Here's What an 'Open Jaw' Flight Is and How to Book It
Want to take a multi-city trip this summer? This booking strategy could come in clutch.
The summer travel season has finally arrived in all its glory, and all signs point to it being an especially busy one. No matter where you're heading, there's a certain level of planing involved in getting away, but some trips come with an additional layer of pre-planning that can get a bit overwhelming—especially as the costs start to add up in this economy.
This is especially the case if you're looking to have a European Summer this year. While the concept is pretty simple, bringing the plan to life can be a little more complicated. Say you want to dawdle down the coast of Italy, starting in a northern city like Venice, and ending up in Portofino. All is well, except with the eight days you have to spend on your trip, you'll have to spend one day taking the train from the south of Italy back up north. It can be a huge crunch on your time and your budget.
An alternative is booking what is known as an open jaw flight. You book a flight into one city and out of another so that you don't have to spend time traveling back to your original city before leaving. This means you could book a flight from NYC to Venice, and then a flight out of Naples into NYC. It's called an open jaw flight because it is kind of like an open mouth when the route is drawn on a map.
Travel experts over at Going identified two main benefits to consider this option when making your travel plans: you'll save both time and money.
"An open-jaw flight gives you the option to see more than one destination in a single trip without having to backtrack to your initial destination before heading home," a representative from Going shared with Thrillist.
In terms of saving money, a common misconception is that multi-city bookings can cost travelers more money than circular round trips.
"Open-jaw flights can often be cheaper than traditional there-and-back itineraries. And specifically when traveling internationally, open-jaw itineraries are pretty consistently cheaper than two one-way flights," the Going rep explained. In addition to cheaper flight fares, you will also be able to save on ground transportation, which can add up quickly when you are traversing long distances.
How to book an open jaw flight
Believe us when we tell you that booking one of these (usually cheaper!) flights is much easier than you think.
To book an open jaw flight, you can use the multi-city booking feature on platforms like Google Flights or even Expedia. From there, you can experiment to see which options for flights are cheaper, and even consider adjusting the jaws of your flights to different cities to try and find the best prices.
Remember that while the term open jaw flight alludes to a three-city trip, you can always make your itinerary longer and save money. Simply add a flight to your multi city search and play around with the platform to see which dates and airports are cheaper, and built your trip from there. Additionally, if the direction of your travels doesn't really matter (especially if you have more than three cities to hit on your trip), it's always good practice to check flight prices both ways. For example, if you're planning to travel from Barcelona to Rome but you still don't know which one you want to visit first, you should always check flight prices from Rome to Barcelona as well—they might be cheaper!
If you need more information, Going.com has a complete guide to booking open jaw flights.
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