what is open jaw journey

The Booking Trick to Save You Money on International Flights

By Jessica Puckett

With the state of air travel this summer— constant delays and expensive airfares—any small booking tip to save time or money can make a big difference.

One such trick is booking open jaw flights. An open jaw flight is a different type of round-trip itinerary that includes multiple cities for the destination and city of origin. They can be helpful when planning expensive international trips (especially to regions that are seasonally popular with tourists, like Europe or Asia) or when you’d rather end your trip in a different city than where you began. The good news is that if you know what you’re doing, open jaw flights are incredibly easy to book.

Here’s everything you need to know about open jaw flights, from how to book them online to the best ways to use them to save time and money on your next big vacation .

What exactly are open jaw flights?

Open jaw flights are itineraries in which you continue on to a different city than where your trip originated. For example, if you flew from New York to Rome , instead of returning to New York, you might continue on to Paris before looping back to New York. (As opposed to a regular round-trip flight, where you would go right back to New York.)

It’s important to note that the leg of the trip to the second destination—from Rome to Paris in our example—is not part of the flight itinerary. That would be a slightly different booking maneuver called a multi-city flight. Instead, travelers generally take a different mode of transportation on that segment of the journey, like a train , bus, or car.

How can open jaw flights save time and money?

As with all plane tickets, the price of open jaw flights depends on a multitude of variables, including the time of year you plan to travel, how far out you book, and the destination. But it’s possible to find more affordable flights, especially internationally, using the booking method.

They’re almost always cheaper than booking two one-way flights abroad, according to flight deal site Going , and can often be less expensive than a regular round-trip. “While researching a trip over to Europe for this summer, I saved over a hundred dollars by flying out of Dublin instead of London (where I’m flying into),” says Katy Nastro, a travel expert for Going. “Now, instead of rushing back to London, I can explore a bit of Dublin before heading home, offering another city to my itinerary without additional cost.”

Flying into a smaller regional airport on one leg of the trip is a good way to save money using open jaw flights. For instance, if you were flying from New York JFK to Reykjavik , there could be a cheaper return flight available if you’re willing to detour a bit and fly into New York Stewart airport on your way home. While this might be a more time-consuming option, it could be a good idea for travelers with more flexibility who are looking for a deal.

However, it’s also possible to use the technique to save time on a vacation, too. "One of the most significant advantages of booking an open jaw flight is it affords you more time to explore," says Nastro. Say you’re traveling from LA to Japan and want to see several cities in the country. You could depart LAX to Tokyo and fly home from Osaka to LAX without losing time schlepping back to Tokyo from Osaka.

How do you book open jaw flights?

It’s easy to book open jaw flights using most online flight search engines. When you input your travel information into the search fields, instead of selecting a round-trip or one-way flight, choose the third option: multi-city flight. This will automatically load additional destination search fields. Simply input the four cities you wish to fly from in the correct order and search as normal. (Using the Japan example, you would input departing from LAX, arriving at Tokyo; in the next row, you would input departing from Osaka, arriving at LAX.)

From there, you can comb through the results and see if the booking trick works for your schedule and budget constraints. Remember to play around with the dates you fly on, as some days of the week can be cheaper than others. But whether you plan to fly during a peak season or holiday, open jaw flights should help find much-needed affordability and flexibility.

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Simple Flying

What are open jaw flights & how do you book one.

Open jaw flights have several advantages, but can be tricky to find.

Open-jaw flights are those where the origin or destination city is different on the return leg of a journey.
They offer flexibility and can save time and money by allowing travelers to fly into one city and return from another.
Open-jaw flights are booked as part of the same ticket to ensure protection in case of delays or disruptions.

When planning trips for business or leisure, many individuals and organizations spend a lot of time looking for the best deals on flights to cut down on things like costs and traveling time. Luckily, many airlines offer flexible ticketing options, like the so-called open-jaw flights. This is in addition to the more common one-way and return tickets.

Open-jaw flights sometimes allow greater convenience and flexibility but can be harder to find than the more straightforward options. Let us look at what they are and how they can be booked.

What is an open-jaw flight?

An open-jaw flight or ticket is simply an airline return ticket booked by a passenger where the origin and/or destination cities are different. For example, a simple return flight could be between Los Angeles International (LAX) and New York John F Kennedy (JFK) . If either of these cities are different on the return leg, it becomes an open jaw. The term "open jaw" derives from how the routes are illustrated on a map.

