FCF’s Side Hustle in the Higher-Fares, Fewer-Deals, CoronaVacuation Era

How to add the Middle East to Europe and vice versa for nothing or very little

Last month we looked at some fresh analysis of our beautiful Stopover Loophole Strategy (SLS) for Europe and Africa. This month we look at how you can do it by combining Europe and the Middle East. The SLS strategy is like going to the store to buy some nice wine and cheese; then at checkout, the cashier throws in hummus, tabouli, and pita bread for free.

What is the Stopover Loophole Strategy?

A stopover is a planned stop of more than four hours for domestic travel, and 24 hours for international travel, between flight segments. But longer stopovers are occasionally allowed for free, or for a small fee (otherwise they can be very expensive). This means you can enjoy a second destination on a trip – most often in the applicable airline’s hub city. So, if you’re a business traveler, for instance, you can add a second destination to your trip, in some cases for little, or nothing, or less than nothing more. (More on that in a moment.) In this case, we’re talking about going to the Middle East and adding a side trip in Europe — or going to Europe and adding a side trip to the Middle East.