Open-Jaw Flight Planning

The vast majority of travelers scheduling a vacation book round-trip flights. These flights depart from and arrive at the same set of airports which makes sense for a wide variety of vacations. However, there are alternate flight booking options that can provide added benefits to a vacation that moves around a country. Open-jaw flights, also known as multi-city flights, are an excellent way for travelers to save time, money, and hassle when planning a trip. The following will run through a variety of topics about open-jaw flight planning including what they are, how to book them, when you might not want to book them, and how they can be an invaluable resource.

What is an Open-Jaw Flight?

Open-jaw flights offer flexibility and customization that is simply not possible with a round-trip flight. With an open-jaw flight, travelers can choose their departure and arrival cities independently. This means they can design their itinerary to suit their needs and preferences. For example, a traveler might choose to fly from New York to London, spend a few days in the UK, then travel by train to Paris and fly home from there. This flexibility allows travelers to create personalized itineraries that meet their unique needs and interests. Open-jaw flights can fly into or out of different airports in the same country or different countries. I frequenty use open-jaw flights when planning vacations (such as the 10 Day Taste of Columbia Itinerary).

How to Book an Open-Jaw Flight

There are two ways to book an open-jaw flight. These options are dependent on your travel situation and how important the tradeoff between flexibility and cost is to you.

The first option is to book two one-way flights. Because the flights only go in one direction, it should be obvious that you can pick any origin and destination city that you want. This is the easiest way to build an open-jaw flight. For some airlines, round-trip flights are the cost of the combination of the one-way flights that make it up. However, not all airlines price this way. There are many airlines that price a round-trip ticket less or jack up the cost of the one-way flight. This is something to check prior to booking two one-way tickets.

The second option is to book a multi-city ticket. This provides the opportunity to book a plane ticket to any number of city pairs and put them together in a single flight confirmation. This requires a little more work since it’s less obvious what the ticketing rules will be with each airline and how much the ticket will cost. However, this sometimes works to the traveler’s advantage by avoiding the surcharge that can often come with one-way flights. The other benefit of this type of ticket is that it is all in one itinerary avoiding some problems that occur in irregular operations.

Benefits of Open-Jaw Flights

Flexibility

The first benefit of an open-jaw flight is the flexibility it provides. Being able to fly into one airport and out of another during a vacation allows numerous opportunities when itinerary planning. Open-jaw flights are ideal for travelers who want to maximize their time in a particular region or country. For example, a traveler could fly into Bangkok, travel overland to Hanoi, and then fly home from there. This type of itinerary allows the traveler to make the most of their time in Southeast Asia, without wasting time and money backtracking or taking unnecessary flights. An open-jaw flight essentially gives travelers an extra day of vacation that would have otherwise been spent traveling back to the original city of origin.

Cost

Another advantage of open-jaw flights is that they can be more cost-effective than traditional round-trip flights. In some cases, booking an open-jaw flight can allow a traveler to fly into/out of certain airports when they are the cheapest. Additionally, by choosing different departure and arrival cities, travelers can avoid backtracking or taking unnecessary connecting flights, which adds extra time and expense to their trip. However, open-jaw flights aren’t always the cheapest option (see more in the “Disadvantages of Open-Jaw Flights” section below).

Travel Experience

In addition to the time and cost advantages, open-jaw flights can also enhance the overall travel experience. For many travelers, the journey is just as important as the destination. Open-jaw flights can reduce the time spent driving in a car or on a train. These flights also grant the opportunity to see new cities and airports. By choosing to travel to multiple destinations on the same trip, travelers can experience a wider range of cultures, cuisines, and landscapes, which can lead to deeper insights and more meaningful travel experiences.

Disadvantages of Open-Jaw Flights

While there can be a number of upsides to open-jaw flights, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There are drawbacks to this type of travel in some situations.

• Cost – Sometimes two one-way or multi-city tickets can be more expensive than the round-trip tickets to the same city pairs.
• One-Way Rental Car – If you are renting a car, rental car agencies often add a one-way destination fee if you pick up the car in one location and drop it off in another location. Some rental car agencies will also restrict travelers from doing that or restrict the car classes. Check to make sure that these additional hassles and costs are worth it.
• Different Record Locators – When you have different record locators, they are considered two different flights. This means you don’t have travel protections for the later flight if something happens on the earlier flight. For example, if your flight from New York to Paris is cancelled, you would not be able to get another flight within your travel timeline. The return flight from Nice to New York won’t be refunded to you based on the previous cancellation. Therefore, you are on the hook for whatever the normal cancellation policy is. Also, if you make changes to your overall itinerary, you are on the hook for multiple change fees when you have different record locators.