Pauls Travel Notes

While it would be nice to always fly direct to our destination. In many cases the flights must be broken up into two or three stages, resulting in a short layover. Luckily for you, I’ve got 13 tips to handle a short layover.

Jacqui and I I’ve been traveling extensively over the last 20 years and in that time, we’ve picked up a few clues to make layovers more bearable. So, let’s jump in and have a look at these tips.

Arrange Your Flights

If you are booking through a travel agent or other travel service, they should ideally give you a layover with the right amount of time between flights. However, sometimes their estimation and reality can be at odds.

We landed once in Miami after a long-haul flight from London, to find that we only had one hour to catch our connecting flight. On paper this looks to be about the right time.

However, with three kids in tow, and being sat at the back of the plane, we ended up having to sprint through the terminal.

This series of flights had been booked by a travel agent. And it’s easy to see that with a slight delay here and there, you could end up missing that connecting flight.

My advice is, if you can, allow longer then the recommended connection time, when scheduling your flights.

Select The Right Seat

On larger aircraft, especially during peak travel periods, selecting the right seat is crucial if you only have a limited time to make the next flight.

Being sat at the rear of the plane in a window seat, won’t do you any favors at all. The best option is to try to select a seat as far forward as possible and on the aisle.

The difference between these seats could be as much as 10 to 12 minutes, and could decide whether you make the next flight or not.

You can use Seat Guru to plan you seat selection. Seat Guru knows which plane you’ll be flying on. With the map of the plane in front of you, you’ll be able to see which seats line up near the main exit.

Check Your Next Departure Gate

Quite often the aircrew on your flight will have access to the details of the upcoming flights. You can check with them, to find out which departure gate your next flight will be leaving from.

It’s also worth asking if they know the shortest way to get there.

Download The Terminal Map

Before leaving home, download the map of the terminal that you’re stopping at. By having access to this map while waiting to get off the plane, you can easily plan your route through the terminal.

It will also allow you to get to other points that you need to go to on the way.

Check Your Luggage Through To The Final Destination

These days, even if you are flying on multiple different carriers, it is a simple enough matter to have your luggage sent to your final destination.

By doing this you won’t have to retrieve your luggage, then have it re-checked with another carrier.

Just make sure that there’s nothing in that luggage that you might need whilst on route.

This works well if you are intending to spend some time in the terminal, or on a tour. It will save you quite a lot of money on using the storage lockers at the terminal to keep your luggage safe.

Use The Toilet Prior To Landing

It stands to reason that if your layover time is short, then you don’t need any unwanted distractions. Just use the toilet before the seat belt signs come on, to make sure that you’re ready to go.

Prepack Your Carry On

Don’t wait till the last minute to pack up your carry-on luggage. Before the seatbelt light goes on, make sure that everything you need in that luggage is stowed away. This you can ensure that you’re ready to go as soon as the plane starts emptying.

If you are transiting through another country however, make sure you have your passport on you, ready to show to officials.

Use A Carry On As Your Main Luggage

Unless I’m traveling for work, this is not something I’ve been able to manage. Just packing one pair of my shoes into a carry-on bag would almost fill it.

My hat goes off to those who can travel overseas using only a carry-on bag. The advantages of this are obvious. They don’t need to wait for their luggage to turn up at the carousel. They have a lot less to carry, and they never need to worry about their luggage being lost. This all goes a long way to making it easier to catch that connecting flight.

What If I’m Not In A Hurry?

So, the tips so far have presumed that you only have a short time to catch your next flight. But what about if you’ve got time to spare? What do you do with yourself then?

Go Shopping

Some of the larger airports have a huge range of shops, and personally I could wander around browsing for hours.

A word of warning though, nothing comes cheap in these shops. Even the duty free is expensive. Even though the duty has been removed, these shops don’t tend to sell baseline products. So, you may end up spending much more than you planned to.

Check Out The Terminal Facilities

Airports have been spending a lot of money to make sure that your terminal experience is a good one. And a lot of the bigger ones have built in extra features.

Singapore for example, has a butterfly house. Many airports have gyms which are open 24 hours a day. Check the airport’s website before you leave home, to see what’s on offer.

Use The Lounge

If you have lounge access, then the lounge is a great place to unwind between flights.

Not only are the seats more comfortable, but the food and drink there are all free.

They have a range of complementary magazines to read, a large number of charging stations, and some also have televisions.

Some of the lounges also have showers. At the lower end of this service, you will need to provide your own towel and toiletries. But in the first class lounges, the toiletries and towels are provided for free.

There are a few different ways to gain lounge access. If you are travelling in business class or first class, then you automatically get access.

If you are a frequent flyer and have accrued enough status credits, then you will have access each time you fly.

It’s also possible to purchase a premium pass, which will give you access to all lounges for a set time period.

It’s worth noting that if you have access to the lounge you can also bring one visitor with you providing, they are traveling on the same flight.

Take A Tour

There are a few countries now who have realized the tourism potential of travelers in transit.

Providing you have enough time between flights, they run tours. In the case of Singapore, this is a two and a half hour city tour. Several other cities run similar tours, which may take in the city or just individual sites.

If you would like to take one of these tours. Just make sure that your flights line up with the tour requirements. In many cases, this means that you need to have a five to six hour layover, in order to go on a 3 hour tour. This allows you the time you need to clear in and out of the terminal.

Again, having your luggage checked right through to the final destination, will save you time and money.

Plan A Stopover

Rather than just having a few hours stuck in an airport terminal. If you have the time, why not schedule a stopover.

Two or three days in the middle of a series of long haul flights, can make a huge difference to your well-being. And go a long way towards fighting jet-lag.

We have done this a few times now between Perth and London. The total flight time is between 18 to 21 hours. Sometimes it’s just easier to complete the journey with two short hops and enjoy the break in between.

So that’s it then. 13 tips to handle a short layover. hopefully you’ll be able to use some of these to make your next trip more enjoyable and relieve the stress.

if you can think of any other tips that I should have included, just drop me a line and I’ll add them in.

Here’s a few more tips to make your next holiday go a bit smoother.

13 Tips To Handle A Short Layover