There are three types of open-jaw flights: destination, origin, and double open-jaw. With the destination open-jaw, a passenger flies from one airport to another but returns to their origin from a different city. With the origin open-jaw, a passenger would fly from one city to another, but instead of returning to the origin, they would fly to a different city. With the double, the origin and destination airports would be different in both directions. Here are a few examples:

Destination open-jaw: An outbound flight from London to New York JFK, returning from Chicago to London.
Origin open-jaw: An outbound flight from London to New York JFK, returning from JFK to Paris instead of London.
Double open-jaw: An outbound flight from London to New York and a return from Chicago to Paris. This may involve two separate fares.

Advantages of open jaw flights

It is important to note that flying to or from different airports in the same city is not considered an open-jaw flight. So, for example, an outbound flight from London Heathrow to JFK returning from JFK to London Gatwick (LGW) does not count.

However, if you consider booking an open-jaw flight, several advantages exist. Here are some of them:

Flexibility: Most obviously, they allow for more flexible travel. Open-jaw flights could save time or add more destinations to a trip (for a similar price). If your travels take you from one place to another, there is no need to return to the same airport.
Cheaper fares: The ticket may be cheaper. It will be no surprise that airlines price tickets to different cities differently. By selecting a cheaper origin or destination, an open-jaw ticket could be cheaper than a standard return ticket. Of course, there is no guarantee of this and no set formula. It could also be more expensive, but it is worth experimenting with some options if you want to save money.
Ticket availability: The availability of tickets could be better. As with prices, the ticket availability on different routes can vary significantly. One route may be sold out for the dates you want (or priced highly), but flights from a nearby alternative city may be available. This is particularly the case with busy business routes or peak-time tourist routes.

How Airline Ticket Pricing Works

How to book open-jaw flights.

Open-jaw flights are booked as part of the same single ticket. If not, the journey would consist of two one-way tickets. Having all flights as part of the same itinerary gives protection in case of delays or disruption. If the flights were instead booked as separate one-ways, the airline would likely not offer any assistance, cancelation, or rebooking options if one of the legs was disrupted. These days, this is more important than ever.

Open-jaw flights can often be booked directly with the airline on its website by clicking the "multi-city" or "multiple destinations" options. However, multi-city flights may sometimes include flights between cities , whereas open-jaw flights do not. Alternatively, you can use an online travel agent or flight search engine to find flights.

While prices may differ from site to site , many platforms like Google Flights are suitable for searching for these tickets and usually return more options than an airline search engine. Of course, you can always try to find the same flights directly with an airline when you are ready to book. Additionally, the search functionality on an airline website may not be as good as with a flight search engine. Good search options can help to find better open-jaw options. You can often include nearby airports in a search or sometimes search for destinations flexibly with a map interface.

Do you often book open-jaw tickets? Would you like to share some experiences or discuss them in more detail? Feel free to do so in the comment section.

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Open-jaw Flights: What They Are and Why You Might Want to Book Them

Booking an open-jaw flight could help you save money on your next trip — what to know.

Harrison Pierce is a freelance writer and digital nomad passionate about personal finance and travel. He is traveling full-time with the help of points and miles and enjoys connecting with people on the ground. His work has been published in Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, USA Today Blueprint, Matador Network, and other publications.

What are open-jaw flights, and how do they work?

Open-jaw vs. multi-city flights.

Benefits of Booking an Open-jaw Flight

How to Book Open-jaw Flights

Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images

Airfare is expensive, and there’s no way around it. Or is there? If you’re looking for a creative way to save money on holiday travel, or you’re already prepping for summer 2024, you should consider booking an open-jaw flight. These flights allow much more flexibility in your trip and are a great way to cut costs while seeing the world. I spoke with a representative from Expedia to discover just how open-jaw flights can revolutionize the way we travel.

On a standard round-trip flight, you fly from your city of origin to your destination and back. You might fly from Atlanta to San Francisco, enjoy a few days in the city, and return from San Francisco back to Atlanta. An open-jaw flight is when you go from your origin to a destination, move to a different destination, and then return from your second (or third or fourth) stop back to your origin. Using this same example, you could fly from Atlanta to San Francisco, take a road trip along the coast to Los Angeles, and then fly from Los Angeles back to Atlanta. Open-jaw flights might be on the same airline, or they could be two one-way tickets on different airlines.

