Which Airlines Let You Book a Stopover?
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Airline stopovers are a great way to get even more out of your next adventure abroad. Many airlines let you build a flight itinerary that includes a stopover in a hub city (or beyond), giving you a chance to enjoy multiple destinations on a single ticket.
In this article, we share a number of airlines that have stopover programs (some of which even offer free hotel stays with your visit!), and we explore the stopover options on offer across the industry.
What Are Stopovers?
When it comes to flights, there can be a lot of confusion between the terms « stopover » and « layover », so let’s start by clarifying the differences.
A layover is generally understood to be a brief stop between flights and is meant to facilitate your transferring from one flight to the next one which takes you onward to your desired destination. Layovers are typically understood to be less than 4 hours for domestic routes and less than 24 hours for international routes.
Although with a longer layover, you may have a chance to explore the transfer city, this is more the exception than the rule. The reason for this is because it’s quite difficult to leave the airport, explore the interim destination, and get back to the airport in time for your next flight.
Some airlines facilitate visits to their hub cities during layovers of less than 24 hours. In fact, in some cases, airlines (usually in tandem with local tourism boards) may even provide a night in a hotel, airport transportation, and other perks to help you take in the local sites during your very short stay.
Comparatively, a stopover is an intentional break between two flights that lasts for longer than 24 hours. Stopovers are typically scheduled on purpose to give you a chance to see an extra location on the way to your final destination.
Stopovers can be booked for a period lasting from 24 hours to upwards of a year, depending on the airline and country.
In this article, we’ll showcase a range of airlines that promote stopover programs designed to let you stay in a specific city (or region) for multiple days. For the sake of article length, we won’t delve into all the layover programs that also exist, but note that these can also be worth looking into if you’ve got a longer layover in a city you’d like to explore.
Our Favourite Airline Stopover Programs
In the sections below, we share details on over 20 airlines that offer some version of a stopover program. To create this list, we specifically looked for airlines that used the word « stopover » in their promotions to highlight the most accessible options within the industry.
Of course, when booking through these options, make sure that you consider any visas, accommodations, transportation, and logistics that will be necessary for your visit.
Air Canada
It probably comes as no surprise that we’re fans of Air Canada’s Aeroplan stopover program. In fact, we’ve actually written an entire guide to the Aeroplan stopover program explaining how it works and how to get the most out of it.
The basics of the program are:
- Stopovers are booked on one-way award flights
- All Aeroplan stopovers cost 5,000 points regardless of origin, destination, or operating airline
- Stopovers can last for a maximum of 45 days
- Stopovers can be booked on Air Canada or any of their partner airlines
- Stopovers are not available for flights that are exclusively in North America
There are many other nuances to this program – many of which are actually to your benefit if you’re interested in creating a truly unique itinerary. In fact, the structure of the Aeroplan stopover program even lets you string together flight segments into a Mini Round-The-World trip.
Since this stopover program is only accessible when booking an award ticket using Aeroplan points, you’ll need to have a nice stash of points available to take full advantage. You can easily earn a bunch of Aeroplan points to get you started with the American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card thanks to its generous welcome offers and strong earning rates. The card additionally comes with some exceptional travel perks and benefits, like airport lounge access, travel insurance coverage, and the chance to earn an annual worldwide companion pass.
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- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$1,200Total$1,200Plus $500 of bonus paid after the first year, not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
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- Up to 85,000 points
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Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines’ stopover program allows you to book free stopovers when you use Alaska Miles to book an award flight. The award flight can be on Alaska Airlines or on any of their Oneworld partner airlines, giving you plenty of really interesting destination options.
Additional key information for this program includes:
- stopover must be booked on an international flight
- stopover must be in a partner airline hub city
- limit of one stopover per one-way trip
- stopover can be booked online or by calling Alaska Airlines’ customer service phone number
One of the most interesting features of Alaska Airlines’ stopover options is the ability to enjoy a few days in Fiji on route to your final destination thanks to its partnership with Fiji Airways. This gives you a pretty unique way to access this hard-to-get-to destination — and all while using Alaska Miles to cover the majority of the costs!
Fiji Airways
If you don’t have any Alaska Miles to get you to Fiji, you could, alternatively, take advantage of Fiji Airways‘ stopover program for cash fares.
Through the program, you can enjoy a free stopover in Nadi, Fiji, giving you a tremendously unique way to break up a long-haul trip between North American and your final destination in Australia, New Zealand, or elsewhere in the Pacific.
Pleasantly, booking a stopover with Fiji Airways can easily be done on the airline’s website; however, keep in mind that Fiji does have a fairly large departure tax (around $200/person) that you’ll be charged if your stopover is for longer than 48 hours.
Icelandair
Icelandair offer travellers the chance to explore the fjords, hot springs, volcanic geography, and northern lights through its stopover program. To take advantage of this opportunity, simply select the “Stopover in Iceland » option when booking a cash fare, and you’ll be prompted through the process.
With most Icelandair fares, you can stay in Iceland for up to 7 nights while incurring no additional charge for the flight. If you’ve booked an Economy Flex or Saga Premium Flex fare, you’re invited to stay for up to 21 nights.
