At times, the aviation industry seems to have its own language, and many of the terms used by airlines are regularly misunderstood — such as the difference between a direct and nonstop flight. Sometimes it ends up cheaper to book connecting flights on a more competitive route than a direct flight on a less competitive route. Some airlines are airports make it more explicit: Heathrow offers a handy tool for timing connections across carriers, for example, and British Airways has further info on its website about how much time its customers need to connect there (it suggests at least one hour, 30 minutes to change terminals and one hour for those in the same terminal). took a hotel and rested. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Condé Nast Traveler may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Is that layover long enough? Typically, a layover is no more than 4 hours or the time of the next available connecting flight, whichever is less, but that’s not universal. Break time for kids. Why should you care? British Airways, for example, suggests giving at least three hours to connect between Heathrow and Gatwick, which are about 30 miles apart. Want to visit the Louvre traveling back from Istanbul? But if you're redeeming miles for a flight, airline agents will reference this terminology. Taking kids on a 10-hour flight can be more stressful than two shorter flights. This time stipulation keeps the stop in the layover category, as if it were a simple connection, while allowing travelers enough time to get a full day and night in a city. Answer 1 of 9: Is a 40 minute layover at the Atlanta Airport enough time to catch a connecting flight? Condé Nast Traveler does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. No matter how much of a savvy flier you think you are, odds are you've found yourself sprinting through the airport at breakneck speed to make a connection at one point in time (hey, it happens to the best of us). For domestic trips, a stopover is anything over 4 hours. Travelling domestic alone with infant (6 months old) have 1 layover in Charlotte (CLT) that is less than an hour. International flights are tricky – if you’re connecting to a different airport or a terminal located further away, factor in baggage claim, an entire check-in procedure, security and immigration (for international travel). You should probably fly United on your award ticket. John Grant, senior analyst at aviation data specialist OAG, puts it this way: While “there is no empirical evidence or data to support” the anecdotal three-hour rule as a blanket policy, it's still a “a very wise piece of travel knowledge based on experience,” he says. 50 minutes for that type of connecting flight won’t cut it. The layover vs stopover debate. If you know that you want a multi-day layover, the best would be to book one-way tickets PHL-PHX and PHX-SNA. There are other flights you later, but don't want to make my day any longer than I have to. He notes that passengers in this situation could be required to play a rebooking fee. Worth and on to New York, and you have a domestic connection of longer than four hours, that is called a stopover. However, that timeframe would more than double to 85 minutes on the way back from São Paulo because of added security procedures. The connecting time could be under an hour, half a day, or overnight, for example. Another pair of words that always seems to be misused is layover and stopover. A layover is a time you spend at a connecting airport between your primary flight and your destination. For instance, you may fly from New Delhi to Chennai with a three hour layover in Mumbai. So a whopping 23% of the fuel your planes use goes toward takeoff and landing. Or spend the spring coworking in Paris before returning home? For many of today’s global travelers, this extra stop is not a deal-breaker and may actually be preferred. Connecting flight vs. layover vs. stopover: connecting flight is usually the shortest (an hour or two), layover means up to four hours, while stopover … Save up to 80% on airfare today! Skiplagged is an airfare search engine for cheap flights, showing hidden-city ticketing trips in addition to what sites like Expedia, KAYAK, and Travelocity show you. That said, most connecting flight hubs are airports in countries with not too many entry requirements, or with already existing transit-visa policies (or visas you can get on arrival). Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Your California Privacy Rights. Connection and layover - Typically are used to have the same meaning: fly to an airport and connect to a different airplane. To keep it simple, having three hours between each connecting flight means that there’s a good chance you’ll be covered by that time frame and most likely have time for an Auntie Anne's pretzel (or three). Airline crew use this term, slightly differently. "Layover" means to await a connecting flight at an airport. Despite the region’s mild winter weather, San Francisco International ranks as the second worst airport for connecting flights. A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Grant cites four main combinations: Domestic-domestic, domestic-international, international-international, and international-domestic. (I read this that you for sure wanted to go to SNA eventually.) In some cases, a connecting flight isn’t an inconvenience, it’s a plus. Find price-reducing stopovers! return had a 10 hour layover – and stayed at the airport (daylight), helped some fellow passengers watch their kids/ luggage, etc. You can do that. A stopover can be a layover, but it can also be a much longer stop — often a second destination on part of a multi-stop itinerary. Where possible, book connecting flights on a single airline or on airlines that are partners in an alliance. If your non-stop choices leave at times that really mess with your child’s sleep schedule and connecting options are at more humane hours, then it is time to spring for the connecting flight. This