Do you have a layover? Stopover? Or just a direct flight? Confused by all the different terms? Don’t even get me started on open-jaw flights!
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Are you planning a trip and wondering if you have a layover or stopover? Or, did you think that you booked a non-stop flight only to realize that your flight from LA to Paris is scheduled to take 13 hours instead of the usual 11? Welcome to the wonderful world of booking options! Let’s take a look at the different terms and explain what they mean for you when booking your flight. We’ll also look at some of the advantages and disadvantages and how you go about making these bookings.
Non-Stop
Generally the most popular option, non-stop flights are exactly that. You get on the plane at your origin. The plane takes off and lands at your final destination. For shorter distances, these make the most sense. Who wants to have a 30 travel day to cover 400 miles?
For longer flights, you may want a non-stop flight to just get it over with (or sleep). Or, you might prefer to break it up and stretch your legs. Personal preference and cost will factor in to your booking decision.
Direct
By far the least popular, although sometimes unavoidable option, is the direct flight. This seems like a bit of a misnomer since you would assume that the flight goes “directly” to where you need to go. However, it does actually stop on the way. But, it’s still called direct since you don’t have to change planes (sometimes you aren’t even allowed to get off) and the flight number remains the same. Passengers are allowed to disembark if the stop is actually their destination and new passengers can board.
These flights are marketed as direct as opposed to non-stop. If not clearly identified on your itinerary, another way to figure out if your flight is direct or non-stop is by the duration. As mentioned above, a flight to Paris from LA should be less than 11 hours. If it’s much more than that, you can be sure that you are going to touch down somewhere along the way. I remember years ago having such a stop in Dakar, Senegal en route to Johannesburg.
Layover
Layovers are our favorite type of stop along the way. These stops, also known as connections, last less than 24 hours–although they can be as short as just 35 minutes! 8-10 hours is usually the sweet spot. Enough time to comfortably get out and do something (even in a foreign country that will require passport control). But, not too much time that we need to pay for a hotel and plan for an overnight.
11 Time Saving Tips to Make the Most of Your Layover
Layovers require you to switch planes. The next leg of your flight will have a different flight number–it may even be on a different airline. Your connection could be at the next gate or an entirely different terminal. Be sure to book with sufficient time. I’ve seen itineraries with 45 minutes to gather luggage, clear customs, change terminals, re-check luggage, clear security and get on the next flight. NO WAY!!!
Generally speaking, when your itinerary includes a layover, your luggage is checked all the way to your final destination. There are a couple exceptions to this, though. As in the above example, you’ll have to gather your bags and re-check them after clearing customs at your first port of entry into the US. And, many airlines will require you to gather your bags if your layover exceeds a certain amount of time (policies vary by airline). However, even in this case you may be able to get a waiver if you’re really nice to the agent at the check-in counter. (Even if it doesn’t work, it always pays to be nice.)
Stopover
Stopovers are basically really long layovers. The main factor determining if you have a layover or stopover is its length. As mentioned above, layovers are less than 24 hours. Stopovers, therefore are longer 24 hours or more. But, they can last even days or weeks or more.
Some airlines include stopovers in the price of the ticket, some charge a small additional fee, and yet some will charge as if it’s a whole separate ticket. The same holds true when booking with points and miles. About 20 years ago, I was able to stop for a week in New Zealand for no additional fee on the way to Australia. It turned out to be one of my most favorite places I’ve been!
With stopovers, you’ll have to gather your luggage. But, in most instances you can find airport storage to store the stuff you won’t need with you during your stopover. If not, just try and pack in a way so that you won’t need to actually open and unpack everything.
Pro Tip: If you want to book an itinerary that includes one or more stopovers–whether for cash or points–it’s worth looking into the different booking options. Because of the way the alliances work, be sure to book through the airline with the most stopover friendly policy. This is because the rules of the ticket will be based on the booking airline not the actual airline you’ll be flying on.
Start accumulating points to book a free stopover American Express, Capital One, Chase
Open-Jaw
Perhaps the least well known amongst the layover or stopover options is the open-jaw. This essentially means that you travel to a different city to pick up your connection. For example, you fly from New York to Paris. Then, you spend a few weeks touring around Europe. Afterwards, instead for your return flight being from Paris back to NY, it’s from Zurich to NY (NY=>Paris; Zurich=>NY). Or you could even do a double open-jaw. Instead of flying back to NY, you fly back to LA (NY=>Paris; Zurich=>LA). The possibilities are endless.