Stopovers of up to 7 nights can be booked online through the airlines’ booking portal. If you’d like to stay longer than that, you’ll need to contact Icelandair customer service to help you make the booking.
Qatar Airways
With Qatar Airways now flying out of both Montreal and Toronto, the airline’s stopover program (and its famous Qsuites) are now more easily accessible for Canadians.
The airline advertises its stopover program as “the world’s best value stopover, » offering nights in 4- and 5-star hotels for as low as $14 USD per person during your stay. Stepping out from these comfortable accommodations during your visit, you can then explore Qatar’s desert adventures, abundant shopping, fine dining, and more.
Through the program, you can enjoy a stopover in Doha, Qatar, for up to 4 days, and the option is available on both cash fares and Qatar Privilege Club award flights. To learn more about your stopover options in Doha, check out our guide to Qatar Airways Free Transit Program and discounted accommodations options.
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| $120 | |||
| $399 | |||
| $165 |
Etihad Airways
With Etihad Airways, you could potentially enjoy a complimentary 2-night stay in Abu Dhabi when you book a stopover through their program.
A couple nights in this opulent destination will give you a chance to explore the contrast between the areas ancient heritage and the growing array of modern architecture, massive shopping centres, and man-made islands.
To access the complimentary hotel option for your free stopover, you’ll need to first book and pay for your flight on the Etihad Airways website. Once this is done, you’ll be shown which hotels are available during your stay. You’ll likely see the prices for the hotels show up as you book, but once you get to the payment page, the cost should be covered by the “stopover coupon.”
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines makes it easy to enjoy a stopover of up to 7 days in its namesake city-state thanks to its designated booking portal.
Stopovers are bookable on cash fares and KrisFlyer award tickets, and the stopover booking portal also promotes discounted hotels through Agoda, with the added bonus of letting you earn some extra KrisFlyer miles when you reserve.
A number of activities and tours are also suggested on Singapore Airlines’ stopover program website, making it easy to fill all 7 days of your visit with incredible cultural sites, delicious food, stunning architecture, and an almost-certain-visit to the Gardens by the Bay to see the Super Trees.
Korean Air
The last stopover program we’ll mention is not even an airline program, but it’s a pretty neat opportunity, so we thought we’d share it.
The K-Stopover program is exclusively for travellers with a layover at Seoul’s Incheon Airport that’s between 24 and 72 hours. This is actually not a Korean Air program, but they do promote the opportunity on their website, and they are the flag carrier of South Korea.
To take advantage of one of the K-Stopover options, you need to reserve a package before you fly. Then, when you arrive at Incheon airport, just head to the designated desk to check-in and begin your tour.
You can choose from either a Package Tour which typically includes transport, accommodations, entrance fees to attractions, and meals, or a Self-Guided Tour which includes a heavily discounted rate at an eligible hotel, a transportation card for the subway/bus, and some local travel insurance/support. Either option gives you a great way to explore Seoul and other nearby cities without too much stress.
Other Airlines That Allow Stopovers
In addition to the airlines we mentioned above, there are many others that promote stopover programs in their hub cities. These all give travellers the chance to explore a bonus destination on their way further abroad.
We’ve included the following airlines in our list since they specifically mention stopovers on their website and make it clear how you can go about booking it. If you know of any programs that we missed, please let us know, so that we can add them here!
Airlines with stopover programs
- Air Astana (Stopover in Almaty or Astana)
- Air France/KLM (Stopover in Paris or Amsterdam)
- Azores Airlines (Stopover on the island of São Miguel or Terceira)
- Cathay Pacific (Stopover in Hong Kong)
- China Airlines (Stopover in Taipei)
- Copa Airlines (Stopover in Panama City)
- Emirates (Stopover in Dubai)
- Iberia (Stopover in Madrid)
- Japan Airlines (Explore multiple Japanese cities with the JAL Japan Explorer Pass)
- Malaysia Airlines (Book a « Bonus Side Trip » to explore more of Malaysia)
- Oman Air (Stopover in Muscat)
- PLAY Airlines (Stopover in Iceland)
- TAP Portugal (Stopover in Lisbon or Porto)
- Turkish Airlines (Stopover in Istanbul)
Bottom Line
Stopovers are a great way to enjoy an extra destination without incurring extra costs, regardless of whether you’re paying with cash or points.
Thanks to the wide range of airline stopover programs, you can explore even more of the world on a single ticket — and you may even get a free hotel or tour just for visiting!
If you’re looking for inspiration on where to « stop over, » check out some of our destination guides for airline hub cities.
FAQs
What’s the difference between a stopover and a layover?
A layover is generally understood to be a brief stop between flights and is meant to facilitate your transferring from one flight to the next one which takes you onward to your desired destination. Layovers are typically understood to be less than 4 hours for domestic routes and less than 24 hours for international routes.
Comparatively, a stopover is an intentional break between two flights that lasts for longer than 24 hours. Stopovers are typically scheduled on purpose to give you a chance to see an extra location on the way to your final destination.
Do I need a travel visa for a stopover?
Whether or not you need a travel visa for your stopover will depend on the country you’re visiting and the passport you’re travelling with. It’s important to always check the official government’s website for travel requirements for both your stopover country and your final destination country to make sure you’ve got all your paperwork in order.
