Experience 044. Sleeping Around. Maximizing Your Rest at Airports. The Seat 1A Podcast.

The Seat 1A Podcast

In this experience we look at those situations with travellers who end up sleeping in an airport or a train station.

Sometimes we end up with awkward flight combination pairings – controlled or uncontrolled – you have a long break between flights. Do you take the time to stay at a hotel? Maybe your passport won't allow you to leave the airport on a long layover.

Airport hotels realize that travellers are a captive market and with an overnight assumption. Many hotels had a day rate, however these days, that's not always a sure bet – will the hotel have the housekeeping staff to clean the room for a further night stay.

Vinod shares his search for a hotel room in Dallas (DFW) – they did offer him access to the hotel gym, but was that ideal for sleeping?

Some airports offer hourly rate hotels, but sometimes there just isn't a place to sleep at the airport. In those cases, how long is it going to be from the terminal until your head is on the pillow – and how much sleep are you really going to get? Are you travelling alone or with someone? Are your bags checked through? Geoff shares a travel hack from the ski slopes to help when you're sleeping with bags in a terminal. Some airports offer a left luggage facility at a very reasonable fee. Sometimes if you are able to get into the middle of the city, there might be storage lockers you could consider using.

While waiting during off-hours at the airport, do not assume that the executive lounge will be open 24/7. You just might end up being stuck airside. Certain airports have swing gates (flashback to our gate assignment experience) and pay attention if you're on the domestic or international side of a terminal – domestic might close. A security guard is likely a good person to talk to about where you can rest in the airport. Maybe the better location is in another terminal. Sometimes though, the better location may not be that much better – like Vinod's experience of sleeping in a food court at New York LaGuardia (LGA). Some airports like Chicago O'Hare (ORD) have cots at the ready for mass delays. Is it feasible to maybe rent a car and sleep in it instead?

Geoff shares his story of arriving at Frankfurt (FRA) in the middle of the night from Dusseldorf (DUS). Geoff also shares a story of a sketchy hotel in New Jersey after his flight from Newark (EWR) to Toronto (YYZ) was cancelled.

Make sure you check the logistics and timings if the airline is providing a hotel due to recovery. Sometimes this may involve two different airports. Geoff shared an experience flying from Munich (MUC) to Toronto (YYZ), that had a mechanical delay – and changing airports in London.

Vinod shared an experience of a massive delay in Calgary (YYC), the crazy amount of roasted chicken provided by the airline and why he always now brings a change of undergarments in his carryon.

How easy is it to get to the city centre – Vinod shared an experience trying to find a reasonably priced hotel near Paris (CDG) with a good evening. Vinod shares a packing hack which can prove useful for unexpected layovers.

Vinod was sleeping in a phone booth? Yes - it's true!

Some airports make it difficult to sleep in the terminal. Wander around to see if there are better places to rest – including the arrival area. If you are at an airport hotel, are there locations that you might be able to get some uninterrupted rest? And if your airport is connected to a rail facility, check if there is anything there. Does your ticket or boarding pass allow you to get airside and maybe rest there?

Seat 1A doesn't want you to be the person balled up on tile floor trying to sleep. The main thing is to keep moving forward.

News Items:

travelweekly.com article "Rental car shortage turning Hawaii tourists into truckers."

thepointsguy.com article "United is giving airport and flight crews more flexibility to hold flights for connecting flyers."

airlineweekly.com article "Why U.S. Airlines Are Redeploying Huge Widebody Jets Now for Domestic Flights"

If you have a story about sleeping in airports or other transportation hubs, unplanned delay hotel stories, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/