Traveling is never fun. Sorry about that experience. Direct flights are the way to go I have learned the hard way
Direct flights are indeed the better way to go
(if there are direct flights between your origin and destination points) if you are rural area, this is not always the case... also, some major airlines like to use the “spoke and axle” routing system whereby they fly you into a major “hub” airport and you then have to change planes to where you’re headed.