Related: The Best Time to Book a Flight for Domestic, International, and Summer Travel

Mariah Tyler/Travel + Leisure

“Open-jaw flights are a type of multi-city flight where a traveler books a return flight from a different destination than the one they originally flew into, but returns to the same ‘home’ airport,” says Expedia. “It usually means the traveler will take an alternate form of transportation between two of their destinations, such as a train, car, boat, etc.”

The biggest distinction between an open-jaw flight and a multi-city flight is that you’re not booking one-way plane tickets throughout your journey. “There are other kinds of multi-city flights, where the traveler flies to each destination on their journey, such as NYC > London, London > Paris, Paris > NYC, or where they book a series of one-way flights and don’t return to a “home” airport,” says Expedia. Both open-jaw and multi-city flights are fantastic ways to save time and money.

Benefits of Booking an Open-jaw Flight

There are several reasons why booking an open-jaw flight can make sense. To start, you can save a good chunk of money. Open-jaw flights are especially beneficial if you go somewhere widely serviced by train. If you’re traveling from the U.S. to Europe and want to hit major cities like Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Berlin, it makes little sense to pay for a round-trip ticket from the U.S. to Paris. This means you’ll have to start and end your trip in the same city, which can quickly become expensive and time-consuming. It’s much easier to fly back to the U.S. from Berlin than it is to fly from Berlin back to Paris and then back to the U.S. Not only are you able to see more cities, but you’re saving on your transatlantic ticket and the travel within Europe.

“Booking open-jaw or multi-city flights can sometimes yield savings because you have more flexibility in your trip in terms of departure airports, routes, and carriers,” says Expedia. “It can also be a great way to build more flexibility and spontaneity into your trip, allowing you to explore more destinations during your trip.”

Ultimately, saving money, increasing flexibility, and planning an excellent itinerary are all reasons to book an open-jaw flight. Even if you don’t want to visit multiple cities, you can implement the open-jaw model when traveling to larger cities with multiple airports. I went to New York in September and found it was much cheaper to fly into John F. Kennedy International Airport and out of LaGuardia Airport – both on Delta.

Related: How to Book a Flight to Get the Best Deals

Artur Debat/Getty Images

To book an open-jaw flight, you’ll need an idea of where you want to end up on your trip. If you’re flying from New York to Paris, think of all the cities you can reach from Paris by train. Maybe you want to go to Brussels and Amsterdam and book your return from the Amsterdam (AMS) airport. Or, head south and fly back through Geneva, an easy train ride away.

Once you have this tentative route, you can use search engines, like Expedia or Google Flights , to see your options. You’ll select “multi-city” instead of round-trip and enter your origin and destination for each route.

“Expedia is the perfect place to book this type of itinerary because of the breadth of options and ability to pair flights on different airlines to find the optimal itinerary and price for your trip,” explains Expedia. “Travelers can choose from more than 500 airlines and compare routes, prices, and availability and then build the perfect itinerary to meet their needs.”

Of course, if you book with an airline, the open-jaw savings can also apply to mileage redemptions, not just cash.

Open-jaw flights can work for anyone and any itinerary, but it takes slightly more planning than booking a traditional round-trip ticket. The payoff is worth the effort; every little bit saved can go toward your next trip.

Multi-City Itineraries? Yes, Please! What to Know About Open-Jaw Flights

This blog post was updated on February 28, 2024.

Just because you fly into one airport doesn’t mean you have to flight out of it as well, right?

That’s the essence of open-jaw flights, which represent an intriguing option for the modern traveler, offering a way to tailor trips that defy the standard round-trip itinerary. Imagine flying into the bustling streets of Paris, weaving through its famous museums and cafés, then returning from your journey from the vibrant city of Rome. Open-jaw travel allows you to land in one city and depart from another, without the need to backtrack to your original starting point.

This travel strategy is not only perfect for those looking to immerse themselves in diverse landscapes within a single trip but also offers practical advantages. For example, if you’re attending a conference in one city and then have plans to visit friends or family in another, open-jaw flights can save you both time and money, eliminating unnecessary travel back to your initial destination. Furthermore, it adds an element of flexibility to your travel plans, accommodating last-minute changes or unexpected opportunities to explore new places.

