Why I Actually Like Layovers

For tens of millions of Americans, flying to most destinations involves a layover. Outside of the country’s major population centers and other cities that are hubs for major airlines, not every airport has nonstop flights to every destination you wish (or need) to go to.

Having been born and raised in a midsize city without a hyperconnected airport, I’ve grown accustomed to flying with layovers on most of my journeys.

While I can certainly appreciate the convenience of a nonstop flight, I’ve recently realized that flying with a layover isn’t all that bad — and I’ve even come to appreciate them on a trip. Here’s why I don’t think layovers are the worst — and what I do to make the most of them.

What Is a Layover?

Simply put, a layover is a stop at a third airport en route from the origin airport to a destination airport. Layovers are necessary because most airlines operate on the hub-and-spoke model, meaning airlines have several large hubs from which they serve the most destinations with frequent, nonstop flights. Spokes, on the other hand, are typically smaller airports that “feed” hub airports with travelers who connect to flights to their final destinations.

Hub airports — typically in populous metropolitan areas — function with a mix of originating and connecting passengers, while spoke airports primarily serve the originating and terminating traffic of a given community.

Spoke airports do offer nonstop flights to cities outside of major hub airports, but typically only to large domestic destinations where there’s plenty of business travel or popular vacation destinations in places like Florida and the Caribbean.

So if you happen to live in a city that isn’t a hub, chances are you’re going to be flying with a layover to most destinations. There are exceptions to this, of course, as the nation’s low-cost carriers and Southwest Airlines largely operate on the point-to-point model. This means they offer nonstop flights to popular destinations from a given city.

My home airport, Grand Rapids, Michigan (GRR), is a great example of this dichotomy. The airport sees service from the Big 3 U.S. airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, in addition to Southwest and a number of low-cost carriers like Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines.

The Big 3 airlines primarily offer service to their respective hubs, with multiple flights a day, whereas Allegiant, for example, offers flights to a slew of destinations, albeit with less-than-daily service and primarily to popular vacation destinations. Southwest, meanwhile, offers a blend of the 2 models.

I fly regularly and maintain elite status with Delta, so I primarily choose it when I’m flying, which means I have a layover on the majority of my trips. But I don’t mind it at all, and in fact, I (usually) enjoy my layovers. Here are the reasons why.

Connecting Itineraries Are Often Cheaper

Nonstop flights are all about convenience. Without a doubt, it’s more convenient and efficient to hop on a plane and land at your destination without having to connect to a different flight. However, connecting itineraries can often save you money. What you lose in convenience, you make up for in savings — in some cases, at least.

My home airport, Grand Rapids, is sandwiched between 2 large hubs: Chicago (ORD) to the west and Detroit (DTW) to the east. Neither is a particularly long drive, so when I’m planning a trip, I typically check prices from all 3 airports to see which is the best option.

Somewhat surprisingly, and despite Grand Rapids being a small airport, prices to many destinations are often cheaper than if I were to choose a nonstop flight from Chicago or Detroit. Take, for example, these Delta itineraries to Los Angeles (LAX) on the same dates.

A nonstop flight from Detroit would cost me $439 round-trip in basic economy:

Meanwhile, a round-trip ticket from Grand Rapids, with a connection in Detroit, costs just $333 in basic economy.

Of course, many factors go into selecting the best flight for you, including convenience, price, and timing requirements and desires, so this won’t always be the case. However, in in my recent experience, it’s been cheaper for me to forgo a nonstop flight and depart from my home airport with a layover.

You Can Break Up a Trip

Itineraries with layovers are great opportunities to stretch your legs, get something to eat, use the restroom, and spend a little quality time on the ground before continuing on to your final destination.

Within the U.S., flights aren’t terribly long, so this is less of a factor for much of the flying done by the average person. Regardless, it’s nice to have time to escape the tight confines of an airplane. And everyone can agree that using a restroom on terra firma is much more pleasant than doing so in a tiny airplane lavatory.

While I don’t have too much of an issue with long flights, I can’t say I’m always the most prepared to fly, especially because many of the flights I take depart very early in the morning. Having a layover gives me the chance to grab some water (yes, I regularly forget to travel with my water bottle), eat breakfast (who’s hungry at 4 a.m. anyway?), visit the restroom, and even download shows to watch on the next flight (because I couldn’t possibly be prepared enough to do that the night before).

