Layovers and Connections

Of course it’s better to have direct, non-stop flights but direct flights usually cost a lot more money.

Okay, I can’t say this enough, if you have a connection to make during a trip, make sure to give your self a couple of hours during the connection. That means, when you’re purchasing an airline ticket and you know you’ll have a layover somewhere, say, Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), between destinations, you will want to give yourself enough time from the moment you land to your next flight to…

1. wait for all the passengers to disembark the plane before your, usually 20 to 30 minutes
2. have the flight attendants or airport assistance bring an aisle chair to you and strap you in
3. get the lay of the airport land and find your way to the next connection gate. Sometimes, you need to go through customs and immigrations. It happened at Chicago’s O’Hare whereby I only had an hour and a half from a flight from Europe, make a connect at O’Hare, and needed to get back home. The customs and immigration line was absolutely long and moved quite slow. I had 30 minutes until my next flight and I was still in line. I asked someone in front of the line if I could go ahead of them because I had only 30 minutes and I was allowed. Phew!
4. deal with the next ticket counter at the next gate
5. use the restroom
6. board the next flight