What Are Co-Terminal Airports? | Prince of Journey

Fairly just a few main cities world wide are served by multiple airport. When this occurs, these airports are often called co-terminal airports, or co-terminals for brief. 

In technical aviation phrases, “co-terminals” refers to a set of a number of airports which can be interchangeable when issuing tickets; in the meantime, on the earth of award journey and redeeming your miles for flights, co-terminals open up a number of potentialities in your award redemptions that is probably not apparent at first look.

This text will sum up every part it’s good to learn about leveraging co-terminal airports to broaden your vary of potentialities when reserving journeys on factors.

Listing of Co-Terminal Airports

To start with, right here’s an inventory of co-terminal airports world wide with business air service. Whereas the listing isn’t exhaustive, it ought to cowl probably the most vital co-terminal groupings worldwide.

Folks within the frequent flyer group usually talk in IATA airport codes, and also you’ll discover that there are two sorts of IATA codes on this listing: the particular person airport codes for every airport, in addition to metropolitan codes for just a few main cities, which embody all of the airports in that metropolis. 

North America

• Chicago (CHI): Halfway (MDW), O’Hare (ORD)

• Dallas: Dallas/Fort Price (DFW), Love Discipline (DAL)

• Houston: Bush Intercontinental (IAH), Interest (HOU)

• New York (NYC): JFK (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), Newark (EWR)

• South Florida: Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA), West Palm Seaside (PBI)

• Toronto (YTO): Billy Bishop (YTZ), Hamilton (YHM), Pearson (YYZ)

• Washington, DC (WAS): Dulles (IAD), Reagan Nationwide (DCA)

South America

• Buenos Aires (BUE): Aeroparque (AEP), Ezeiza (EZE)

• Rio de Janeiro (RIO): Galeão (GIG), Santos Dumont (SDU)

• São Paulo (SAO): Congonhas (CGH), Guarulhos (GRU), Viracopos/Campinas (VCP)

Europe

• Istanbul: Istanbul (IST), Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)

• London (LON): Metropolis (LCY), Gatwick (LGW), Heathrow (LHR), Luton (LTN), Stansted (STN)

• Milan (MIL): Bergamo (BGY), Linate (LIN), Malpensa (MXP)

• Moscow (MOW): Domodedovo (DME), Sheremetyevo (SVO), Vnukovo (VNO), Zhukovsky (ZIA)

• Paris (PAR): Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Orly (ORY)

• Stockholm (STO): Arlanda (ARN), Bromma (BMA)

Asia

• Beijing (BJS): Capital (PEK), Daxing (PKX)

• Jakarta (JKT): Soekarno-Hatta (CGK), Halim Perdanakusama (HLP)

• Osaka (OSA): Itami (ITM), Kansai (KIX), Kobe (UKB)

• Sapporo (SPK): New Chitose (CTS), Okadama (OKD)

• Seoul (SEL): Gimpo (GMP), Incheon (ICN)

• Shanghai: Hongqiao (SHA), Pudong (PVG)

• Taipei: Songshan (TSA), Taoyuan (TPE)

• Tokyo (TYO): Haneda (HND), Narita (NRT)

Notice that this listing is not merely an inventory of cities which have a number of airports. Particularly, the listing excludes airports which can be served solely by low-cost or regional carriers, comparable to Rome’s Ciampino Airport (along with Fiumicino), Warsaw’s Modlin Airport (along with Chopin), Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport (along with Suvarnabhumi), or Johannesburg’s Lanseria Airport (along with O.R. Tambo). 

In any case, the time period “co-terminals” applies to completely different airports which can be handled as the identical level on a single legitimate ticket, so the point-to-point ticketing construction of low-cost carriers renders the idea meaningless. For instance, you’re by no means going to guide a single ticket with flights on each British Airways and Ryanair, or each Thai Airways and AirAsia.

Additionally, notice that the listing is considerably fluid, as not all airways make use of the identical remedy of sure groupings of co-terminals.

