But if you're redeeming miles for a flight, airline agents will reference this terminology. 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. He notes that passengers in this situation could be required to play a rebooking fee. The layover vs stopover debate. In all it … 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. There is one less aircraft that isn’t expending fuel by taxiing and taking off a second time. Ad Choices. 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). © 2021 Condé Nast. 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. Are you traveling with children, or do you always like having time to sit down and eat before a flight? That's also possible. 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. Stopover - On an international itinerary this is a connection or layover of longer than 24 hours. Two hours Mayers recommends two hours as a standard buffer between flights to be safe. 2. 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. Despite sounding similar, they are actually quite different and the nuances are important when travelers decide to redeem their miles. 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. At this point, planning to fly into MXP and home from VCE. A stopover is almost always more than 24 hours. Hi! On the other hand, a stopover is essentially an extended layover. 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. 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. That’s for international flights. 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. Where possible, book connecting flights on a single airline or on airlines that are partners in an alliance. 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. It can be up to 24 hours or even more in some cases. 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. It’s simple, a layover is when the time between your connecting flight is less than 24 hours. Save up to 80% on airfare today! What would happen if i missed our connecting flight? "Layover" means to await a connecting flight at an airport. When traveling internationally, a stopover refers to a stay that lasts longer than 24 hours. Condé Nast Traveler does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Savvy frequent fliers know that they can build in extended or even overnight stops at many hub cities like London, Paris, or Amsterdam, and not get charged additional miles as long as they leave within 24 hours to their final destination, thereby avoiding a stopover. Flight to Dubai (flew with Caribbean airlines connecting to Emirates) had a layover of 15 hours. took a hotel and rested. Connecting Flights – What to Do in Airports. This is because fuel adds weight to a flight. Always remember that a direct flight is different from than a flight … 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. Will only have carry on / gate checked luggage. @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. Is that layover long enough? That being said, it's still a traveler's responsibility to make the flight. These are based on specific knowledge of their own operations—so these "minimums" can change quite often, Grant says. Air Canada lists a timetable of suggested minimum connection times on its website, too. 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. 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. A layover is a broad term that means any connection between flights. But in that case, there’s a bus that goes between the two airports 80 times per day—a convenience not available everywhere. 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. If traveling domestically, a stopover typically qualifies as anything that lasts longer than four hours. What is the difference between a layover and a stopover? © 2020 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. There are other flights you later, but don't want to make my day any longer than I have to. Want to stop in Egypt to see the pyramids on the way home from Kenya? Want to turn that Egypt detour into a week long trip? And while there’s no one magic number for how long travelers need to change flights, knowing how connections work—and some tips for timing them—can make the process of switching flights a lot less painful. A layover is when the connecting flights are less than 24 hours. Well, unless you're booking an award ticket, you shouldn't. My understanding from Texas is that if you come from or through Chicago you will be subject to the 14 day quarantine. The nuances can vary, but generally, people classify anything under 24 hours as a layover. 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. 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. 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). Airline crew use this term, slightly differently. British Airways, for example, suggests giving at least three hours to connect between Heathrow and Gatwick, which are about 30 miles apart. You should probably fly United on your award ticket. Break time for kids. A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 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. Some connecting flights have an overnight layover, depending on your travel itinerary. 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. 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. Despite the region’s mild winter weather, San Francisco International ranks as the second worst airport for connecting flights. Grant cites four main combinations: Domestic-domestic, domestic-international, international-international, and international-domestic. For example in Beijing, there is a 6-day transit-visa so you could get that. Flights listed have 1 hr 15" layover in Atlanta (outbound) and 1' 45" layover in JFK inbound. 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). Missing a flight won’t give you a special privilege regarding visas no. In some cases, a connecting flight isn’t an inconvenience, it’s a plus. The connecting time could be under an hour, half a day, or overnight, for example. Many airlines, like Delta, impose a no stopover restriction on most award tickets. By Kristin Majche r November 20, 2018 To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. 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. 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. But, if you stopped in Chicago for a layover on your way to Minneapolis, your planes (jointly) will burn at least 15,715 pounds of fuel (3,638 from takeoff and landing). Find price-reducing stopovers! Want to visit the Louvre traveling back from Istanbul? | Any Questions for Reservations and Bookings What Is a Layover and How Long Do You Need For Connecting Flights? Connecting flight vs. layover vs. stopover: connecting flight is usually the shortest (an hour or two), layover means up to four hours, while stopover … You cannot add unlimited layovers to an award ticket, but it's reasonable to assume you can include one or two. return had a 10 hour layover – and stayed at the airport (daylight), helped some fellow passengers watch their kids/ luggage, etc. You may want to build in a little extra time. Thinking about making an epic crosstown connection that requires changing airports altogether? All rights reserved. Connecting flights vs. self-connecting flights. 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. Skiplagged: The smart way to find cheap flights. 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. While airlines calculate the minimum amount of time passengers need to make their flights, it’s important to keep your own travel habits in mind. Usually, on domestic flights, a layover is between 60 minutes to several hours, up to 23 hours, that you have on a transfer flight. JFK, 2017. Answer 1 of 9: Is a 40 minute layover at the Atlanta Airport enough time to catch a connecting flight? For domestic flights, it's called a layover if it's less than four hours, or a stopover if it's longer. So a whopping 23% of the fuel your planes use goes toward takeoff and landing. 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. Connect cheap flight routes to save money by traveling more. We would be flying (at the end of October) on Delta Airlines from Des Moines, IA to Atlanta, GA and then Atlanta, GA to Cancun, Mexico. 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 the flight number changes, you are connecting to a different aircraft. TPG reader Tiffany tweeted me to ask a question about air travel lingo:. Some might think flying direct would be best for a long flight. 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. 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. 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. When connecting flights leave/arrive at much better times. 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