The concept might seem complex at first glance, with logistical considerations such as different airport codes and potential one-way car rentals. However, the beauty of open-jaw flights lies in their adaptability, opening up a world of possibilities for personalized travel experiences.

Why “Open-Jaw”?

The term “open-jaw flight” draws its name from the visual representation of the itinerary on a map, resembling an open jaw. If you were to plot the flight path on a map, the departure point to the first destination and the return journey from a different location create a disjointed route that mimics the shape of an open mouth. As odd as the term may sound, the imagery effectively captures the essence of such trips. This distinctive travel pattern underscores the flexibility and adventure inherent in open-jaw flights, inviting travelers to chart less conventional paths across the globe.

Types of Open-Jaw Flights

Open-jaw flights are designed to cater to diverse travel preferences, offering three main types that provide flexibility and efficiency for various itineraries:

Destination open-jaw flights allow travelers to return to their original city but from different destinations, making it possible to explore multiple places without the need for a separate return journey. For instance, you might fly from New York City to London, then travel to Scotland and return from Glasgow to New York City.

Origin open-jaw flights , by contrast, are for those who depart from one city and return to a different one. So a traveler might fly from New York City to London, and then, instead of returning to New York, flying from London to Boston.

Double open-jaw flights involve departure and return flights landing in and taking off from different cities, like flying from New York City to Orlando, then traveling to Miami before ending up in Philadelphia. This type is tailored for adventurers with intricate plans, offering the freedom to explore multiple destinations.

Booking Open-Jaw Flights Online

If you’re working with a travel agent, booking open-jaw flights is a breeze, because they will handle the logistics for you. But if you’re arranging your own airfare online, you’ll find that for your multi-destination trip is easier than you might have imagined.

When you’re booking online, there’s usually a “multi-city” tab at the top of your booking screen. This feature lets you select multiple (up to 8) origin-destination combos at once. Can’t find your desired destinations? Try an online travel agency (OTA). These platforms — such as OneTravel — pool flights from various airlines, broadening your options. Just be aware you might be flying different carriers. With this user-friendly tool and the vast OTA network, crafting your ideal itinerary becomes a stress-free endeavor.

You May Also Like: 7 Booking Strategies to Save Even More on Cheap Flights

Can Open-Jaw Flights Save Me Money?

With so many travel websites at your disposal, companies take great measures to make themselves more attractive to potential customers. Such measures often include great travel availability and flexibility; more options in departure and destination locations, times and dates; great travel packages ; and of course lower prices.

Even if you’re not seeking out an open-jaw flight, you might want to consider one to save some money. Many OTAs and airlines provide the possibility of choosing from “nearby airports,” allowing you to depart from or arrive at an airport that’s close to your desired city. For instance, if you’re eyeing a roundtrip from NYC to Los Angeles , selecting this option could get you substantially lower fares with slightly altered itineraries. For example, you might fly out of JFK , but return to LaGuardia ( LAG ). Or you could fly into LAX but fly home from Long Beach ( LGB ). While this might mean a bit more ground travel upon landing, the potential savings on airfare can be quite significant.

Q: Is it possible to mix different airlines when booking open-jaw flights? A: Yes, mixing airlines can sometimes lead to cheaper fares, but be sure to check for any potential fees or inconveniences.

Q: How far in advance should I book an open-jaw flight to get the best prices? A: Aim to book your open-jaw flight at least 2 to 3 months in advance for optimal pricing and availability.

Q: Are there any specific travel insurance considerations I should keep in mind when booking open-jaw flights? A: Make sure your travel insurance policy covers multi-destination trips and any potential changes or cancellations to your itinerary.

Q: What should I do if my open-jaw flight itinerary involves long layovers? A: Use the layover time to explore the connecting city or consider booking a short-term accommodation if the layover is lengthy.

Q: Are there any hidden fees I should be aware of when booking open-jaw flights? A: Be mindful of additional fees for checked baggage, seat selection, and flight changes, especially when flying with budget airlines.

Have we missed any details you want to know about open-jaw flights? Let us know in our comments section below!

