How to Use Long Layovers as a Tool

Tor Kjølberg

May 14, 2024

So many travelers have condemned themselves to rotting in airports for five or ten hours, while waiting for their international connections, or they waste time in an airport hotel, thinking that a bed or TV will help the time pass more quickly. This article emphazises on how to use long layovers as a tool.

I choose to use my layovers as a bonus stop – a free pass to see an additional city or country on my way to a planned destination.

A layover is when you have to change planes part-way through your journey. For example, if you bought a flight from New York City to Los Angeles and it had a layover in Houston, you will have to get off the plane in Houston and transfer to a new plane at the airport there. You then board the next plane and fly to Los Angeles. Layovers, therefore, add time to your journey, but if your layovers are long enough, you can use that time to leave the airport and explore a brand-new city.

If you have a really long layover, you could for instance investigate the possibility of exploring the city you’re in. Give this new locale a chance even if the location is far from the top of your bucket list of destinations. You may be surprised to discover a city you’d love to return to for longer.

If you have a full day or overnight layover, try experiencing the city. You have many options to explore. I have done everything from simply enjoying a Calvados on Champs Elyssée in Paris to taking a tour on the canals in Amsterdam before heading back to the airport.

On an overnight layover in Rome, I had delicious food and wine at a restaurant before having a late-night visit at Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. In the morning, I took a brief tour of the Vatican, which included the Sistine Chapel before heading back to the airport.

I had a layover in Athens and had some amazing Greek food while watching patrons participate in Greek Dance. I marveled at some brightly lit ruins on my way to have a late-night ouzo in a local bar. I took some pictures at the Acropolis before catching a cab to the airport.

Some larger airports might even offer an organized tour of the city that departs directly from the airport itself. Research options and book the tour before you land if possible. You will still have to go through security and customs as usual, but the organized tour might save you time spent figuring out public transportation systems and directions to major sites.

For most people, layovers are unpleasant, but direct flights are often more expensive. For travelers who are budget-minded, layovers are a great way to save money. Airlines will usually lower the prices of flights with long layovers, making it easy to pick up a bargain. If you don’t need to get somewhere quickly, it’s worth picking up a flight with several stops to save money.

Your exploration can be simple; try local food, check out a few historical sites or just hang out at a café to take the city in as brief as it may be. If you would like a more organized experience, try taking a tour if you have enough time. It can be as long or short as you want. Sometimes you will have enough time for a group tour, and in other situations, you may want to pay for a tailored private tour that includes transportation to and from the airport.

Even if your layover isn’t quite long enough to get out and explore the city, you can still find plenty of opportunities to immerse yourself in local culture. Cuisine is often the most direct, and cheapest, way to experience a taste of a culture different than your own.

Seek out the local cuisine located inside the airport. You might be surprised by the immersive experience you can have without even leaving the terminal.

Layovers are something you should look for when booking a long flight, especially when traveling internationally. For example, both WOW air and Icelandair offer stopover programs, which allow Americans traveling to Europe a free layover in Iceland (for an unlimited amount of days).

Usually, you have to pass through immigration and check-in again if you want to leave an airport. Every country and airline have different rules on this, so it’s best to do some research beforehand if you’re unsure of how your layover will work. For the most part, though, following everyone else who gets off your plane is a safe way to know you’re doing the right thing.

Most major cities in the world offer a hop-on, hop-off bus tour that stops by most of the major sights and landmarks in a particular location. Headphones are offered for pre-recorded information about each stop in eight different languages. These tours are a great way to see a city in a short amount of time on a layover. You can choose to stay at each attraction for a quick photo before you hop back on the bus or spend some time exploring and take the next bus once you are satisfied. If you have a shorter layover and do not have time to ride the bus for the entire loop, you can take a taxi to the airport from any point during the hop-on, hop-off bus loop according to your flight schedule demands.

Alternatively, use your long layover to treat yourself to a fast food meal or comfort from home that you’ve tried to avoid during your trip. Get the French fries. Find the Tex-Mex. Indulge in a treat that makes your long layover more comfortable.

We often think of airport lounges for first class passengers only, but those days are long gone. Now, you can purchase an airport lounge pass and enjoy free drinks, snacks, WiFi and sometimes even sleeping or showering facilities.

