Crew guides · Crew life
What makes a good crew spot: what pilots and cabin crew look for
Close, open at odd hours, quick, fair price, right for one or a group and a walk worth doing: what crew look for on a layover and how On Chocks records it.
Updated 29 October 2026
A good layover spot suits a person who may be tired, hungry at the wrong hour and short of time. On On Chocks, crew who recommend a place pick from a fixed list of tags. The list shows which qualities matter on a layover.
Close to where you are
A layover gives you hours, not days, so distance decides a lot. Each spot page shows the walk time, worked out on your phone. A spot a short walk away fits a short layover better than a great one across the city.
Open at your hour
Crew eat and exercise at odd times, and a place that opens when the rest of the street is shut earns its pin. On Chocks has tags for this: Late night for food and drink, Early opener for coffee and Open late for wellness places and essentials. Opening hours show in the city's local time, and the Open now filter hides what is closed.
Quick
Sometimes you have 30 minutes between a nap and a pickup. The Quick tag marks places that serve fast, and Under an hour marks things to do that will not swallow the afternoon.
A fair price
Crew can add a price level from one dollar sign to four, and a tag such as Cheap or Good value. Some spots also list a crew discount, and you can filter for them.
Right size for one or a group
Some places suit a table of six, and others suit one person with a book. Good for groups, Quiet and Seats inside tell you which. A booking tip says Walk in, Book ahead or Book on busy nights, so you do not turn up with a group and no table.
A walk worth doing
Crew also recommend places that are not food. Worth the walk, Good walk, Views and Shade are tags for the outing that justifies the effort, and the Do category has kinds for walks and runs, markets, sights and beaches. Our guide to staying active on a layover covers the exercise side.
How a spot earns its pin
Pilots and cabin crew add each spot and back it with the Recommend button. The app carries no paid listings and no scraped reviews. A person who recommends a spot can pick up to three tags, a price level and a booking tip, and add a line about the place. Other crew see that line with the writer's nickname, role and the quarter of the year it was posted. The app keeps airlines private and refuses hotels as spots.
Each recommendation is one person's view of one visit. Check the hours, read the lines and look at how many crew recommend a place. If something looks wrong, report the spot or the quote from its page.
Using it on the day
Pick one anchor, check that it is open, and leave time to get back. Our guides on planning a short layover and how crew share layover tips show how that works. If you land late, late-night food after a late arrival covers that case.
On Chocks shows the spots crew recommend near you and what is open now, so you can match a place to your hour and your energy.