About the author

Tasmiah Rashid

In a past life, Tasmiah was either a Bollywood actress, renowned ethnographer or master chef; no questions asked. In this one, she is a shower-singing, croissant enthusiast, who also writes content for Fareportal, in that order.

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What Are Layover, Stopover and Open-Jaw Flights?

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Table of Contents

What is a layover?

Stopover meaning in airlines, open-jaw flights: how they work.

Many times in the world of air travel you might hear the words “layover,” “stopover” and “open-jaw” flight but not be quite sure what they mean.

The main difference between a stopover and layover is length of time. Stopover rules vary by airline, but are essentially longer layovers — at least 24 hours in length. Layovers, meanwhile, are connections less than a day in length depending on if you’re flying domestically or internationally.

Open-jaw flights are a whole different beast. Follow this quick guide and we’ll help you arrive at an understanding of stopover, layover and open-jaw flights.

A layover is the technical term for what you might think of as a simple connecting flight. For example, earlier this year, I flew from Cincinnati to Boston on American Airlines. Because there are no direct flights between Cincinnati and Boston on American, I had to make a connection. There were several options for my connection, mostly in American hub airports like New York LaGuardia, Washington National or Philadelphia. I chose one in Washington (DCA).

In this case, I had only a 31-minute layover, which made me a bit nervous. Layovers this short are great when everything goes right, since you walk right off of one flight and on to the next, but they don’t have a lot of room for error. Thankfully, my first flight arrived about 15 minutes early, so I had plenty of time to make it to my next flight.

» Learn more: 5 tips for long airport layovers

Another note about layovers: While they usually involve changing gates and planes, that is not always the case. Southwest, for example, will often have layovers that involve no plane change.

In a case like this, you would arrive in Kansas City and wait for all the departing passengers to deplane. Then you could move to a better seat (this IS Southwest after all) and await the passengers going from Kansas City to Los Angeles.

At its simplest, a stopover is simply a longer layover. Most airlines define a layover as any connection of less than 4 hours on a domestic flight or less than 24 hours on an international flight. Rules about when stopovers are allowed varies by airline, and it will often depend on whether the ticket is an award ticket or a paid ticket.

Here are two examples of stopovers I have personally taken:

Using Alaska Airlines miles to fly Emirates, I booked a ticket from Singapore to Dubai (2-day stopover) to New York City.

On a paid ticket, I flew Newark to Lisbon (3-day stopover) before continuing on to Barcelona.

Most airlines that offered free stopovers on award tickets have eliminated that perk. There are a few (but dwindling) number of airlines that offer stopovers on award tickets:

Singapore Airlines offers two complimentary stopovers on a round-trip ticket using KrisFlyer miles.

Alaska Airlines even offers a free stopover on ONE-WAY award tickets (see my Dubai example above).

United Airlines doesn’t allow stopovers per se, but it does have a similar program called the Excursionist Perk .

Even if the airline whose miles you are using does not allow stopovers on award flights, you can still get a lot of value from including a layover of up to 23 hours 59 minutes. As an example, on the same Singapore trip I mentioned earlier, I used American Airlines AAdvantage miles to book the outbound portion of the trip, which included a 20-hour layover in Hong Kong at no additional charge.

While that wasn’t enough time to see much of Hong Kong, it was at least enough to take a brief city tour, have some street food and get a taste of the city before returning to the airport and boarding the connecting flight to Singapore.

» Learn more: The best airlines for free stopovers

An open-jaw flight is two or more flights in an itinerary with an “open” segment in the middle. The open “V” shape formed by the outbound and return lines of travel is similar to the profile of an open mouth or jaw. A simple example would be a round-trip itinerary as follows:

New York to Paris.

Frankfurt to New York.

You start and end your itinerary in New York, but your European itinerary has an open-jaw between Paris and Frankfurt. This itinerary does not cover your travel between those two European cities. Of course you will have to physically get yourself from Paris to Frankfurt, but you are on your own for that transportation. It could be by car, train, a separately booked flight or any other mode of travel.

Open-jaw itineraries don’t have to start and end in the same location and aren’t limited to only 2 flights. Here is another example of an open-jaw itinerary:

Chicago to London.

London to Stockholm.

Copenhagen to Los Angeles.

In this itinerary you have an open-jaw between your origin and return (Chicago to Los Angeles) as well as an open-jaw on your destination (Stockholm to Copenhagen). In both of those cases you would need to arrange your own transportation between the two cities. You also have a connection (either a layover or stopover) in London.

