I have a long connection, can I get out of the airport?
The world of travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, traffic in many areas is already above than [...]
The travel world is back to pre-pandemic levels. Indeed, traffic in many areas is already above that of the world before. A great many Italians will be going on their first "intercontinental" vacations this summer, passport permitting, post covid.
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What is new in 2023, however, are the significantly higher fares than in recent summers and significantly higher than in 2019 as well. One way to save money is to aim for long routes, perhaps with several connections, or with long waits at the airport-the reason is that these tickets are significantly cheaper than direct flights or those with short layovers.
What are connecting flights
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A connecting flight is one that, within the same booking, involves the passenger taking more than one flight to reach the final destination. If from Fiumicino I want to get to San Francisco, I can fly there direct with ITA Airways, or via London with British Airways or even via Frankfurt and Newark with Lufthansa and United.
Stops can be "short," if there is less than 60 minutes between landing and takeoff, or "long," if the wait exceeds 3 hours. The limit is usually 23 hours and 59 minutes, beyond this duration the connection becomes a stop-over. There are companies and airports that have also thought of ways to entertain passengers who have these long layovers. For example, Emirates and Oman give away hotels to those who have more than 8 hours between flights. Or Singapore's airport has a series of tours that allow you to discover the city and its surroundings.
More and more direct flights, fewer and fewer hubs
If in the early 2000s, with the advent of planes such as the A380, it was thought that giant hubs such as Dubai, London Heathrow, Singapore, and Atlanta would triage travelers to their final destinations, in the future we will also find ourselves on the long haul to a point-to-point business model, i.e., the classic low-cost business model on the short to medium haul. Planes such as the A321lr and xlr are to blame, or credit, for this change.
Of course, connections will not disappear since over the very long haul they are bound to remain, although Qantas with the A350/1000xlr will fly, nonstop, from Sydney to London and New York.
It is possible to leave the airport when you have a connecting flight
The answer is obviously yes, it is possible to leave the airport. However, you have to take into consideration that you will have to go through the controls and depending on the destination you may also need to have a visa in order to get out of the sterile area. And when you return, you will have to go through security and customs again depending on where you are.
You must keep in mind that if you leave the airport you will do so at your own risk-you will not be protected if you miss your flight for any reason.
The 3 mistakes not to make when you have a layover at the airport
The easiest mistake to make is to hold the flight's takeoff time as a reference, and not the boarding one. In fact, all companies close boarding 15 to 30 minutes before takeoff. So if you go away, but also if you go to sleep in the lounge or drink at the bar, you should always consider the boarding time as the cut-off time to be at the gate.
The second classic mistake is not calculating the timing of inter-terminal moves well And from one gate to another. Going to a nicer lounge and missing the flight because it takes 30 minutes to get to the gate is something that can happen.
Third, if you are traveling outside Europe, and you decide to leave the airport, they are the timing of customs checks. Sure. in London there is the biometric passport, but in Bangkok or Istanbul you have to put in the time to get the visa, leave the airport, and once back repeat the whole bureaucratic process.
My layover is less than three hours, can I go downtown?
There is no one answer to this question. It all depends on the airport and the distance you have to travel to get to your destination. If, for example, you have a 2-hour layover at Milan Linate, today thanks to the subway it is possible to make a quick trip downtown for a selfie in the Cathedral Square. If you have a 2-hour layover at JFK in New York, you will not be able to reach Manhattan at all, and you will barely have time to Drop by the TWA hotel.
Of course, you could also take the helicopter and in 6 minutes get to Downtown, take a stroll around Times Square, catch the helicopter back and return to the airport, but it is not an affordable solution for everyone.
My advice is to create a buffer of at least 30 minutes, before the boarding time and consider the travel time to and from the airport to the destination you want to reach, using the slowest available travel time as the variable. I take into account when I do this that there could always be a snag, From the flat tire of a cab to the cancellation of a train.
Buses may not be on time, cabs may get stuck in traffic, and if there is a half marathon, construction work, or a protest that interrupts traffic, you may find that your "fun" trip out of the airport is not all that fun .
Do I need to check in again?
There is no always equal answer to this question. If you are traveling with a ticket and already have a valid ticket to your final destination the answer is no. If you leave the airport you re-enter and proceed directly to security screening. In case your ticket provides access to fast track you will also be able to use all the fast track routes provided without any problems.
Do I have to retrieve my luggage if I leave the airport?
If you have the full ticket, your luggage will also travel to your final destination. In the case of flights from outside the U.S. to a destination in the U.S. you will have to go through customs, but also retrieve your luggage, and you will have to check in and ship your suitcase and go through security again.
It is not possible, even if you wanted to, to retrieve luggage between flights if this has been labeled for the final destination. This means that if you have to spend the night in the airport, or in the hotel, you have to remember to have the necessities in your carry-on luggage.
I have an 18-hour wait, does the company have to pay for my hotel and food?
If when you bought the ticket the schedule included such a long stop, you are not entitled to anything from the company. You can go to sleep in a hotel (at your own expense) or bivouac at the airport or even go to a lounge (if you have access to a lounge). It is a different matter if the airline changes operations and creates such an inconvenience: in this case you can ask the airline for reimbursement for your expenses.
How can I kill time at the airport?
It all depends on which airport you are in. In Nevada you could play hours and hours at the slot machine and maybe hit a super jackpot. There are airports that have swimming pools, movie theaters, gyms. There are airports where you can get married,
There are more and more airports that provide capsules for travelers where they can sleep in peace, for a fee, of course.
And then there are airports that have hotels within them where you can stay for a few hours between flights. Always remember to set an alarm so you don't miss your flight because of a nap.
I missed the connection, do they have to re-route me?
The answer is NO, no one owes you anything If you have missed a flight through no fault of your own. This applies to direct flights and also to flights with a stopover. If the airline has sold you a ticket with a "short" connection, you have to know that, and you can't stop to smoke a cigarette, or pop into the lounge if your flight arrived on time. And even if it's late, you still have to go straight to the gate and try to catch the next flight (if it hasn't left yet).
Can I ask the insurance company for reimbursement?
Of course you can, you can ask the insurance company for reimbursement for the extra costs incurred, but they won't give you anything if you missed your flight because you left the airport, just as they won't reimburse you if you fell asleep in the lounge.
No insurance, to my knowledge, protects the traveler who misses the plane due to causes beyond the airline's control. Last summer at airports such as London and Amsterdam saw endless queues, and if you missed your flight because you had left the airport to go downtown it was only the passenger's fault, not the airlines' or the airports'.
Can I stay 23 hours in the lounge?
The answer is yes.. Obviously you have to have a right to lounge access, in which case if you have a connection you will be able to enter the lounge even though a 3-hour limit is normally imposed on your stay. Be careful, though: this applies to official and premium lounges, such as American Express' Centurion lounges. Independent lounges may not allow such long stays, or ask the guest to pay extra.
In conclusion
I have tried to analyze all aspects and possibilities. The my advice is to calculate the time well and especially to create plans b in case of inconvenience. I often take tickets with many stopovers, to make more loyalty points and discover new airports and then I like the adrenaline rush of getting to the gate last.