Okay so last Tuesday I was staring at my screen, totally fed up. I’d just missed connecting flights twice last month because the layovers were way too long. Like, sitting in an airport for 6 hours kinda long. Nope. I wanted faster flights, period. Shorter layovers seemed like the obvious fix, but trying to find them felt impossible. How do you even search for that?
See, I usually grab flights using whatever pops up first on the big guys. But they don’t really show you layover times upfront, do they? Or at least, not easy to filter. You pick flights, click through, scroll… waste loads of time. Definitely time to find a better way.
The Hunt Begins – Sorting Through Options
I just typed “how to find flights with short layovers” straight into a search bar. Tons of names popped up – some I knew, some totally new. I decided to give these four a proper run-down:
- Skyscanner (Knew this one)
- Momondo (Heard the name)
- Google Flights (Obviously)
- Kiwi (New to me)
Opened ’em all side-by-side, same city pair: London Heathrow to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, roughly 3 weeks out.
What Actually Matters for Short Layovers?
For me, it wasn’t just about seeing the layover time. I needed a way to filter it tight. And it’s gotta be easy! None of that digging through endless flight details nonsense. Also crucial:
- Can you actually FILTER by max layover time? Like a simple slider or box.
- Are they showing the total travel time clearly? Total trip hours matter more than flight time alone.
- Is the actual layover TIME jumping out at you? Big, bold, easy to spot.
Time to put ’em through the ringer.
Running My Real-World Test
Here’s the play-by-play of what actually happened:
1. Skyscanner:
Started here. Okay, tons of results. Filtering… filtering… where the heck is the layover filter? Seriously? It felt buried way down. Found a “Stopover duration” filter under “More options.” That took ages. Filtered down to max 2 hours. Boom! Like magic, way fewer flights, most showing 55 min to 1hr 50m layovers. Results looked decent price-wise. Winner: Got the job done. Loser: Finding the filter took detective skills.
2. Google Flights:
Super slick design. The “Layover” section on the left menu caught my eye fast. Clicked, easily set a custom max: chose 2 hours. Instantly saw options tagged “Short layover” or showing the exact times like 1h 10m. Travel time was front and center. Super clear and quick. Maybe less flight options than others, but found some legit short hops. Winner: Easy-peasy filtering and clear info.
3. Momondo:
Felt a bit crowded. “Duration” filter on the left. Set “Max connection time” to 120 minutes. Results changed, but still seeing some 3-4 hour options in the list even after filtering. That’s annoying. Had to scroll and really look at each to see the actual connection time. Some good short options were hidden in there, took more digging. Winner: Has the filter. Loser: Filtering felt kinda leaky.
4. Kiwi:
This one was… different. Lots of complex options. Found a “Stopover” filter in a drop-down, got hopeful. Set max stopover time, applied. Prices jumped and got wild! Saw options with super short layovers, like 40 minutes. Too short? Probably! Didn’t feel realistic. Weird bundles and routing. Confusing af. Loser: Just felt complicated and untrustworthy for this.
So What Actually Works Best?
Here’s the raw verdict after clicking my fingers off:
- Skyscanner: Does the job. If you fight to find the filter. Solid choices.
- Google Flights: Winner winner. Dead simple filtering, crystal clear times. My top pick now.
- Momondo: Okay backup plan. Good deals, filter’s there, but gotta double-check the times carefully.
- Kiwi: Nah. Messy, risky looking options. Hard pass for serious short layover hunting.
My end game? Google Flights is my new go-to for this task. Found a Singapore Airlines flight with a 1hr 5m layover in Singapore Changi. Fingers crossed it works out! Hope this saves someone else the hours I wasted digging around.
