A guide like this for South Korea's Incheon airport (ICN) be pretty valuable.

I guess not an international flight? Normally a 24-hour delay gets you a hotel room.

Historically I've found sleepinginairports.net useful for this kind of intel—I was pleased to discover just now that it's still around! Nearly 20 years ago now it saved me from a night of awful sleep. My backpacking buddy and I had just arrived in Liverpool with an early Ryanair flight out the following morning, and no hostel reservations. We'd been traveling successfully without reservations for a bit, but it turned out there was some kind of event that weekend in Liverpool and there was absolutely nowhere to stay (or at least, nothing that cost less than, like, the budget for our entire trip).

We decided we'd just stay out late, then go to the airport and wait it out for our flight. After some effort trying to sleep on hard plastic benches in the airport Burger King (where Michael Jackson's Thriller was playing loudly on repeat, I do not know why), I pulled out my 12" PowerBook and found out via that site that the airport had a meditation room with dim lighting, soft carpet, and no Michael Jackson. Ahh.

The reason I don't fly anymore is because I can't stand airports. So called hostile architecture and sometimes hostile staff. This article confirms my bias. Nowhere appropriate to rest without noise, terrible lighting and hard surfaces.

My main memory of LAX was being accosted by Hare Krishnas.

Freaking airports are not designed for humans.

I ended up at LAX 5 am for an 8 am flight. nobody in the whole airport, no TSA nothing until 6 am.

i took a very uncomfortable nap on the floor that day.

I had a flight delayed (or cancelled, can't remember) once in LAX. They lead us to a lounge area nearby that had cabinets filled with cots. I was given a cot and a blanket and slept OK. Had no idea this was a thing.

In USSR (and early 90-s Russia) airports, train stations, theaters had that you'd call VIP lounges - those intended VIPs were the high Party and government bureaucrats and the likes. While general population halls were crowded those lounges would usually be empty or almost so and they would have comfortable (soft) furniture, well stocked cafe/bar, much cleaner restrooms, etc. And in many cases nobody would even guard entry and check you for whether you're a such VIP. So, i'd just go in and was never kicked out :) And while Party bozos were of no interest to me, it was interesting to mingle with top Soviet theater/movie actors at one such new theater show opening that bunch of them attended to.

Why isn't there "capsule hotel" businesses in airports? Is it security concerns or something about dealing with mostly non-japanese culture people?

> My 11:30 pm connecting flight out of Los Angeles International Airport was delayed by 24 hours, forcing me to rest in the airport.

If you ever find yourself in this position, just leave the airport and get a motel room. The US doesn't even have exit immigration, so it's not like they were stuck on the wrong side with a used visa.

The OP's About page notes that they're currently unemployed and living off savings, so I'll cut them some slack, although I'm not entirely sure how that's compatible with international travel from New Zealand to the US.

I also find it incredible that the airline can just delay a flight by 24 hours and offer no compensation or accommodation whatsoever, since in most of the world this would absolutely not, ahem, fly.

You sort of have to plan ahead for this now. If you’re not careful, your belongings will get pinched. If you wear an inner jacket with pockets, though, you can safely stash your goods and conk out. Even better if it’s just a reversible jacket. Luggage is harder but as long as it’s locked, you can usually just tie it to yourself and be safe enough.

It would be cool if they installed sleep pods like they have in Japan -- design it to be low maintenance and require a credit card to book with a refundable hold of a big enough deposit in case you defile it.

Your website takes me back to the days of Geocities hosting, Dreamweaver, and FrontPage 98. Nostalgia level went up.

There's a small airbnb outfit near the Houston airport that rents for 12 hours at a time with free ride to and from the airport. They cater to the layover crowd. It's very economical. I've not seen it elsewhere.

If you have trip insurance and your sleeping over is "an act of god", you have a high chance of qualifying for one of the in-airport bed businesses. It's been a few years so I forget the name, but an actual bed is really amazing. I can't remember what it would have cost us, but I do recall was on the very edge of what I would have considered paying myself - so worth looking at even if your layover was planned.

The sleepwear in First Class is by far the most bizarre thing about the whole experience.

I've never understood why First and Business Class that are so clearly mainly used by people travelling for work don't focus more on the business aspect. British Airways call it "Club" which I'm sure can only make it harder to be approved by finance. American call it "First".

In the main lounges provided by American Airlines there is often a person whose job it is to provide unlimited champagne but not a comfortable place to respond to emails.

Has Steve Wallis stealth camped in LAX yet? Good concept for an episode.

We recently flew overseas and a "klymit"-style sleeping pad came in very handy.

Very small and lightweight. Takes the edge off of a hard floor.

Man i love the idea of this sort of thing. Surviving in civilization but in a more natural/primal manner. Ive heard it be called urban camping or stealth camping. A youtuber i watch who also scratches that itch is steve wallis, who recently made a little fort under an overpass, compelte with little tv and stove and stuff

I think its a deep disillusionment with society that makes this attractive. Same reason i fantasize about having an isolated homestead, or being stranded on an island and thriving, or why i like being up at night when everyone else is asleep. A simple escape from society and its slings and arrows

After traveling the globe for money and pleasure, I’ve reluctantly come to the realization that paying real money for real convenience when it comes to airfare is the best strategy. Suffering and inconvenience will come for you regardless of status or itinerary. Don’t make suffering a part of the plan unless you don’t have a choice.

I always bring a hoodie or jacket on the plane with me and wear pants when flying even when it's warm (it's air-conditioned in airports and planes) so I have pads and warmth when needed. It's often looped through my backpack arm strap. Also earplugs and noise canceling headphones/earbuds. My backpack has a nice pad in the back. He'd have been infinitely more comfortable if he had any of these things. And hell a book or something.

With the armrests you can kinda double wedge yourself on them. I got 2 decent hours in the lima airport doing this. They had the similar double seat with no armrest setup.

I got to ORD at 4am for a 7am flight and purposfully fell asleep on the ground in front of the check in desk figuring they'd wake me up. Eventually they did. The attendant woke me up and said "do you happen to be on this flight". I pointed at the first class ticket hanging out of my shirt pocket. "Good thing I checked we're closing the door now". I was like "I figured you'd maybe wake up the person in front of the desk I've been up for 38 hours." "oh you were sleeping I didn't want to bother you".

The entire flight had boarded and just walked around me. I was OUT.

Le Sigh.

Denver! The relaxation lounges 1 floor above the actual concourses! Actual fully length loungers, pod chairs and more. Signs calling for silence or at least deep quiet.

The biggest problem? You might fall so deeply asleep you miss your actual flight, no matter how much it is delayed by.

Every airport should have these.

Many years ago, I had to fly from Atlanta back home, with a red-eye flight at midnight.

I normally can’t sleep on planes, but I did have lounge access and the lounge offered unlimited whiskey shots, and it’s not like I had to work the next day, so my brilliant idea was that I would get drunk enough so that I could sleep on the plane.

By 11:45pm I am pretty toasted, so I make my way to the gate. About a minute after I arrive, they make an announcement that my flight has been delayed nine hours, so not until 9am the next morning. So here I am, with a backpack, getting progressively drunker as more alcohol is being digested in my gut, and having no idea what to do for the next nine hours.

All the lounges were closed, and I was uncomfortable sleeping in public because I was afraid someone would steal my laptop out of my bag, so for the next nine hours, I drunkenly cabotaged the entire Atlanta airport I don’t know how many times. I would walk around one terminal, then get on the little underground train and do it again, repeated for the next nine hours, with a 45 minute break to puke.

I don’t drink at all anymore and that event is a not-insignificant reason as to why.