Besides experiencing a new culture for a few hours, taking advantage of your layover also allows you to decide if the city is worth coming back or not. It’s a lot like wine-tasting – if you like what you see, you buy the bottle. If not, you pour out your glass and move on to the next stop.

If you’re on the tail end of your travel journey, a great way to spend time during a long layover is to journal. Your travel stories are fresh in your mind, so make sure to document them while you can. In general, if you’re on a domestic flight, once you land for your layover, you’ll pass through a transfer area that will take you to the gate for your next flight without having to check in again. Your bags will automatically pass through to the next flight without you having to collect them.

This also often happens on international flights if you’re flying with the same airline. When you check in for your first flight, ask the person who is checking you in if your bags will be checked the entire way. If they are, you don’t need to worry about going to the baggage reclaim and can pass directly to your next gate, safe in the knowledge that your luggage will be making the journey with you.

Remember to keep careful track of time if you choose to leave the airport on a layover. You must budget time to go through customs and verify in advance whether or not you need a visa to enter the country in which you have just landed. Nothing is more frustrating than the added time and expense of missing a flight, whether it be on a layover, at a planned destination, or on your way home. So be sure to research how much time it takes to get to the city center and back by taxi, bus, train or whatever form of transportation you choose. When time is tight, I prefer to use the more direct, yet more expensive choice of a taxi or Uber. There is no hassle with overshooting your train stop and the drivers usually know the best routes to the airport. If you do your research and manage your time properly, you have just added another stop to your itinerary – for free!

How to Use Long Layovers as a Tool, written by Tor Kjolberg

Feature image (on top): © JESHOOTS.COM / Unsplash

Achieving Cyber Resilience in Nordic Markets

Tor Kjølberg

May 13, 2024

Achieving Cyber Resilience in Nordic Markets

As cybercrime has become more common, cyber risk education in the Nordics has lagged behind. The number of attacks is up, and their material impact on commerce is grave. It is no longer reasonable to expect to fend off all attacks in your environment. Learn more about achieving cyber resilience in Nordic markets.

It is important to adopt a more proactive approach to understanding cyber risks in financial terms that the executives and directors can understand. So, moving forward, it’s important that firms in the Nordics embrace a new way of thinking to build cyber resilience in a rapidly changing global landscape so they can develop their market and maintain value.

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You might also like to read: Scandinavia Among the Most Cyber-Secure Countries in the World
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Managing cyber risk requires a new approach

As bad actors continue to evolve, and increased internet connectivity exposes Nordic businesses to greater vulnerabilities from third-party bodies and partners, it is crucial to accept that there is no silver bullet for cyber risk.

Global cyber-attacks reached a record high in 2023, and 2024 is set to see this trend continue, particularly in the Nordics. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, 97% of Nordic organizations saw cyber-attacks increase, with incidences of cybercrime doubling between 2020 and 2023 in Sweden and quadrupling in Finland since joining NATO in 2022. With tools of cybercrime such as AI, deepfakes and methods such as scam emails and identity theft progressing at an alarming rate, it is increasingly clear that perfect loss elimination is unachievable.

Indeed, cyber investment and education in these regions are very low, with recent research by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) suggesting that as much as 80% of data breaches are the result of human error and lack of education.

A new way of thinking is therefore necessary. Businesses need to focus less on trying to thwart every single cyber threat and more on limiting losses from cyber-attacks to ensure they lose as little capability as possible and can continue to operate. This may seem somewhat counterintuitive, but such a more realistic approach is the best way to deal with the fast-changing cyber-threat landscape.

At Resilience, this is the approach we advise clients to adopt, first conducting risk assessments to determine the degree which they can suffer a setback from a cyber-attack but still be able to trade, which then helps them understand their level of cyber risk.

Cybercrime is expected to cost businesses more than $10 trillion by 2025, yet cyber spending between 2022 and 2025 is predicted to be just over $1.5 trillion and capacity coverage from cyber insurance will only reach $900 billion by the same year. This indicates a significant gap between losses from cybercrime and investment in cybersecurity and cyber insurance coverage, highlighting the need for quantifying cyber risk through thorough risk modelling and prioritising a cyber resilience strategy that best suits one’s needs.

