Feature
Layover rating: know if your connection is easy or rushed
In one line: the moment your first flight lands, Wheels Up tells you how long you really have until your next flight, and whether that's relaxed, comfortable, brisk or rushed.
The layover printed on your booking is a guess made weeks ago. By the time you land, your first flight may be late, your next one may be delayed too, and you may need to change terminals. The layover rating works all of that out for you.
What you see
On the Trips screen, your flights are grouped into one trip, with the layover between them shown in live time. When your first flight lands, you get a notification like:
Landed, brisk connection to BA117
1h 10m layover as booked at LHR, but a brisk 40m: your arrival was delayed by 30m.
Example notification. The flight, airport and times change with your trip.
How the rating works
Wheels Up starts from the time between your actual landing and your next flight's latest departure time, so a late arrival shrinks it and a delayed next flight grows it. Then it takes off time for things that eat into a connection in real life:
- 30 minutes if your next flight leaves from a different terminal.
- 20 minutes if the connecting airport is having a bad day, with a high share of flights delayed or cancelled right now.
What's left decides the rating:
| Time left after those adjustments | Rating |
|---|---|
| 2 hours or more | Relaxed |
| 1 to 2 hours | Comfortable |
| 30 minutes to 1 hour | Brisk |
| Under 30 minutes | Rushed |
The notification also tells you why your layover changed, but only when it's a big enough swing to matter: you landed early, your arrival was late, your next flight is also running late, you need to switch terminals, or the airport is busy.
When it helps most
- Rushed: don't stop. Head straight for the gate, and if it looks impossible, start rebooking from the airline's app while you walk.
- Brisk: doable, but don't stop for food. Check the departure gate before you get off the plane.
- Comfortable or relaxed: time for a coffee, the bathroom, or the lounge.
For what to do when a connection looks tight before you even book it, see is a 45-minute layover enough?
Honest limits
- It doesn't include customs. If you're arriving from abroad and have to clear immigration and recheck bags, you'll need much more time than the rating suggests.
- Terminal changes depend on the data. The 30 minutes are only taken off when both terminals are known. If the airline hasn't published them, the rating can't account for it.
- Your flights need to be in the same trip. Add your second flight as a connecting leg of the first so Wheels Up knows they belong together.
- It's a guide, not a promise. Gate distances, queues and how fast you walk vary. Always follow the airline's announcements.
Questions people ask
Does the layover rating include time for customs?
No. It works from live flight times, terminal changes and how busy the airport is. If you have to clear immigration or customs between flights, treat the rating as optimistic and allow extra time.
Do I need to do anything to get a layover rating?
Your flights need to be in the same trip. Add the second flight as a connecting leg of the first, and Wheels Up works out the layover between them and rates it when you land.