Open-jaw tickets basically pair together a couple (or more) one-way tickets. You are responsible for getting yourself between the two cities (Paris and Zurich in our example). This is a great option if you plan to tour around or if you find cheap one-way long-haul flights and pair them with some cheap tickets in between. (Europe is known to have some really cheap tickets between cities–as low as $9.)
From all the options discussed, you may need a little extra expertise to book an open-jaw as a single itinerary.
How to Book
There are several ways to book any of these options. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Unless booking through a travel agent, I would recommend booking directly with the airline. If you want to make any changes to your booking or run into any delays or cancellations, you’ll be able to deal directly with the airline.
On Your Own
You can piece together a bunch of flights and book them each individually on your own by searching on Kayak. This self-transfer option is a great money-saving tool. Just click through and you’ll get to an option to book directly with the airline. But, if you do this, you may run into several possible complications.
If you plan to check luggage and make all the bookings separately, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to check your suitcase all the way through. You will have to recheck it at each stop. This takes time. It will probably add costs as baggage fees will be charged separately each time (something to take into consideration if you’re doing this to save money). And, each loading and unloading adds to the possibility of a delayed or lost bag. If you are checking luggage, be sure to add an AirTag. Also, if you make your flight and your suitcase doesn’t, the airline is only responsible to deliver it to the destination to which they had tagged it regardless of your actual destination. A simple solution to this problem is to fly carry-on only!
Another concern is a delayed flight. If one of your legs is delayed and you miss your connection as a result, you’re out of luck if you booked on your own. You won’t be rebooked or reimbursed. And, the airline will usually cancel the rest of an itinerary following a missed flight. While weather is unpredictable and significant flight delays and cancellations are becoming de rigueur, one way to mitigate this possibility is to leave significantly more time between flights than you think you’ll need.
As mentioned, if you actually miss your connection, you’re on your own. This may mean anything from having to buy a new [last-minute] ticket, to finding a place to stay for the night. Or having to pay for and rebook multiple tickets and being stuck for days depending on location and availability.
Booking layovers or stopovers on your own is completely doable. Just beware of the pitfalls and do what you can to minimize the risk.
Through the Airline
When you book directly through the airline, then they are responsible to take care of all the issues delineated above. They’ll check your luggage all the way through (other than for the exceptions discussed above regarding layovers or stopovers), and they’ll take responsibility to re-book you if you miss your connection due to their delay. They’ll even put you up in a hotel, give you meal vouchers and an overnight kit if need be.
I still think you should search for the best layover options on Kayak. You can filter out the self-transfer flights. Then click through to book directly with the airline. Just double check which airline it makes the most sense to book through, it may not always be the obvious choice.
Another way to search and still book directly with the airline is with Airwander. This site allows you to search the route you want and then gives you suggestions for bonus cities with what the cost would be to add the stop. Sometimes you’ll actually save money by adding a great layover. The premium membership allows you to book directly with the airline.
Travel Agent/Travel Concierge
A travel agent will book everything for you so that things run smoothly. They not only have the experience and expertise, but they often have access to flight bookings that you won’t easily find online. Sometimes they even have connections that will, for example, allow you to check your bags all the way through on what would have otherwise been a self-transfer situation.
I recently worked with a travel concierge service on behalf of a client and was able to book an entire trip with multiple connections as one itinerary rather than several separate ones. This solved all the luggage and possible delay issues mentioned above.
Furthermore, if any of those complications did arise, she would just call the travel agent rather than the airline who is fielding calls from the hundreds of other passengers in the same boat. Let the agent deal with it and get back to you when it’s solved.
Travel Concierge–At Your Service
The downside that people see is that they expect tickets to be more expensive when you go through a travel agent. After all, the agent is providing a service and has to get paid somehow. While this may be true, I haven’t found it to always be the case (as in the example above). You can always find the ticket you want online and then check with an agent. Even if it is a bit more, it’s often worth the hassle and the time consuming aspect of DIYing it, especially for the more complicated bookings.
Flight bookings have become more complicated over the years. But, with the right information, you can become an expert when booking the perfect layover or stopover for your family. Even an open-jaw for the more adventurous!
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