Stopovers can provide two holidays in one
With long flight times and costly direct routes, many travellers choose to incorporate a stopover break before arriving at their final destination.
Especially as an increasing number of airlines offer attractive free or heavily discounted stopover packages, encouraging passengers to experience two-destination holidays. It’s a great way airlines can make a virtue out of having non-direct flights when competing with airlines offering direct routes.
Many holidaymakers see airport layovers as quite an inconvenience. Yet with a bit of planning, they can add greatly to the long haul holiday experience. Building a stopover into an itinerary is a great, cost-effective way to see another country or city during your trip, and a stopover can lessen the effect of jet lag by introducing a lesser time difference than you would face at your ultimate destination if you had taken a direct flight.
Currently the world’s longest non-stop flights include New York to Singapore with Singapore Airlines (18 hours 50 minutes), Perth to London with Qantas (17 hours 45 minutes), Los Angeles to Singapore with Singapore Airlines (17 hours 50 minutes), Auckland to Dubai with Emirates, New York to Aukland with Qantas, and Air New Zealand and Perth to Paris with Qantas (all 17 hours 25 minutes).
The longer you fly in a metal tube to such ultra-long haul destinations in one go, the more you are exposed to health issues like dehydration, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), stiff joints and back pain, increased blood pressure, gut problems and increased susceptibility to infections due to the dry cabin air and prolonged exposure to germs - so it seems to make sense to break up a very long flight into two shorter ones.
Many airlines offer stopover programmes typically allowing stopover stays of up to 10 days plus free hotels or generous hotel and excursion discounts. It’s not surprising they offer these considering that stopovers are beneficial to airlines too. They boost tourism in an airline’s hub city, and in turn can also increase the likelihood of a stopover participant enjoying the mini-break so much they will want to return to explore the destination more in-depth at a later date.
Reykjavik is a great stopover option when flying to the United States. IcelandAir, budget Iceland airline Play and Aer Lingus all find a sizeable number of passengers opt for a stay in Iceland to chase the Northern Lights, visit the hot springs and spectacular glaciers.
Turkish Airlines offers stopover packages in Istanbul that sometimes including free hotel nights, so it’s a great opportunity to discover one of the world’s most fascinating cities and see the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar and take a Bosphorus cruise.
Emirates offers stopover packages to Dubai with discounts on hotels and tours, so it is a chance to explore the souks, see the Burj Khalifa, shop at the Dubai Mall and enjoy desert safaris
Etihad and Qatar have stopover offerings with hotel discounts in Abu Dhabi and Doha for alternative Middle Eastern doses of skyscrapers and sand, while TAP Air Portugal has flexible stopover packages to Lisbon and Porto, and Iberia to Madrid.