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What Is an Open-Jaw Ticket, and How Can I Use One?

A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.

He is the author of "Online Travel" (2000) and "Business Travel: When It's Your Money" (2004), the first step-by-step guide specifically written for small business and self-employed professional travelers. He was also the co-author of the annual "Best Travel Deals" series from Consumers Union.

Perkins' advice for business travelers is featured on MyBusinessTravel.com , a website devoted to helping small business and self-employed professional travelers find the best value for their travel dollars.

Perkins was founding editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, one of the country's most influential travel publications, from which he retired in 1998. He has also written for Business Traveller magazine (London).

Perkins' travel expertise has led to frequent television appearances, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and "This Week with David Brinkley," "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN, and numerous local TV and radio stations.

Before editing Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Perkins spent 25 years in travel research and consulting with assignments ranging from national tourism development strategies to the design of computer-based tourism models.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Perkins lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife.

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I’ve occasionally suggested an “open jaw” air ticket as an alternative option for some trips—and I’ve often assumed everyone knows what that is. I’m sure that’s not true; that some of you aren’t aware of this term. And even if you do know, you may not be quite sure how they work or how to research and book them. A reader put the question this way.

“Are ‘open-jaw’ rates the same as ‘multi-destination’ rates? My wife and I are trying to figure out how to go on a cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires, and all of the travel sites show ‘multi’ and then they give you a rate.”

The short answer is that, although in airline terms, they are not the same, you use the multiple destinations option to book them on the big online ticket agencies.

The Basic Idea

You often find yourself planning a trip where you would like to fly from your home to one city and return from another. Our reader’s situation—a cruise between two foreign ports—is a perfect example. By returning directly from Buenos Aires, he would save time and avoid the extra expense of flying back to Santiago just to catch a return flight.

In another case, a traveler asked about the best way to travel by train from Madrid to Paris, Paris to Rome, then back to Madrid “to catch a return flight.” I suggested that rather than spend up to two days on the long train haul from Rome to Madrid at the end of his trip, he should consider flying home directly from Rome on an open-jaw ticket.

Although it probably arises less frequently, you might also want to fly from one airport to a destination and back from that destination to a different city. In either case, the airlines call that sort of ticket an open jaw. The name comes from the similarity of the line drawing of the trip flight path (sort of) to an open jaw.

Fare Construction

When low-priced excursion fares first came to the marketplace, they all required a round-trip purchase (as well as advance purchase and minimum stay). And those round-trip prices were usually less than each one-way fare—often less than half. Almost immediately, to accommodate travelers such as our two readers, the airlines introduced the concept of open-jaw fares. And they were generally set as the average of the round-trip fares from the origin to the two different destinations.

The main restrictions were (1) you had to honor the minimum-stay restrictions on the round-trips, and (2) the “open” portion of the itinerary—the distance between the arrival and departure destinations—had to be less than either of the flight legs.

In today’s more chaotic airfare marketplace, few tickets fall into such simple formulas. But in my experience, in markets where one-way fares are very expensive, the current open-jaw pricing remains close to that old formula.

I checked a few sample trips to illustrate the pricing:

1.) Chicago (ORD) to Santiago (SCL), and Buenos Aires (EZE) to ORD, for midweek flights in April:

Round-trip ORD to SCL: $996
Round-trip ORD to EZE: $942
Open jaw ORD to SCL, plus EZE to ORD: $832

This, I think, isn’t typical: Expedia ‘s result page told me it had found an “even cheaper” option in its open-jaw search. I would have expected something closer to the round-trip rates.

This search revealed another unexpected result. The open jaw was on American , the leading U.S. line to Latin America, and American’s one-way fares from ORD to SCL started at $1,379. But if you were willing to detour a bit, Air Canada would take you there one-way by way of Toronto for $506.

2.) San Francisco (SFO) to Stockholm (ARN), and London (LHR) to SFO for midweek flights in June:

Round-trip SFO to ARN: $1,120
Round-trip SFO to LHR: $1,171
Open jaw SFO to ARN, plus LHR to SFO: $1,202

Here, the open jaw is a bit pricier, for reasons that aren’t at all clear. But the small difference is far less than you’d have to pay to fly back from London to Stockholm to catch a return flight. And I didn’t find any one-way fares less than half the open jaw: The least expensive one-way ticket, at $815, was on a combination of United and Malaysia , requiring you to schlep from JFK to Newark.