Achieving Cyber Resilience in Nordic Markets, article continues below the image.

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You may also like to read: Your Beginner Guide to Data Protection as an Expat in Scandinavia
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At Resilience, AI insights are used to inform our cyber-risk models, creating a financial and measurable picture of a client’s cyber risk. These models can then be utilized, with the help of expert risk managers, and dedicated third-party teams to help businesses, wider organizations and security leaders identify the most pressing threats and the most effective cyber risk management tools to protect them. This will help businesses and organizations maximize their return on investment and integrate cyber risk into their long-term strategies.

C-suite needs to be better informed

In order to execute an effective cyber resilience strategy, cyber security officers need to feel empowered to communicate risk transfer, mitigation objectives, and cyber control capabilities to the C-suite and work collaboratively to achieve cyber resilience. Parallel to this, C-suite leaders need to move on from today’s typically more siloed stance and be receptive to this fresh approach.

Achieving this requires much greater buy-in and awareness across senior leadership teams, from CROs and CISOs to CFOs. According to recent research, nearly 42% of Swedish CEOs do not believe cybersecurity belongs at the board level, despite the enormous operational damage that can be caused by a successful attack.

When C-suite leaders buy into cyber risk as a business challenge, organizations can ensure that it is managed as part of a wider business strategy, ensuring appropriate investment, and promoting education of employees on common cyber risks.

To do this, we need to ensure that cyber risk officers and CISOs are speaking the language of the board and discussing cyber risk in terms of real financial terms and potential losses. Dedicated risk officers who can translate cyber risks in terms of potential losses, mitigations and real financial risks are crucial to help translate the impacts of security decisions in financial terms for CFOs, CEOs, and boards of directors to evaluate and make informed decisions.

Cyber resilience is the way forward

In January, leading Finnish IT provider Tietovery was subject to an attack by ransomware group Akira, accessing the data of thousands of public sector institutions and citizens. This attack is only one of many to strike the Nordics this year and is symptomatic of a much wider, more dangerous trend.

With 131 publicly disclosed cyber-attacks against EU countries in December 2023 alone, cybercrime in the EU is on the rise: it is no longer a question of if you will be the target of cybercrime, but when. The Nordics’ lack of cyber education and investment, coupled with the region’s high interconnectivity and geopolitical pressures underscore the need for a new way of thinking on cyber risk. What businesses need now is to adopt a more proactive stance that emphazises education, a non-siloed, collaborative approach to risk management, and adequate investment to enhance cyber resilience.

Integrating cyber risk management into a broader business strategy and utilizing robust risk transfer mechanisms such as cyber insurance will help organizations in the Nordics prepare for, and anticipate, cybercrime in advance, and successfully navigate the evolving cyber threat landscape.

Achieving Cyber Resilience in Nordic Markets, written for Daily Scandinavian by Rehan Hussain. As the Head of Underwriting at Resilience, Rehan leads the underwriting strategy and operations for the international and UK & Europe regions, covering cyber insurance and risk management solutions for corporate clients. Rehan has over 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, with advanced qualifications in insurance and information security, and a track record of delivering profitable growth and client satisfaction.

Modular Construction: Scandinavia’s Answer to Urban Housing Challenges

Tor Kjølberg

May 6, 2024

Modular Construction: Scandinavia’s Answer to Urban Housing Challenges

Modular construction offers an efficient, low-cost, low-waste alternative to traditional building methods. Companies that use modular designs, which are prefabricated before arriving at their intended location, can create more homes at a faster rate, too. Learn more about Modular construction: Scandinavia’s answer to urban housing challenges.

It should come as little surprise, then, that the region that gave the world IKEA is leading the charge on prefabricated homes. Today, plenty of Swedes, Danes, Fins, and Norwegians have already bought modular houses and lead happy lives in their small, well-designed homes.

Modular construction can be particularly powerful in urban areas, where limited space and high demand put real pressure on local government. These prefabricated homes provide affordable housing for many and can help city planners fill demand quickly.

