A layover is a broad term that means any connection between flights, and a stopover can be a layover. Still, it can also be a much longer stop - often a second destination on the part of a multi-stop itinerary. If traveling internationally, a stopover typically qualifies as anything that lasts longer than four hours.
A stopover is included at a mid-point destination, where the traveler can spend a few days. So, you're allowing the traveler to visit two goals at the price of one flight. In the context of recovery, stopovers can be an opportunity to revive air travel.
Thanks to airlines with stopovers and you can explore two cities for the price of one. Instead of having customers wait for connecting flights at the airport, airlines and airports have begun offering free stopover options to allow you to tour a new locale for a few days before continuing your trip.
Airlines still offer stepovers for passengers during international traveling and who travel to some international destinations. Some of the airlines with free stopovers in 2022 are:
The Japan Airlines flyer program has one of the best stopover policies with very liberal rules. Flyers can take advantage of complimentary stopovers when booking a JMB Oneworld award or Partner Airline Award with Japan Airline miles.
Asia Miles allows up to five complimentary stopovers on its Oneworld multi-carrier award. You can use four or more Oneworld airlines when one of your flights is on Cathay Pacific or two Oneworld airlines without Cathay Pacific.
Alaska Mileage Plan has an excellent stopover policy, and you can have one complimentary stopover on a one-way flight and up to two stopovers on a round-trip. That doesn't include the destination so that you can visit two places for the price of one. Alaska has some very generous award charts for some of its partners, so there are many excellent options to use stopovers on the way to or from your destinations.
You can book only a round-trip award flight with ANA, but it comes with a complimentary stopover along the way, whether you're flying on its airline partners or ANA.
United does allow one-way award travel, but a stopover comes only with a round-trip flight or a combination of three or more one-way flights. It has some restrictions. Dubbed Excursionist Perk, the most important is that its origin and destination must be within a single MileagePlus defined region.
Aeroplan does not allow free stopovers anymore, but you can add up to two for 6,000 points each on a round-trip flight or one on a one-way flight. Although it's not free, it is more than reasonable. Aeroplan has eliminated fuel surcharges, including surcharges it used to add to the partners, which makes it even better.
More and more people are using Hawaii as a stopover from Australia to the continental USA, with perfect reason. The unique climate, culture, and environment make it an iconic destination and ideal for breaking up a long trip. Honolulu, on the Island of Oahu, is only a nine-hour flight from Sydney and has plenty to offer travelers, no matter how long or short your stay.
With KLM free stopovers, customers can take advantage of two in Amsterdam. They are entitled to at least one free stopover on the inbound ticket and another free stopover on the outbound ticket.
Etihad Airways offers free Etihad stopovers for its first class, business class, and Residence guests flying on confirmed Etihad Airway tickets through Abu Dhabi. Customers could explore the airline's home city of Abu Dhabi free of cost and score an additional complimentary night at a hotel if they booked a two-night stay.
TAP Air Portugal is a Portuguese airline offering travelers the chance to explore Lisbon or Porto as a stopover for free as part of their ticket and for no additional cost. Passengers traveling on TAP can choose to stay in Porto or Lisbon for 1 to 4 nights, experiencing a second destination for the price of 1 flight.
Singapore Airlines has an outstanding stopover program that allows travelers to explore more of Asia on their trip. At the same time, it's not technically free since their stopovers begin at just $1, which is highly affordable. The Singapore Stopover Holiday has a value of more than $36, which provides passengers with accommodation, airport transfers, and admission to attractions around the country. To book the stopover program online, travelers must have a time layover longer than 24 hours.
Aer Lingus is an Irish airline whose central hub is in Dublin, located in Ireland. Flying to over 20 countries around the globe, it offers travelers the option to book multi-city flights on its website. They can use this option to stopover in Dublin for free for up to 6 nights or contact the help desk to book on the phone. Dublin is a lively city with excellent pub culture and charming cobbled streets. The place is fantastic to spend a couple of nights before continuing to the final stop on your trip.
Travelers flying on Air Canada to a city outside Canada and the US can enjoy a free stopover in the major hubs of Toronto or Montreal if their flight connects there. The layover must be longer than 6 hours to be eligible for the free stopover program where travelers flying in Latitude, premium economy, and business-class can get one night free in a participating hotel.
We all want to book a stopover on a flight. Passengers who love to travel should opt for this. We often don't know how to book a free stopover on your next flight. When you schedule a stopover in your travels, you can make them for as long as you want. It's a fun way to turn a boring commute into hopscotch of bucket-list items — and if you know the strategy, you can do it by paying less for airfare than you had gone straight to your final destination.
Step 1. Search hubs from your home airport
Enter your home airport to see affordable routes from your origin. Fill up the destination, search with flexible dates, and then slide that price filter (left side of the page) as low as it will go to search flights costing $50 and under.
Step 2. Search hubs from your destination airport
Repeating step 1, we have to search for hubs from your destination point. Most of Europe is super high cheap once you get to the continent. Some fun options you would enjoy as a stopover like Edinburgh, Vienna, Porto, and Rome.
Step 3. Search routes between your stopover-worthy cities
We now enter our choice stopover destinations from step 1 into Flights, but again keep the destination blank. We will then swing the map to Europe to see any potential cheap transatlantic routes. This instantly gives hundreds of permutations between all airports in Europe. Now, we have to cross-reference the cheapest European airports with the airports that fly to our destination and then choose the one I want to visit the most.
Step 4. In the Google Flights multi-city tool, enter your route
We know it's possible to score a deal on all these routes. We will pull up Google Flights again and input these airports into the multi-city tool. Dates don't matter yet.Step 5. Checking the dates for each leg separately
The next step is to check all three legs separately to find a cheap date for each, and this may be the most time-intensive portion of your research, though we don't see it as a burden. You are opening a separate tab for each leg and pulling up Google Flights to do your pricing.
Step 6. In your multi-city itinerary, Plug the cheap dates
Once you find your dates, head back to your tab with the multi-city search and begin plugging in your dates.
Step 7. Book your ticket
After you've figured out how long you would like to stay at each destination, you can view your final ticket price and book!
Step 8. You can use the same process to get home
You could also use this same strategy for your return flight though it would be understandable if you tried to find the most direct route home after all that traveling.
If you are thinking of a stopover, it is workable. The more money you save on the flight, the more you will have to spend at your destination. Sometimes, taking the layover option can mean saving much, and that money would be better spent enjoying the food and culture you are going.
Having one day in the middle of your journey (both there and back) is an excellent opportunity to catch up on everything. A stopover allows us to seclude ourselves in the comfort of a hotel room with a proper workspace. On the way there, you can prepare before the onslaught of meetings.
