A long layover inbetween flights in the US

tbloxham

In a few weeks Im flying over to the US from the UK, however Im not going straight to my final destination. In a devious plan to save £100 I find myself with a 14 hour layover. Now Im glad about saving the £100, but Im just wondering what happens with long layovers in the US?

I suppose my real question is, will I arrive, fully clear customs, collect my bags and then be free until I check in again and able to go explore the city a bit. Or will I just have to wait at the gate till my flight arrives?

joshuadewaal

I love a long layover like that. They will have you clear customs in the first city you land in. And you will then be free to go whereever you want. I assume if you are coming from the UK you will probably have this layover in New York or another big city on the east coast, either way I would do your best to sleep on the plane and go use that 14 hours to tour around.

I used to do this very thing except I would be flying into San Francisco from Hong Kong.

oh and Enjoy your trip.

slackersupreme

Unless you want to haul your bags around the layover city, you probably should check with your airline about how early you can re-check them. The airline may not want bags kicking around in the system 12+ hrs before they need to be loaded.

Iceman.USAF

When I did my Air Force training stuff, I got dropped off at the airport at 10:30 am for an 8pm flight, and I seem to remember having to wait a while to check my bags, either till 11 or noon time.

MuddBudd

Which airport is the layover at?

oldsak

If you can't check your bags right away, there will probably be somewhere you can store your bag for a fee.

EggyToast

Just remember that if you leave the terminal you will have to go through security again. Make absolutely sure that what you're taking with you will get to its destination (ask the people at the airport when you're there, so whatever they say will actually be done) and make absolutely sure that you keep your ID and boarding pass with you.

14 hours is a hell of a long time, though. Are you going to be able to do stuff for 14 hours that costs less than £100?

ASimPerson

1) Check your, well, checked luggage all the way through to your destination. If this is all on one itinerary, the airline should let you do this, even if it involves them hanging on to your bag for 14 hours. (Whether you want this is another thing entirely.) You really don't want to be hauling this luggage with you around town, and I doubt US airports have luggage lockers. (I've never looked, personally.)

2) Pack a carry-on bag with everything you need (being careful about liquids, of course), including a change of clothes or some such.

This way, you can change when you get back on the flight or whatever, esp. if you're going further across the country.

tbloxham

Cheers for the assistance

And remember that £100 is $200, I think you could have a pretty fun 14 hours with $200 Anyway, I have work I can do if I end up sitting in the airport, I was just hoping I could get out and take a look around and have some dinner or something.

SporkAndrew

I'm doing the same thing before my trip to Disney World. I have an 8 hour stopover in Philadelphia thanks to US airways.

My plan is to head to the US Airways lounge where there's comfy seats and just sleep.

If you don't plan on leaving the airport like I don't make sure your batteries are fully charged on everything - and save some stuff to do from the plane. Watch the crappy TV / movies instead of reading your books / playing your DS, etc.. I also usually transfer an entire season of a TV show onto my Zen and that can be a good way of passing the time..