For instance, Alaska Airways considers further co-terminal groupings as legitimate – you possibly can see each a “Bay Space” co-terminal set (consisting of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose) in addition to a “Los Angeles” co-terminal set (consisting of LAX, Ontario, Burbank, Lengthy Seaside, and Santa Ana) when conducting searches on the Alaska web site.

Since completely different airways take completely different views of whether or not sure metropolis groupings rely as co-terminals, there’ll by no means be a complete itemizing of co-terminal airports. Nevertheless, the above listing ought to embody probably the most significant ones that you simply’re more likely to encounter when reserving your travels.

Utilizing Co-Terminals to Your Benefit

The important thing attribute of co-terminals is that they’re handled as the identical level when booked on a single ticket. What does this imply, precisely?

Effectively, usually once you fly into one airport and out of one other on the identical itinerary, that’s thought of an open-jaw. But when the 2 airports concerned are co-terminals, it does not rely as an open-jaw and is solely handled as both a layover (if it’s underneath 24 hours in period) or a stopover (if it’s over 24 hours). 

Let’s take a look at just a few ways in which you would possibly use this to your benefit when reserving award journey. 

Co-Terminals at a Vacation spot or Stopover

The most effective methods to leverage co-terminals is by flying to/from an airport that’s a lot nearer to town centre on a regional flight, earlier than or after a long-haul flight out of town’s most important worldwide airport.

For instance, let’s say you have been making an attempt to guide an Aeroplan award with a stopover in London on the way in which to Asia.

When you’ve situated house in your transatlantic flight over to Zurich, the following step is so as to add on a flight between Zurich and London on the finish. Flying into London Heathrow would possibly seem to be probably the most pure alternative, however why not choose considered one of Swiss’s many flights between Zurich and London Metropolis Airport as an alternative?

London Metropolis is a a lot smaller airport than Heathrow, and you may make your manner between the jet bridge and the departures corridor in half an hour. Furthermore, it’s a brief trip on the Docklands Mild Railway into city, and also you additionally get some killer views of the Metropolis of London upon takeoff or touchdown.

As a result of all of London’s airports are thought of co-terminals, you possibly can fly into London Metropolis and out of London Heathrow in your long-haul departure to Asia, and it’ll all rely as a sound stopover in London as an alternative of an open-jaw.

One other occasion when the ability of co-terminals would possibly turn out to be useful is when your flight bookings are dictated by restricted flight or award availability.

For instance, if you happen to’re trying to fly from Lisbon to Paris, you could discover that TAP Air Portugal solely flies to Paris Orly, and never the primary airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle. In the event that they weren’t thought of co-terminals, then you definately’d be compelled to proceed the journey out of Paris Orly – a tall order at an airport dominated by low-cost carriers.

Since Orly and Charles de Gaulle are in truth co-terminals, you’d don’t have any downside flying into Orly and out of Charles de Gaulle on the identical ticket.

The identical lesson applies once you’re working with restricted award availability. A fantastic instance of this comes with flights and or from Japan.

No award house into and out of the identical Tokyo airport? No downside. Narita and Haneda are co-terminals, so that you’re capable of fly into one and out of the opposite on the identical ticket.

Everytime you’re operating into restricted award house when flying to/from main cities, ask your self if there are any co-terminal airports you may use.

In case you’re struggling to search out house between Tokyo and Taipei, with each HND–TPE and NRT–TPE searches turning up empty, strive discovering a flight to Taipei’s different airport (TSA). Chances are you’ll be delighted to discover a flight from Tokyo Haneda to Taipei Songshan, which might then remedy your downside.

Co-Terminals on a Layover or Connection

Co-terminals may also be very helpful that will help you optimize an extended layover.

A fantastic instance of that is in Seoul, which is served by co-terminal airports. You’ll be able to fly into Seoul Gimpo Airport, which is situated near town, after which take pleasure in a layover of as much as 24 hours.

When it comes time to depart, you may make your strategy to Seoul Incheon Airport, after having loved a while within the metropolis in your layover.