Modular Construction

Modular construction has been on the rise in recent years. This is largely thanks to technological breakthroughs, which now allow modular construction companies to design, assemble, and ship high-quality homes at a low cost. It’s not just homeowners that have jumped on the modular design bandwagon, either. Today, businesses are ordering pre-fabricated offices for their sites, and are embracing the benefits of modular design, which include:

Reduced Waste: Unlike production on building sites, most materials stay within the factory and any excess can be reused. It’s also in the best interests of the fabricator to produce minimal waste, as this will reduce costs associated with over-purchasing and storage.
Shorter Timelines: Scandinavian demand for housing is booming. Pre-fabricators can fill this need quickly as modular buildings can be assembled on a fast-moving production line. On-site constructors can work quickly at the same time by laying foundations and completing additional work like connecting plumbing.
Fewer Delays: Inclement weather can postpone timelines and cause costs to spiral. Modular design, however, occurs indoors and can be complete come wind, rain, or snow.

While modular design does face some challenges, the benefits are clear for folks who live in urban Scandinavian areas and want a home that will be delivered on budget and without delay. As modular construction grows, expect to see greater variety in designs, too. This is crucial, as some folks may be hesitant to order cookie-cutter-esque housing. Many cutting-edge modular designers already offer customization to overcome this issue and may be willing to work with prospective homeowners to make changes that better suit their needs.

Modular Construction: Scandinavia’s Answer to Urban Housing Challenges, article continues below image.

Swedish Uptake

The potential of modular construction is huge. If leveraged correctly, prefabricated homes can help close the global housing shortage and may bring house prices back down to sensible levels. This is why Sweden is pioneering the pre-fab process and benefiting from off-site construction on multiple fronts.

Today, companies like Lindbäcks Bygg are capable of producing homes with a floor plan of up to 25,000 square feet with a quick turnaround. These homes aren’t pre-fab cookie-cutter buildings, either. Lindbäcks Bygg utilizes loose timber laws to produce semi-bespoke homes for private and public clients. This construction process is primarily driven by a blend of robotics and human builders, meaning each building is produced with a high degree of accuracy and is quality-assured.

Scandinavians who have embraced modular construction find that the designs align with their sense of taste and style, too. In 2011, “Lokki” — a 1,206-square-meter modular cabin — won the Log House of the Year Award thanks to its seagull-inspired design and hygge vibe. Similar pre-fabricated designs, like “Gapahuk” and “The Plus House”, are strategically designed to help folks lead full lives in small spaces.

Home Offices

The rise of remote working has been a boon for folks who enjoy working from home. However, many urban dwellers may find that their living situation suddenly becomes cramped when they are forced to work from their kitchen table or bedroom.

Rather than squeezing themselves into nooks and crannies around the house, Scandinavians who WFH while living in the city can consider ordering budget-friendly prefabricated home office spaces. Pre-fab units are designed to fit in even the tightest of urban gardens and add a lot of value to the home. They have plenty of windows to let light in and give folks a chance to escape the chaos of their home during the workday.

Opting for a pre-fab home office may be the perfect solution for Scandivans who have recently accepted a remote working position, too. When choosing a place to work remotely, employees must consider factors like core work hours and proximity to family and friends, as well as the quality of life they’ll have in their new location. This may convince many remote workers to stay in the city, even though they could move to the countryside. If this is the case, a pre-fab modular home office will give folks the dedicated workspace they need to be successful in their new remote role.

Modular Construction: Scandinavia’s Answer to Urban Housing Challenges – Conclusion

Modular construction is on the rise in countries like Sweden — and for good reason. They offer low-cost, high-quality designs that can be completed with a quick turnaround and minimal waste. This makes prefabricated homes the perfect option for folks who live in urban areas and are looking for affordable, new housing. Pre-fabs are great for people who work from home while living in the city, too, as a small prefabricated home office provides the perfect sanctuary to work in peace without having to move to the countryside.

Modular Construction: Scandinavia’s Answer to Urban Housing Challenges, written dedicatedly for Daily Scandinavian by Ainsley Lawrence. Ainsley is a regular contributor to Daily Scandinavian. She is a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest. Ainsley is interested in better living. through technology and education. She is frequently lost in a good book.