What do you do when you have a 10-hour flight layover in Los Angeles?
When our family was faced with this dilemma, a Dodgers baseball game and a sunny afternoon at Venice Beach proved to be a better option than just hanging out at the airport. Our children still talk about the adventures they had in Los Angeles that day.
For many air travellers, “stopover” is a dirty word. It means you’ll be spending a significant amount of time in an airport or even staying overnight en route to your ultimate destination.
But there’s another way to look at stopovers. A forced layover can provide the ideal opportunity to have an adventure by exploring a city without much additional cost. In some cases, you can even schedule a couple of days in the stopover city without adding to the total cost of your flights.
If you look at stopovers as a way to get more adventure out of your travel dollar, your layover becomes part of your vacation experience instead of just being a painful delay. Putting thought into where your flight connection might be and planning ahead to see some of the key attractions allows you to visit two places for the price of one flight.
How to book a free stopover
• Decide on your destination and then look at the flights available from the originating airport to your final destination. Take note of the stops each airline makes in the itinerary and scan for stopover cities you are interested in visiting. To get a free stopover, you’ll have to fly through an airline’s hub city. A hub is an airport the airline uses as a main transfer point to get visitors to their ultimate destination. If you have always wanted to see Houston, Tex., for example and want a free stopover en route to another destination, you should consider flying with Continental Airlines, because Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport is Continental’s main hub.
• If you are travelling to an international destination, find out the travel requirements for both the stopover country and the destination country you plan to visit. Some countries may require you to obtain a visa for a short visit, while other countries may allow a short stay without a visa. A good place to check travel requirements for Canadians to any country is Canadian Consular Affairs (www.voyage.gc.ca).
• You may not be able to book free stopovers on travel websites like Travelocity or Orbitz. Your best option is to consult a local travel agent to help you figure out stopover possibilities and to provide assistance with booking a stopover. Alternatively, you could call the airline directly.
• Make the most of a stopover by planning ahead. If you have to stay overnight somewhere along the way, consider arriving earlier and seeing what that city has to offer. Figure out what you want to see and consider booking a tour or a car rental.
Some airlines have stopover packages that offer discounts on hotels, attractions, and ground transportation, so it’s a good idea to check the airline’s website for stopover packages. Singapore Airlines for example, has a stopover program sponsored by the tourist board that offers hotels in Singapore starting at $1 per night.
• Book early to get the lowest airfare possible and increase your chances of getting a free stopover. Be aware that some airlines will allow you to stopover on both your outbound and your return flight. If you are travelling to Australia, for example, you may be able to stop in New Zealand on the way over and the Cook Islands on the return flight.
Some airlines charge a fee for stopovers on certain flights and some do not allow stopovers at all. If making a stopover is a priority for you, be sure to book your ticket with an airline that allows stopovers.
Major North American hubs
The key to getting a free stopover comes in making your stop in an airline’s hub city. A hub is an airport that a particular airline uses as its main transfer point to get passengers to their ultimate destination. Here’s a list of some of the main hub cities in North America and the airlines that use them.
• Chicago — United Airlines uses Chicago as a hub, as well as Washington, Denver, and Los Angeles.
• Dallas — American Airlines claims Dallas Fort Worth as a major hub, along with a number of other major U.S., cities including Chicago, Miami and New York City.
• Houston — Continental airlines uses Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport as its main hub, with additional hubs in Newark and Cleveland.
• Los Angeles — A number of Australian, European and Asian air carriers use Los Angeles as a hub for international flights.
• Mexico City — Aeromexico has established Mexico City as its hub.
• Phoenix — US Air uses Phoenix as a hub, as well as Charlotte and Philadelphia.
• Salt Lake City — Delta has always utilized Salt Lake City as a hub centre. Since they took over operation of Northwest Airlines in January, Minneapolis-St. Paul has become a second major hub city.
• Seattle — If your layover is in Seattle, you are probably flying with Alaska Airlines.
• Toronto — Air Canada and Westjet both use Toronto as a major hub, but Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary are also hub cities.
Things to do during long airport layovers
Everyone knows that layovers are a good time to relax and read a book, shop or get a bite to eat, but here are a few other options you might not have thought of.
• Get a map of the airport and an airport guide. Many airports have play areas for young children and some have quite extensive playground facilities. Some airports also have interesting displays or exhibitions. It’s just a matter of finding them.
• Make a movie: During one long, unexpected flight delay, the teens in our travel party amused themselves for several hours making a movie about their airport experience. Most digital cameras have a movie feature on them and kids can edit their movie and post it on Facebook, YouTube or another site later if they want to.
• Have a contest to see who can find the most loose change lying around in the airport. This family tradition was discovered during a late night layover in Winnipeg. Instead of sleeping, the teens in our group discovered this new pastime and made about $20 between them. The family record now sits at close to $30. (Be sure to have kids wash their hands after participating in this activity and be sure they are not bothering other passengers while doing it.)
• Hang out in an airport lounge. First Class and Business Class tickets usually include access to the airline’s lounge, but some airlines allow you to add lounge access for an additional fee to a specific ticket. If you travel a lot, you can get an annual membership to Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Club for $459. This provides access to 50 lounges worldwide. Lounges have comfortable seating, free food and beverages, magazines and free wi-fi.
• Handheld computer games: Nintendo DS can be a real lifesaver during long layovers or even long road trips. Games like Brain Age or Mario Cart are fun for both kids and adults (our kids like to see if they can beat their parents on Brain Age). Having a family contest has kept our kids happily occupied for long periods during unexpected airport layovers.
Debbie Olsen is a Lacombe-based freelance writer. If you have a travel story you would like to share or know someone with an interesting travel story who we might interview, please email: DOGO@telusplanet.net or write to: Debbie Olsen, c/o Red Deer Advocate, 2950 Bremner Ave., Red Deer, T4R 1M9.