What’s a connecting flight?

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Connecting flights are common when there is no direct flight available. Passengers have a stopover to board another plane to reach their final destination. They may also need to board a connecting flight on another carrier, especially on international travel.

When flying on an airline to a particular destination, a passenger may be required to travel on a connecting flight, which is a flight that lands at a location that is not the passenger’s final destination. The passenger has to get off the plane and board another plane to reach the final destination. It is possible to take a connecting flight if there is no direct flight available from the passenger’s home or from the airport of departure to the airport of final destination. These flights are common in air travel, especially when a traveler starts out in a location with a small airport with few direct flights.

When a passenger lands at an airport to transfer to a connecting flight, their flight itinerary allows for a certain amount of transition time. This is called a stopover and is intended to allow passengers to make their way through the airport to the boarding gate for their new flight. A layover may also exist simply because the only available flight does not depart for several minutes or hours after the original flight has landed. A stopover can last just a few minutes or several hours, depending on the flight itinerary.

Travel to some destinations may require the passenger to board a connecting flight on another carrier. An airline is usually able to accommodate travel to an ultimate destination, but when that airline is not traveling to a particular destination, a passenger can obtain a travel itinerary that has them fly a particular airline to begin with, then hop on. a connecting flight from another carrier. This is common when large airlines distribute local or regional flights to smaller carriers. For example, if a passenger was flying from Phoenix, Arizona to Hartford, Connecticut, that passenger can start their flight itinerary on a major airline that flies from Phoenix to New York City. The passenger will then make a stopover in New York, then board another regional carrier flight from New York to Hartford.

Connecting flights are also common on international travel. A passenger flying from Phoenix, Arizona to Rome, Italy can take a flight from Phoenix to New York City. He or she can then board a different flight from New York City to London. Once in London, that passenger can board another flight from London to Rome. In this case, the passenger boarded more than one connecting flight to reach their final destination and most likely switched airlines in the process.




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