Yes, I could certainly put myself in a better position before I fly, but sometimes having the assurance of time on the ground does wonders for my peace of mind. I know I can pretty much get or do anything I need to while I’m awaiting my next flight.

I Get To Use My Credit Card Benefits

One of the best things about having a luxury travel credit card (or multiple) is that many of them provide airport lounge access as a perk of having the card.

Since my home airport is small and I typically take very early flights, I don’t have much use for a lounge there (though the airport is currently constructing a third-party The Club lounge — score!).

However, when I have a layover, I can actually take advantage of this perk that comes with several of my cards. Since I primarily fly Delta, I most frequently use the lounge access benefits that come with The Platinum Card^® from American Express and the Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve American Express Card. Both of these cards allow access to Delta Sky Clubs when flying on a same-day Delta ticket. (Or, if I happen to be passing through an airport that has one, I could also go to the Centurion Lounge.)

Note that American Express and Delta will soon restrict the lounge access perk on both of these cards, in addition to the Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card and The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Come February 1, 2025, those who have the cards mentioned previously will be allotted a certain number of days to visit Sky Clubs every year. Days will be defined as a 24-hour period, so if you visit a Sky Club at your origin airport and your connection airport, that will only count as 1 day’s worth of visits. Here’s how the number of allotted visits breaks down by card:

• Delta Reserve card: 15 days annually
• Delta Reserve Business card: 15 days annually
• Amex Platinum card: 10 days annually
• Amex Business Platinum card: 10 days annually

Thanks to lounge access, I can take advantage of a quieter (in theory, at least) space secluded from the main terminal that offers complimentary food, beverages, and Wi-Fi in addition to (usually) cleaner bathrooms with fewer crowds. It’s a great way to have a meal and a drink and relax in comfort before getting on another flight.

They Can Be a Productive Use of Time

Whether or not I have lounge access in a given airport, layovers give me the opportunity to be productive during a travel day. However, I’ve been finding it harder and harder to work during a flight, thanks to cramped quarters and large laptops that barely fit on the tray tables. Add an inflight soft drink and a snack to the equation and it becomes a real hassle.

Thus, I prefer to work around my flights, and having a layover usually gives me a couple of hours or more to get things done, whether it’s directly related to work or if it’s making calls that have been piling up on the to-do list.

This becomes an even better scenario when I do have lounge access (which is the case 9 out of 10 times, I’d say), as lounges typically have plentiful power outlets where I can keep my devices charged and, therefore, work without fear of anything dying on me.

If I can knock a few things off my list during a layover, I feel much better about the rest of my travel day and can put myself in a position to actually enjoy the next flight.

International Layovers Can Add Layers to a Trip

If I’m traveling abroad — especially to somewhere very far away — I always look to add long layovers to the itinerary because they’re great opportunities to see a new city and, of course, break up the trip.

For example, I went on a very long trip to South America several years ago and had a ticket with Aeromexico on the way down. I purposely booked the ticket with a 12-hour layover at the airline’s hub in Mexico City (MEX) so I could leave the airport and explore the city for practically an entire day before returning to the airport and catching my next flight to Lima (LIM), Peru.

At the time, I had never been to Mexico City and I had heard incredible things about it — particularly the food — so this was the perfect chance for me to get into the city, see some of the major sites, and sample some of the incredible cuisine — and I’m so happy I did it. It felt like a minitrip before the real trip even got underway.

Some airlines and countries outright encourage this for passengers. Turkish Airlines, for example, has a program called Touristanbul that provides free tours of Türkiye’s largest city to passengers who have connecting international itineraries with layovers of 6 to 24 hours.

The airline provides complimentary transportation from the airport, a comprehensive tour of Istanbul during which you see popular sites, and even a meal or 2. At the end of the tour, you’re driven back to the airport in time to catch your connecting flight.

The airline offers 6 tours every day (and 7 per day seasonally) that are of varying lengths and offer different programming, so you should be able to find one that fits your itinerary.

Final Thoughts

Whenever I tell people I have a layover on a given trip, I’m met with a look of pity and a comment along the lines of, “Oh, that sucks.”

However, I don’t mind traveling with a layover at all. In fact, I find many reasons to enjoy and even welcome them on a journey. Many times, I save money when I book a connecting itinerary and I’m rarely in so much of a rush that a connection is a severe inconvenience. Plus, I love spending time in a lounge where I’m able to eat, drink, work, and relax to my heart’s content.