Layover Flight and Connecting Flight
Guidelines Travel Blog 

How Does A Layover Flight Differ From A Connecting Flight

You may have often heard about a layover flight and connecting flight. At the same time, you would have thought about how they differ from each other! Well, we will try to encapsulate all the differences between both. It’s quite understandable that layovers can sometimes stress you out. Therefore, it’s a reason why most people prefer non-stop flights. It’s equally important to know that booking these flights can cost you a bit more.

Moreover, it is not always possible to find these flights as they depend a lot on demand and supply. As a passenger, you should always know about the difference between layover and connecting flights. This further allows you to prepare yourself and deal with every single situation you encounter. Moreover, this will allow you to make your journey a pleasant experience.

1. Layover Flight

A layover is the time you spend waiting at a particular airport between your flights. It may involve a stoppage time of 30 minutes to 4 hours for domestic and 24 hours for international flights. It is comparatively shorter in duration to a stopover. For example, if you are flying from New York to Delhi, you may have a 1 hour 45 minutes layover at Dubai airport.

2. Connecting Flight

Connecting flights fly from one place to another and have a layover in order to change the aircraft. That is to say, you will reach your destination taking two or more flights. When you book your connecting flight, it’s considered as a single itinerary. But in order to board your second flight, you have to receive a separate boarding pass. For example, if you travel from Atlanta to Hyderabad, you will have to take a connecting flight.

What Are The Differences Between Layover Flight And Connecting Flight?

The waiting time or the connection point between two destinations or flights is known as a layover. On the other hand, a connecting flight is a flight you will board midway to reach your final destination. It includes passengers de-boarding one flight and boarding another one. The airlines too may not be necessarily the same always. Hence, you may have to change services with airlines with aircrafts having different flight numbers. There are a lot of connecting flights from USA to India. Therefore, you should always choose the best airlines for US to India flights.

What Are The Best Ways To Book A Layover Flight?

  • Book your flights with the same or partner airlines.
  • Ensure to book a flight which has an extended layover while you book connecting flights with different airlines.
  • Book layover flights which have two to three hours of layover time at least. Preferably, it’s always better to book a flight with a longer layover.
  • It’s good to be familiar with connecting or transfer flight procedures beforehand when you book flights which have a layover.
  • For international flights, you should always book connecting as well as transfer flights with a longer layover. For example, a flight which has a layover time of 2 to 3 hours.
  • Some flights have a layover of around 5 to 10 hours. Therefore, in this case it is advisable to book a flight with an overnight layover.

Prepare Yourself For A Very Short Layover

In case you book a flight with a very short layover, you should contact your airline. You can ask them to change your flight to ensure a smooth and pleasant journey. Moreover, you can also consider choosing some alternative airline as well. However, if you fail to do any of these we are mentioning a few tips that can come handy. These will definitely help you prepare yourself for a short layover.

1. Choose To Book Your Seats At The Front Left Side In The Aircraft

This will help you to get down from the plane quicker than the rest of the passengers. As a result, you will get a little more time to enjoy your short layover. Reserving your seats at the last will take more time for you to deboard the plane.

2. Go For A Carry-On Luggage Whenever Possible

Re-checking your luggage can take a lot of time while you are traveling. Therefore, in order to circumvent the hassle of checking your luggage, opt for a carry-on luggage. Carryon luggage is easy to carry and great for short layover flights. On the contrary, if you are traveling from USA to India it’s a long haul journey. Hence, booking non-stop flights from USA to India is the wisest thing you can do to avoid luggage hassles.

3. Have Your Meals On The Flight

For the purpose of saving your time during the layover you can consider having your meals on the flight. This is indeed something that will allow you to utilize your layover time judiciously. Apart from that, you may also choose or buy your favorite snack and eat it on your flight.

4. It’s Good To Have An Idea About The Airport You Are At

When you know about the layout of the airport it has its own advantage. We can rather say that it’s important to know about the terminals from where your flights take off. You may also learn about the map of the airport. It will save you from being lost at the airport as well when you have little time during your layover.

