A connection should be long enough to work and short enough to live with.
Describe the kind of connection you are comfortable with and why. Apricot weighs layover duration alongside airport changes, overnight timing, price and total journey time.
Tell Apricot about your tripStart with the decision, not the filter
The shortest connection is not automatically the best connection. A tight transfer may be technically sold as valid while leaving little room for a delayed arrival, a long walk between gates or another security check. A very long layover may be safer but consume the day.
Connection quality is contextual. Ninety minutes can feel comfortable on a simple protected itinerary and reckless when baggage must be collected and rechecked. Apricot keeps those surrounding facts attached to the duration.
What changes the answer
Minimum breathing room
Set a minimum duration that reflects your tolerance and the trip. Apricot can use connection-time preferences instead of rewarding the shortest total duration at any cost.
Maximum acceptable wait
A low fare with an eight-hour layover may not be a saving after meals, lounge access, a hotel or lost destination time enter the comparison.
Transfer structure
A normal same-airport connection and a cross-city airport change place very different demands on the traveler even when the displayed layover length is identical.
Time of day
An overnight connection can turn a tolerable duration into a poor night of sleep. State whether night connections are acceptable rather than relying only on a number.
How Apricot handles this request
Apricot evaluates connection duration during scoring and keeps it beside stop count, total travel time, airport changes and overnight timing. Follow-up questions can then refine the returned options around a more comfortable connection window.
When current itinerary data exposes those facts, the Why can explain that an option costs more because it replaces a fragile transfer, or that the cheapest flight remains sensible because its connection falls inside the requested window.
A better brief in four checks
- Describe a connection window that feels useful.
- Say whether the transfer should stay in one airport.
- Explain whether a short or long layover creates the bigger problem.
- Call out overnight connections and transit restrictions separately.
The output should make the compromise visible
Apricot returns three options with a clear Why, route context, current prices and seller choices. One can protect the strongest fit, another can show a sensible saving, and a third can make a time or comfort improvement explicit. The goal is not more results. It is a decision you can inspect.
Start with this request