could include a stop as short as 30 minutes (depending upon the airport) or as long as four hours (or up to 23 hours and 59 minutes on international flights). Flights listed have 1 hr 15" layover in Atlanta (outbound) and 1' 45" layover in JFK inbound. Any information published by Condé Nast Traveler is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. The nuances can vary, but generally, people classify anything under 24 hours as a layover. Then if you wanted to move up the leg from PHX to SNA you could change just that portion, presumably at a smaller last-minute cost. @thepointsguy – “What is the difference between a connection and a stopover?” A connection is when you change planes in an airport, but you’re only there for (typically) 4 hours or less on a domestic flight, or 24 hours or less on an international flight. The actual minimum amount of time you need to connect for each flight varies based on a lot of factors, including whether the flight is domestic or international, whether or not you have luggage that needs to be transferred, boarding times, and how far you'll have to walk between gates (we see you, 6,800,000-square-foot Atlanta airport). Connect cheap flight routes to save money by traveling more. Many airlines, like Delta, impose a no stopover restriction on most award tickets. Still, if you do everything correctly and still couldn’t make your connection because of a delayed inbound flight or other circumstance out of your control, the airline has an obligation to re-accommodate you. And while it may not seem like a big difference, flights with stopovers can often allow you to stay for multiple days in the connecting city at a free or discounted charge (there is a time limit, though). © 2021 Condé Nast. These are based on specific knowledge of their own operations—so these "minimums" can change quite often, Grant says. Ad Choices. Air Canada lists a timetable of suggested minimum connection times on its website, too. Transform layovers into bonus destinations. Airlines are relatively straightforward about telling fliers when they should arrive at the airport for the first flight of the day, but timing connections is a process that more or less happens behind the scenes. Practically speaking, a Stopover is anything that the airline says is a stopover. When traveling internationally, a stopover refers to a stay that lasts longer than 24 hours. In general, you can use the two words interchangeably, or even use the word "connection" for a short-term stop, and everyone will know what you mean.Layover is the more popular term, especially in the United States. Despite sounding similar, they are actually quite different and the nuances are important when travelers decide to redeem their miles. Connecting Flights – What to Do in Airports. The last two tend to carry longer minimum connection times, as passengers may have to go through passport controls and recheck bags depending on the airport or country. What Is a Layover and How Long Do You Need For Connecting Flights? For itineraries involving an international flight, a layover is a period of time with a transfer between aircraft of less than 24 hours; Note: Rather than using the term layover, we find that in a discussion, referring to a layover as a connection seems to help eliminate confusion of these terms. If I'm flying from Dallas to Norfolk and am coming back home through Chicago as a 1 hour layover, will I be subject to the 14 day quarantine? Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about. While a stopover is when the connecting flights take more than 24 hours, in other words, a stopover is an extended layover; both are sometimes used interchangeably. For example, Air Canada’s minimum connection time between some smaller Canadian cities is a breezy 15 minutes, but international flights connecting to the U.S. via Toronto Pearson International Airport need at least one hour and 25 minutes. My understanding from Texas is that if you come from or through Chicago you will be subject to the 14 day quarantine. Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/roadwarriorvoices/2015/08/18/the-difference-between-a-stopover-and-layover-and-why-you-should-care/83274870/, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Additionally, while American and Delta recently quit allowing free stopovers on award tickets, United still permits one stopover per roundtrip journey, which means you can stay for days or even months in an additional city on your itinerary. If you've ever wondered what a layover is—and just how long you should pencil in for a connecting flight—here's everything you need to know. "Transit" means to pass through (physically enter and then exit) a country on the way to another country, usually without having … Traditionally speaking, a connecting flight is any flight which requires passengers to change from one plane or airline to another at an intermediate stop on way to the final destination. A stopover is normally over 24 hours and means you’ll need to book accomodation. In that case, it is advisable to pick the longer layover when given the option. Want to stop in Egypt to see the pyramids on the way home from Kenya? So if you fly from Palm Springs to Dallas/Ft. A few examples of stuff to do during a long or short layover in the airport. Airlines already have a good idea of how long connections will take based on statistics, but there are always exceptions. However, the minimum amount of time needed to connect between flights, for the most part, is implicitly provided by the airlines through itineraries they offer, which have factored in distance between airport gates, how long it takes to sort baggage, and deplaning. What to do with a 3 hour layover A layover is a broad term that means any connection between flights. It is common to see a layover used as a catch-all term for any stop on a flight. In all it … This usually means taking a later flight, or being routed through another city in the case of major logistical issues caused by severe