It it better to take a direct flight to Oahu, or have a short stopover.
Which airlines have direct flights from the East Coast?

i've only checked flights from PHL, but I don't believe that any carrier goes non-stop to Hawaii from the east coast. You always have to stop in CA. There are possibly non-stop flights from Chicago, or other mid-west cities.

From the east, it's about 5-6 hours to CA and another 5-6 to HI. Long trip, though Hawaii is worth it!

continental from hnl to newark, nj. booked directly with cont. it's about a 10hr flight.

I have flown nonstop from St Louis to Honolulu, a flight that is no longer available. That was about 8 hours and felt very long, but if I could, I would fly nonstop. The stopover allows you to stretch your legs, but also adds hours to the travel time, and allows one more chance to get stuck in an airport due to weather or security problems.

There are non-stop flights from Atlanta. It's about 9-10 hours to get there, and then about 8.5 hours back. It's a long flight, but not too bad.

We find it fairly easy on our bodies to go directly to Hawaii, but much harder to deal with the time change when returning to the East Coast. We like to stop overnight in San Francisco at an airport hotel on our way home.