What is an Open-Jaw Flight?

Are you planning your journey to explore the different places around the world? But you have a lot of stress about the booking, budget, and of course, the flight layover, right? Well, in such a case, you need not get worried because open-jaw flights would be the right choice for you in any way! Indeed, you must be getting confused about What is an open-Jaw flight is and how that would make your journey convenient? 

Open-jaw flights would be a boon to your round-trip journeys, allowing you to fly one city and depart from another. But, there is a lot more for you to acknowledge about the concept of these flights, and for that, you need to have a look at the following travel guide. So, keep reading till the end and jot down all the necessary information for your ease to book an open-jaw- jaw ticket, and here we go!

An Overview of Open-Jaw Flights 

In simple and short words, the open-jaw flights are referred to as airline return bookings finalised by the flyers. In this, the original city and the final city are quite different, making your journey easy. For clarity, understand that a return flight for Los Angeles International Airport and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. But in case of the different cities on the return leg, this would become an open-jaw journey. In fact, the term “open-jaw” refers to the illustration of the routes on a map. 

Types of Open-Jaw Reservations

With a slight idea about the open-jaw flights, the next thing you need to know is about is it types. There are typically three types of open-jaw bookings, and they are as follows: 

  1. Destination Open- Jaw Bookings: The type of reservation allows you to fly from one airport to another airport, but you will have to return to the origin from one of the different cities. For example, the outbound flight to New York JFK from London would be possible only if you return to London from Chicago. 
  1. Origin Open- Jaw Bookings: An origin ticket, lets a passenger to fly from one city to the other city, but rather the flying back to the origin, they have to fly to some other city. For instance, the flight from London to New York JFK would make you return to Paris from JFK and not land back in London. 
  1. Double Open-Jaw Bookings: With double bookings, your origin and destination points would be different in both directions. Consider an outbound flight from London to New York and a return from Chicago to Paris, at two different fare charges. 

Know the Open-Jaw Booking Procedure 

You need to know that finalising a ticket is not a mountain to climb. In fact, in the following steps, you will get the right pictures about how to book open-Jaw flights. In fact, everything will be like a piece of cake for you if you learn about this booking process:

  1. Choose the Multi-City Options: When you search for flights on an airline website, make sure to pick the multi-city ones, rather than going for standard round-trip or one- way flights. 
  1. Input the Destinations: Enter the details about your departure city and the final destination for the first leg of your flight. The next thing to do is provide information about the departure city for the return, which would be different from the initial one. 
  1. Compare Fares: Furthermore, you should provide your travel schedules and the cities to get a list of the fares for a quick comparison. This is in fact the best idea to check whether your booking for two one- way trip would be cheaper than an open-jaw ticket, though this is not possible always. 
  1. Inquire About Additional Charges: The next step is to check for all the additional costs or restrictions, because most of the airlines have additional costs for the itineraries. 
  1. Finalise your Tickets: once you find out everything suitable to your travel requirements, then proceed with the proceedings right away, to lock your flight. 

Why Open-Jaw Flights?

The only and most important thing for you to note is that while flying from different airports within the same city, you should never consider open-jaw flights. Though this is something vital for your understand, yet understand that there are countless open Jaw flights benefits. Some of them are as follows: 

  1. Booking Availability: With the prices, the ticket availability might be highly impacted on different routes. One of the route tickets might be sold out for the particular date you wish to book your flight. But you still have the option for flights from a nearby alternative city for bookings. However, this is something particular with the business routes or the peak travel routes. 
  1. Saves Money: If you fly into one destination and out of the other city, then you have the privilege to save your money and time. Rather than booking an additional flight or spending hours on land travel, it is good to be back at your origin destination. 
  1. Explore Different Destinations: If you are a travel enthusiast, then nothing would be better for you than exploring more places with open-jaw tickets. These flights allow you to explore multiple cities or even countries without any backtrack. 
  1. Flexible Planning: Another important benefit of open-jaw flights is their flexibility. If you are flying for business or leisure, or want to plan a customised itinerary for your travel, then, open-jaw- jaw reservation would help you to tailor your journey according to your preferences. 

Do Open-Jaw Bookings Cost More?

 Maybe now your mind is occupied with the question are Open-Jaw Flights More Expensive? Well, this is something common perception with every flyer considering open-jaw flight over ordinary ones. However, there is nothing alot that would justify this, because the final charges are dependent on different factors, like destinations, the airlines and the booking timing. 

Aspects Impacting Open-Jaw Fares

Like you know, there is a specific set of factors that somehow impact everything going around. Likewise, you should be aware of some of these aspects that influence the open-jaw bookings, and they are as follows: 

  1. City Popularity: You might not be able to seek a price difference compared to a round trip booking, if in case your open-jaw itinerary includes famous and well-connected destinations. Yet, the final cost might be higher if your destinations are less common or include long layover flights. 
  1. Airline Guidelines: There are airlines that would charge an additional premium for open-jaw bookings, while others might offer fair and competitive pricing similar to the round-trip bookings. Still what would be better is to compare the fares between the multiple airlines. 
  1. Time of Reservations: Recall that last-minute ticketing would be expensive for the open-jaw flights. Therefore, you must book your tickets in advanced to stay safe and save money. 

Final Words 

With this, here comes an end to this short travel guide about the open-jaw flights. No doubt, confirming tickets for an open-jaw plane would be quite exciting and a worthwhile way to explore your bucket list destinations. Indeed, it does offer an exceptional flexibility that allows them to fly one stop and depart from the other. In short, the flight open-jaw flights make your journey safer, especially for the multi-city trips and complex itineraries. So, save your time and choose a wider air travel experience with open-jaw tickets. Hope that by now you have gathered the right insights about these flights. Still, if you have any doubts or queries, feel free to ask the travel personnel. Bon voyage, have a safe flight, and enjoy your journey! 

Common Qs & As

What is the meaning of an open-jaw flight reservation?

The open-jaw flight ticket allows the passengers to fly from one city and depart from the other. This booking is quite flexible if you would like to explore different destinations without getting back to the arrival station. 

Can I travel on different airlines with an open-jaw booking?

Yes, you can! This reservation type allows you to book flights with different airlines, leading to cheaper fares. But yes, you need to check for the potential airfare charges and other convenience.

When should I book my open-jaw flight?

To grab the best prices on open-jaw flights, you should try to book your flights at least two to three months earlier for the optimal fares. 

What should I do if my open-jaw flight has a long layover?

If in case, you have a prolonged layover flight, then try to explore the connecting city or rather buy a short-term accommodation to relax. 

Can we book an open-jaw- jaw flight with frequent flyer Miles?

The passengers can use Frequent Flyer Miles to buy open-jaw flight tickets. In fact, this is one of the best ways of maximising the value of the miles while locking in excellent privileges, 

What should I do if my open-jaw flight gets delayed or cancelled? 

If in case your open-jaw flight is cancelled or delayed, then you are subject to seeking compensation according to the EU Regulation EC 261 guidelines. 

What are the types of open-jaw flights available?

There are three types of open-jaw flights and they are namely destination open- jaw flights, origin open- jaw flights, and double open- jaw flights. 

Why should I book open-jaw flights?

Open-jaw flights save you money and allow you to roam freely to explore different cities and countries. 

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