weather or other problems. American Airlines says the minimum connection time for a passenger traveling from Albuquerque to Miami through its Dallas-Fort Worth hub is 40 minutes, and that number would be the same if they were on the way to São Paulo through the same airport. Specific security procedures and airport layouts will also affect the minimum connection time—sometimes greatly. When connecting flights leave/arrive at much better times. All rights reserved. Thinking about making an epic crosstown connection that requires changing airports altogether? For example, Delta advises passengers to arrive at U.S. airports at least two hours before the flight leaves to make sure they are checked in 30 minutes before departure and at the gate at least 15 minutes before takeoff. This is because fuel adds weight to a flight. On an international flight the time spent at the connecting airport must be less than or equal to 24 hours. By Kristin Majche r November 20, 2018 A stopover is almost always more than 24 hours. On the other hand, a stopover is essentially an extended layover. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Missing a flight won’t give you a special privilege regarding visas no. However, while it's fine to use the term layover when you really mean connection, you should know the difference between a stopover and layover. As I watch airfare trends for next year, I see some favorable routes that involve only one stop from our home base (Cmh). With four runways serving an average of 52,715 November and December domestic flights over the past three years, it had almost exactly the same number of flights per runway as Newark, just over 13,170. Like to have a sit-down meal during your layover? Our most popular newsletter for destination inspiration, travel tips, trip itineraries, and everything else you need to be an expert traveler in this beautiful world. If you can’t help it, plan to give yourself well over than three hours in any big city, and map out how you'll get from airport to airport, as well as how long it will take you. Want to turn that Egypt detour into a week long trip? Are you traveling with children, or do you always like having time to sit down and eat before a flight? There is one less aircraft that isn’t expending fuel by taxiing and taking off a second time. If traveling domestically, a stopover typically qualifies as anything that lasts longer than four hours. Hi! You may want to build in a little extra time. For them, a layover means an overnight stay while a connection refers to a shorter stop, but for fliers and travel providers, it's ok to use these two terms interchangeably. However, it’s important to remember that airlines likely won’t be as sympathetic for those travelers who combine itineraries on two tickets to skirt the minimum connection time or save money, Grant says. Always remember that a direct flight is different from than a flight … After all, not every flight is on time: The big ten U.S. carriers’ on-time arrival rate in August was 75.2 percent, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Flight to Dubai (flew with Caribbean airlines connecting to Emirates) had a layover of 15 hours. A stopover is when the stop at a connecting airport is 24 hours or longer. We recommend you avoid this, as it brings a lot of variables into account that minimum connecting times just don’t account for—namely, highway traffic. For domestic flights, it's called a layover if it's less than four hours, or a stopover if it's longer. Well, unless you're booking an award ticket, you shouldn't. Usually, on domestic flights, a layover is between 60 minutes to several hours, up to 23 hours, that you have on a transfer flight. That’s for international flights. While non-stop flights go straight from Point A to Point B, when your flight stops somewhere else en route to your final destination, it’s called a layover. If the flight number changes, you are connecting to a different aircraft. Two hours Mayers recommends two hours as a standard buffer between flights to be safe. Geneva-based aviation IT company SITA, for its part, notes that there are “official” minimum connecting flight times for airports and terminals based on standards from the International Air Transport Association, but that airlines and airports agree on more than 50,000 exceptions. What would happen if i missed our connecting flight? To be clear, this isn’t an exact science—instead, it’s a conservative estimate from airlines and travel experts that will keep travelers covered in many connecting situations. Will only have carry on / gate checked luggage. Airlines like British Airways manage their programs based upon distance, so it might mean a layover will cost you more money than a direct flight, but the good news is that you can often turn that layover into a stopover at no extra cost. For example in Beijing, there is a 6-day transit-visa so you could get that. It’s simple, a layover is when the time between your connecting flight is less than 24 hours. It's a good idea, then, to check out airport maps before booking to see if the airline’s default layover time will be enough based on your own habits. TPG reader Tiffany tweeted me to ask a question about air travel lingo:. A layover is when the connecting flights are less than 24 hours. You'll also find advice for connections at London City and Gatwick, as well as New York-area airports JFK and Newark, on British Airways's site. Stopover - On an international itinerary this is a connection or layover of longer than 24 hours. That's also possible. But in that case, there’s a bus that goes between the two airports 80 times per day—a convenience not available everywhere. It can be up to 24 hours or even more in some cases. You can always call the airline for confirmation that you have enough time to connect before flying, but know that they will most likely stand by their published schedules—they wouldn't have made them available otherwise. 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