It seems as if airlines are charging for all sorts of things that were free in the past. What this means is that the airfare that you see when booking your ticket online isn’t the only thing that you will end up having to pay for. Fortunately for some travelers that will be flying overseas, they can have a free stopover. Some airlines are enticing travelers to fly with them by offering stopover programs. This is great for passengers as it allows them to see two different cities even though they are only paying for airfare for one. Stopovers tend to last for at least 24 hours. Because of this, passengers have plenty of time to enjoy a few things that their stopover city has to offer before they have to get back on the plane to head to their final destination. These are some of the more well-known airlines with stopover programs.
Icelandair
Stopover City: Reykjavik
Icelandair is very accommodating to travelers who will have a stopover in Reykjavik. They can stay as many as seven nights here without incurring an additional cost. Currently, the airline offers a program called “Stopover Performances”. It allows flyers to have free access to certain comedy shows or concerts during their stopover. Reykjavik is a great place to have a stopover as travelers can visit places like Gullfoss Waterfall, the Blue Lagoon, see the Northern Lights during select times of year, or Thingvellir National Park. When purchasing ticket on Icelandair’s website, just choose the option Icelandair Stopover.
Emirates
Stopover Cities: Athens, Dubai and Milan
This airline has several stopover cities. Passengers that want to stopover in Athens and Milan will need to depart from specific airports. For Athens, they will need to depart from Newark and for Milan, they will need to depart from JFK in New York. Stopovers in Dubai are very common and passengers can depart from a variety of different cities. They can also stay in the city for up to 48 hours before they have to get back on this one of a kind plane the Emirates A380.
Turkish Air
Stopover City: Istanbul
A stopover in Istanbul with Turkish Airlines has a lot of perks. If your stopover lasts at least 20 hours, the airline will book a hotel for you for free. For those that have a layover of at least 6 hours, they can enjoy a free city tour by Touristanbul.
Air France
Stopover City: Paris
Air France used to advertise free stopovers to Paris. They no longer really advertise this so many passengers aren’t aware that they can enjoy a stopover in this city. Air France does allow you to stay when connecting without having to pay an extra airfare. Their website can be difficult to navigate in order to figure out how much a ticket with a stopover in Paris would be versus a direct flight. You can easily get around this by calling Air France directly to book your flight.
