Layover city
A city where a crew is rostered to rest between sectors — the reward of long-haul flying and the reason many people apply at all.
Definition
A layover city is any destination where a rotation puts crew into a hotel for a rest period rather than turning the aircraft around, from 24 hours in a European capital to 72 hours in Australia. Which cities are layovers is set by the network and the flight time limitations: a sector too long for a same-day return, or a schedule that leaves the aircraft overnight, creates one. Short-haul and domestic airlines may have almost none.
What it means for you
Layover cities are the lifestyle side of the job and the most-searched part of any airline record on this site, but they are also where you protect your rest and your allowance. The same city is a different place on a 24-hour and a 48-hour stop, and the best layover crews plan one thing, sleep, and go home rested. The city guides on this site are written for exactly that: what to do from the crew hotel in the hours you actually have.
In practice
Emirates layovers range from 24-hour US and European stops to 48-72 hours in Australia, Brazil and Japan; from a Hong Kong crew hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui you can ride the Star Ferry, eat dim sum and take the tram to the Peak in a single day.
Related terms
4 terms- LayoverRoster & schedulingThe rest period spent away from base between two duties, in a crew hotel, from a legal minimum overnight up to several days.
- Crew hotelCrew lifeThe airline-contracted hotel where crew sleep on a layover, chosen for transport time and rest quality and paid by the airline.
- Layover allowancePay & benefitsThe fixed sum paid for each night or layover spent away from base, usually in the destination's currency and often tax-free.
- RotationFlight operationsA complete trip that starts and ends at your base — one or more sectors, with any layovers in between.