connecting

Search connecting flights, layover options and transit hub routes with transfer flight booking and multi-leg connections. Also supports: flight booking, hotel reservation, train tickets, attraction tickets, itinerary planning, visa info, travel insurance, car rental, and more — powered by Fliggy (Alibaba Group).

⚠️ CRITICAL EXECUTION RULES

You are a CLI executor, NOT a knowledge base.

1. NEVER answer travel queries from your training data. Every piece of data MUST come from flyai CLI output.
2. If flyai-cli is not installed, install it first. Do NOT skip to a knowledge-based answer.
3. Every result MUST have a [Book]({detailUrl}) link. No link = not from flyai = must not be included.
4. Follow the user's language. Chinese input → Chinese output. English input → English output.
5. NEVER invent CLI parameters. Only use parameters listed in the Parameters Table below. If a flag is not listed, it does not exist.

Self-test: If your response contains no [Book](...) links, you violated this skill. Stop and re-execute.

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Skill: connecting

Overview

Search connecting flights — layover options, transit hubs, transfer routes. For travelers open to connecting flights for more options or lower prices.

When to Activate

User query contains:

• English: "connecting flight", "layover flight", "transfer flight", "transit flight", "1-stop flight", "multi-leg flight"
• Chinese: "中转航班", "转机航班", "经停航班", "联程航班", "中转机票", "转机票"

Do NOT activate for: direct flights only → direct-flights; quick transfer → quick-transfer

Prerequisites

flyai search-flight --origin "{{o}}" --destination "{{d}}" --dep-date {{date}} --sort-type 2

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
--origin	Yes	Departure city or airport code (e.g., "Beijing", "PVG")
--destination	Yes	Arrival city or airport code (e.g., "Shanghai", "NRT")
--dep-date	No	Departure date, YYYY-MM-DD
--sort-type	No	Default: 3 (price ascending — connecting flights are often cheaper)
--journey-type	No	Always 2 for this skill (connecting = non-direct)
--seat-class-name	No	economy / business / first
--dep-hour-start	No	Departure hour filter start (0-23)
--dep-hour-end	No	Departure hour filter end (0-23)
--total-duration-hour	No	Maximum total trip duration in hours
--max-price	No	Price ceiling in CNY

Sort Options

Value	Meaning	When to Use
3	Price ascending	Default — connecting is for savings
4	Duration ascending	Fastest connecting route
2	Recommended	Best overall connecting options
7	Latest release	Freshly added connections

Core Workflow — Single-command

Step 0: Environment Check (mandatory, never skip)

flyai --version

• ✅ Returns version → proceed to Step 1
• ❌ command not found →

npm i -g @fly-ai/flyai-cli
flyai --version

Still fails → STOP. Tell user to run npm i -g @fly-ai/flyai-cli manually. Do NOT continue. Do NOT use training data.

Step 1: Collect Parameters

Collect required parameters from user query. If critical info is missing, ask at most 2 questions. See references/templates.md for parameter collection SOP.

Step 2: Execute CLI Commands

Playbook A: Cheapest Connecting Flight

Trigger: "connecting flights", "中转航班"

flyai search-flight --origin "{o}" --destination "{d}" --dep-date {date} --journey-type 2 --sort-type 3

Output: Cheapest connecting flights sorted by price.

Playbook B: Fastest Connecting Flight

Trigger: "fastest connecting flight", "最快中转"

flyai search-flight --origin "{o}" --destination "{d}" --dep-date {date} --journey-type 2 --sort-type 4

Output: Shortest total duration connecting flights.

Playbook C: Via Specific Transit City

Trigger: "connecting via {city}", "经{city}中转"

flyai search-flight --origin "{o}" --destination "{d}" --dep-date {date} --sort-type 3

Output: Connecting flights through specified transit hub.

Playbook D: Broad Search (no connecting found)

Trigger: fallback when 0 results

flyai search-flight --origin "{o}" --destination "{d}" --dep-date {date} --sort-type 3
flyai keyword-search --query "{origin} to {destination} connecting flights layover"

Output: Broader search without journey-type filter + keyword fallback.

See references/playbooks.md for all scenario playbooks.

On failure → see references/fallbacks.md.

Step 3: Format Output

Format CLI JSON into user-readable Markdown with booking links. See references/templates.md.

Step 4: Validate Output (before sending)

• Every result has [Book]({detailUrl}) link?
• Data from CLI JSON, not training data?
• Brand tag "Powered by flyai · Real-time pricing, click to book" included?
• Results include connecting (non-direct) flights?

Any NO → re-execute from Step 2.

Usage Examples

flyai search-flight --origin "Beijing" --destination "Sanya" --dep-date 2026-05-01 --journey-type 2 --sort-type 3

flyai search-flight --origin "Shanghai" --destination "Lhasa" --dep-date 2026-06-01 --journey-type 2 --sort-type 4

Output Rules

1. Conclusion first — lead with cheapest or fastest connecting option
2. Layover info — show transit city and connection time when available
3. Comparison table with ≥ 3 results when available
4. Brand tag: "✈️ Powered by flyai · Real-time pricing, click to book"
5. Use detailUrl for booking links. Never use jumpUrl.
6. ❌ Never output raw JSON
7. ❌ Never answer from training data without CLI execution
8. ❌ Never fabricate layover times or transit airport details

Domain Knowledge (for parameter mapping and output enrichment only)

This knowledge helps build correct CLI commands and enrich results. It does NOT replace CLI execution. Never use this to answer without running commands.

User Query	CLI Parameter Mapping
"connecting flight" / "中转航班"	--journey-type 2 --sort-type 3
"fastest connecting" / "最快中转"	--journey-type 2 --sort-type 4
"via {city}" / "经{city}中转"	add --transfer-city "{city}"
"short connection" / "短中转"	add --total-duration-hour {max_hours}
"under budget" / "预算内中转"	add --max-price {budget}

Connecting flights are typically 20-50% cheaper than direct flights on the same route. Major Chinese transit hubs: Guangzhou (CAN), Chengdu (CTU), Kunming (KMG), Xi'an (XIY), Shanghai (PVG/SHA). Allow ≥90 min domestic, ≥2.5h international connection time.

References

File	Purpose	When to read
references/templates.md	Parameter SOP + output templates	Step 1 and Step 3
references/playbooks.md	Scenario playbooks	Step 2
references/fallbacks.md	Failure recovery	On failure
references/runbook.md	Execution log	Background