You have a super cheap plane ticket, but there is one problem: the layover or break between flights is too long, so you and your company have to wait for the next flight for several hours, maybe even half a day or all night. You can’t help but think how this is a waste of your valuable time. In many cases, it’s the reason behind your ticket being so cheap in the first place. But, not everything is so black. There are ways to “kill” that time with quality, and services that can at least help you spend your time resting, or make the arrival procedure quicker.
What is the average time people spend in transit?
If you’re connecting, you probably already know the minimum time needed between flights to get to the next one. Expect around 60 to 90 minutes for domestic flights and 2 hours for international flights. Even though you’re at one airport, don’t count on being able to easily catch the next flight within 45 minutes. Maybe you can, but you really don’t want to risk not getting on board, because then you miss your flight and spend money for nothing, you have to find a new flight and spend money again, and if there’s also luggage… True, many airlines will wait for those with connections flights and even organize an emergency transfer at the airport, but also many will leave you stranded even though it is not your fault.
For example, you go from destination A to destination C with a transfer to destination B.
The departing flight is delayed from city X due to bad weather and you arrive in city B 45 minutes late through no fault of your own, and since you bought a plane ticket from A to C (C is your destination), you think that you and the others on the flight will have another plane waiting. Usually, they won’t. Therefore, take flights where the gap between is long enough that even if the departure is delayed by 45 minutes, you have enough time to get everyone through airport control and get to boarding on time.
Better yet, use a special service offered by the airport these days, called meet and greet. Not sure what these are? No worries, we’ll explain in the following lines.
All of us traveling is witnessing how services offered at the airports are being perfected to make every travel as smooth as possible. This particular one aims to take the burden of checking in luggage, flight tickets, and other formalities off a passenger’s back.
So, situations of when one should opt for them are various. For example, your time between two flights is super short, and you want to make sure all formalities regarding your luggage, checking in, and getting to the gate on time needs to be handled in the quickest time possible. A service like this can book a club car to pick you up at the arrival gate to take you to the next one, and finish all procedures needed so that by the time you’re at the next gate, you just board the plane and hit off. You can also choose to rest at the airport of transit, let them take care of what needs to be taken care of, while you lounge in a VIP zone, reading a book, or doing whatever relaxes you.
Or, you can hire them to help you finish customs formalities, luggage pick-up, and immigration procedures at the place of your arrival. Anyone who’s been traveling to, for instance, Bangkok, knows what’s it like to wait in lines for hours to get through the immigration, pick up luggage, and find transportation to the hotel. A service like this can make sure the time you spend on these is minimal since they prepare everything before you arrive. Their value is really shown in a situation like these when you’ve spent hours in the airports and on the plane, and you just want to arrive and start your vacation. To learn more about the variety of these services, go to https://usvipservices.com/vip-meet-and-greet-service-at-sydney-syd-airport / .
All in all, they are designed to take the stress out of every travel.
When having to travel a long distance, and spend hours in between flights people often wonder how to kill time. Apart from lounging which we’ve already suggested, there are a couple of more activities you can do.
For instance, sleep… One service every airport has is the sleeping area, so why not use the time you have to get some much-needed sleep? This goes especially for those who have challenges sleeping in the air.
Although shopping may seem like a good idea, because all the shops lure you to at least take a look, this may not be such a good idea. Mainly because prices are not as affordable as they like to claim.
Some airports are nicer than others, so you can spend time exploring the architecture and facilities. Not all of them have ice rinks like the airports in Denver and Munich or interior rainforests like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. At the airport in Nashville and Austin you can listen to live music, in Vancouver you can observe fish in the aquarium, and in San Francisco, they even have a therapy pig that you can pet.
Of course, these are exceptions. Most airports do not have such special facilities, but in addition to restaurants and shops, at many of them, you will find meditation rooms, rooms for practicing yoga, and maybe even a gym and a swimming pool. Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic has a beautiful outdoor pool in the VIP lounge, and entry costs 50 USD, but many airport hotels also offer pools. Some airports also have organized transit tours, usually free of charge, but the time between flights must be at least 5-6 hours to be able to use that option.
To conclude, to those who are ready to make an adventure out of their transit, the possibilities are endless.