You could possibly apply the identical precept to different co-terminal groupings wherein one airport is considerably nearer to city than the opposite(s), comparable to London Metropolis (vs. Heathrow or Gatwick), Tokyo Haneda (vs. Narita), Toronto Billy Bishop (vs. Pearson), Washington Reagan Nationwide (vs. Dulles), or Buenos Aires Aeroparque (vs. Ezeiza). Flying into these smaller regional airports as an alternative of the bigger worldwide ones at any time when potential can provide you some valuable further time on the bottom at your chosen lengthy layover level.

In the meantime, if you happen to’re merely connecting someplace as an alternative of spending an extended layover, you may additionally encounter the necessity to use co-terminal airports.

Essentially the most distinguished instance of that is utilizing New York JFK on Aeroplan awards: a number of Star Alliance long-haul flights depart from JFK, however if you happen to’re connecting from many airports in Canada, you usually have to fly into both Newark or LaGuardia and make the journey throughout city by yourself.

Remember that connections between co-terminals require a Minimal Connection Time (MCT) that’s completely different from the usual single-airport MCTs which you can lookup on ExpertFlyer.

It’s often smart to construct in at the very least 4 hours for crosstown journeys between airports – something much less and also you’re at critical danger of lacking your onward flight in case of heavy visitors or another disruption to your journey.

Co-Terminals on the Origin

Lastly, you can too have co-terminals on the origin of your journey, permitting you to embark on the journey from one airport and return to a different.

Toronto is a superb instance of this, as town is served by each Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Toronto Billy Bishop (YTZ). 

On a single reserving, you would possibly discover direct flights from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to your vacation spot. Coming again, you would possibly solely be capable of discover award house into Montreal as an alternative of Toronto, after which select to fly from Montreal to Toronto Billy Bishop (YTZ) to get again dwelling.

Though you’re technically utilizing two completely different airports at first and finish of your journey, since they’re co-terminals, you received’t run into any points.

Looking and Reserving Co-Terminals

When looking for award flights between cities which have co-terminals, make sure to use the metropolitan code as an alternative of the particular airport code at any time when potential, as a way to cowl all the airports inside a metropolis in your search. 

Most airline loyalty packages have included co-terminals mechanically within the search. For instance, once you enter TYO because the vacation spot as an alternative of Tokyo Narita (NRT) or Tokyo Haneda (HND), you possibly can search out Japan Airways’s flights into each Haneda and Narita airports in a single fell swoop.

Equally, the British Airways Avios web site works very properly with co-terminals. Redeeming Avios on short-haul European flights is usually nice worth, and a seek for LON because the origin or vacation spot lets you seize all of British Airways’s companies out of Heathrow, Gatwick, or Metropolis Airport.

When looking for Star Alliance awards, Aeroplan and ExpertFlyer additionally assist you to seek for co-terminals. A search between Chicago (ORD) and Tokyo (TYO), for instance, captures all of United and ANA’s each day direct flights between Chicago and Haneda/Narita.

Lastly, yet one more nuance about co-terminals is that you simply would possibly get involuntarily re-routed to a unique co-terminal airport within the occasion of flight delays or cancellations.

For instance, if you happen to’re scheduled to fly into a selected airport, say, Moscow Sheremetyevo, you may be involuntarily rerouted to Moscow Domodedovo as an alternative. If this occurs, you’re on the hook for getting throughout town, so make sure to counsel different flights if the airline’s rerouting doesn’t jive along with your plans.

Conclusion

Co-terminal airports open up a wider vary of potentialities once you’re redeeming miles for journey. By making the most of the truth that co-terminals are handled as a single level when booked on the identical itinerary, you possibly can fly into smaller centrally-located airports for a smoother journey, maximize your lengthy layovers, and get out of tight spots when award house is proscribed.

Co-terminals are yet one more useful gizmo to maintain round as you search to maximise your flight redemptions. In case you’re caught with a selected phase on a fancy reserving, make sure to think about all the airports at your disposal, as you could be pleasantly shocked.