 | 11 h 18 min |
| New York to San Francisco | 6, $190 | 3, $157 | 5 h |
Fares and flight times by number of stops, a mix of routes
| Stops | Route-months | Fare against the route's median | Median flight time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct | 133 | 101% | 2 h 25 min |
| One stop | 73 | 98% | 12 h 55 min |
| Two or more stops | 6 | 90% | 25 h 38 min |
Direct fares read 3 points higher than one-stop fares. The 6 route-months with two or more stops are too few to draw a conclusion from, and their journeys are the longest, with a median of 25 h 38 min.
What the difference buys
Paying the direct premium buys time: 10 h 30 min less in transit at the median, and one flight rather than two. Whether that is worth it depends on the route: for a flight of 2 h 25 min, one stop makes the journey 5.3 times as long at the median.
Read it with care
- Each month shows one fare, the cheapest found. A month whose cheapest fare has a stop does not mean that no direct flight runs, only that no cheaper direct fare was found in searches.
- The comparison is not controlled: direct and stop months fall in different months of the year, and prices move with the season.
- The fares are not live quotes. Check the live search for the flight you want, including bag and seat charges that the fare may not include.
Sources
Cheapest fares by month and by destination from the Aviasales Flight Data API, as described on How we read fares. No other source is used.