5. Seek Help From The Airport Ground Staff Or Attendants

There may be instances that you feel lost or in a dilemma about the terminal from where your flight would take off! It’s good to seek help from the airport staff in such a situation. They will certainly help you and make it easy for you to board your connecting or transfer flight.

Prepare Yourself For Long Layover

You may be thinking whether it is possible for you to leave your airport during a long layover or not! Well, you can surely leave the airport in case it’s a long layover time. You can go out and explore the country to spend some quality time out there. However, ensure that you have a visa for the particular country of your layover. Some of the major airlines also provide you with a no-cost transit visa. You may also get all the information while you book your flight tickets. Additionally, you can yourself contact the airlines to clarify everything beforehand. They will hence tell you whether the visa is included or not! Some important things to be mindful of during your long layover time are the following.

  • Ensure that your flight tickets include the visitor visa. This will indeed help you to leave the airport and explore the country you are in.
  • If your flight tickets do not include the visa you can choose to spend time at the airport. Moreover, you can also make the most of the facilities the airlines offer you at the airport.
  • Most importantly you should ensure that you carry all the necessary items while you are traveling by air. It will thus help you enjoy as well as provide you a pleasant flight experience.

What To Do If You Miss Your Connecting Flight?

If somehow you miss your connecting flight there’s nothing to worry about. Obviously, if you miss your connection nothing much can be done. After all, it’s no use crying over spilled milk! So in order to book you on the next available one, you will have to get in touch with the airlines. If it’s the airline’s fault due to which you missed your flight, they will rebook you on the next flight.

On the other hand, if it’s your own fault, you will have to pay a rebooking fee. Of course, that all depends on your itinerary. Another thing that must be remembered is whether you have booked your flights with a single or multiple airlines! Thus, all these factors will come into play while you miss your connecting flight.

Conclusion

We believe that this little piece of information will certainly help you some way or the other. It’s quite understandable and is a genuine concern about the layovers travelers usually have. This is something that every international traveler must definitely learn about. Ultimately, it will ensure a comfortable and a convenient journey for travelers. Flydealfare is a leading travel platform serving its customers in USA and India. With extensive knowledge about the aviation sector and international travel, we are the best in the business.

For this reason, there are thousands of happy and satisfied customers to our name. With us you can have a seamless and hassle free flight experience. You can book cheap international flights to India at the most affordable prices. It’s our key priority to serve our customers with the best. It will not be wrong to emphasize that we provide flight tickets at the cheapest airfares. For more information, you can get in touch with us and lend us the privilege to serve you with the best.

FAQs

Q1. Can you tell me about the recommended layover time for an international flight?

While you travel internationally, you have to go through the immigration as well as customs upon arrival. Therefore, it certainly demands a longer connecting time. It is advisable to book a flight at least with 2-3 hours of layover time in case of the same or partner airlines. On the other hand, if you book your flights with different airlines, layover should be at least 4 hours.

Q2. What if my first flight experiences a delay?

If your first flight experiences a delay because of some technical or maintenance issues, the airline is responsible. Therefore, the airline will book you another available flight. However, this is only when you have your flights with the same or partner airlines.

Q3.Will the airlines come to my aid if I miss my connecting flight because of a short layover?

Well, as we said if it’s the airline’s fault they will rebook you on the next available flight. Whereas, if the fault is yours there may be a different scenario you’ll face. That is to say, you will have to book a new flight or additionally pay a fee for doing so. If there is a genuine reason you can give as a testimony for missing your flight, you will have to prove it. In such a case, the airline will definitely help you out.

Q4. Will I have to go through a security re-check for my connecting flight?

This is something that completely depends on a particular airline’s policies. As a matter of fact, you do not have to re-check your layover on domestic flights. However, while you travel internationally, it is a must to ensure all security clearances.

Q5. What about my checked luggage on a connecting flight?

When you are traveling internationally, you will have to re- check your luggage at the airport. In other words, we can say it is necessary to do so even if you are the same or partner airlines. While flying with different airlines as well you will have to re-check your luggage in order to board your connecting flight.