3.) Portland, Maine (PWM), to San Diego (SAN), plus Portland, Oregon (PDX), to PWM:

Round-trip PWM to SAN: $297
Round-trip PWM to PDX: $303
Open jaw PWM to SAN, plus PDX to PWM: $393

Here, the crazy fare situation in domestic markets comes into play. The PWM/SAN round-trip flight is cheaper than the PWM/PDX ticket because it’s on JetBlue , a line that offers lower fares. The open jaw is on Continental .

Within the U.S., you often don’t need open jaws, because one-way fares are about half the round-trip rates in on so many routes. The one-way fare on JetBlue from PDX to PWM, for example, is $139. In answering another reader, I found a similar situation for a one-way cruise to Alaska: Two one-way tickets, to Seattle and back from Anchorage, cost no more than a single open jaw.

Booking Open Jaws

As our reader concluded, you book an open-jaw trip online by entering it as a multi-destination trip. The initial menu of Expedia (where I checked) calls it “multiple destinations,” Orbitz calls it “multi-city,” Travelocity calls it “multi-destination,” and individual airline sites use similar terms. Whatever the name, you enter the first one-way trip, then the return, and you get the open-jaw result.

In general, I find that open-jaw trips are most useful for international flights, where one-way fares can still be very high. But you find some strange anomalies in the general pattern of fares, such as the fact that Air Canada is offering cheap deals through Toronto, and Malaysia is heavily discounting its transatlantic service. The obvious conclusion remains: You have to research each trip.

(Editor’s Note: SmarterTravel.com is a member of the TripAdvisor Media Network, an operating company of Expedia, Inc. Expedia, Inc. also owns Expedia.com.)

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Open jaw flights: what they are & how to save big on travel.

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Booking a round trip ticket often seems like the most logical choice to save a little bit of money, but is it? It might surprise you to learn about this lesser known method for finding some of the best deals out there on airfare.

The method: open jaw flights.

Common sense would tell us that buying everything at once results in a cheaper price overall, but open jaw flights or round robin itineraries could be a much better deal.

Here's a rundown of everything you should know and how to book one for your next trip, and how you can maximize your savings with the right credit cards .

What is an open jaw flight?

3 types of open jaw flights, what about round robin flights, why would anyone want to travel like this, how to book an open jaw flight, how to book a round robin flight, what's the difference between an open jaw flight and a multi-city flight.

Open jaw tickets may sound complicated but they are actually pretty easy to understand.

In a typical round-trip itinerary, you depart from city A and fly to destination B, and then when you’re ready to come home, you fly back from city B to city A.

So, for example, flying from Atlanta to Houston for a trip, and then Houston back to Atlanta when the trip is over.

Open jaw flights, on the other hand, are any itinerary where either your destination or departure location changes.

For instance, if you fly from city A to city B, but your return trip takes you from city C back to city A.

Going back to the example trip used above, an open jaw itinerary might look like this: Fly from Atlanta to Houston, and then New Orleans back to Atlanta when the trip is over.

Why is it called an “open jaw flight?”

"Open jaw" is kind of a strange term, isn’t it? For anyone who is curious about the origin of why it’s called an open jaw flight, here’s the answer.

When you map out your itinerary on a basic open jaw flight path, the two flights create a triangle that looks similar to a literal open mouth.

Here’s a gif to help you visualize:

It doesn’t have a deep, philosophical origin story, which may be disappointing, I know, but open jaw flights and round robin itineraries are both incredibly helpful travel strategies that can really help you stretch your travels – and dollars – much farther than the average plane ticket.

There are three main types of open jaw tickets you can book. Let’s go over them using the example of someone from the U.S. visiting the United Kingdom.

Destination Open Jaw

The destination you arrive at is not the one you return from. For example, flying from Washington D.C. to London but returning to Washington D.C. from Manchester.

Origin Open Jaw

Returning to a different city than the one you left from. It would be an origin open jaw flight if you flew from Washington D.C. to London and then returned from London to Atlanta.

Double Open Jaw

A double open jaw flight is a destination open jaw combined with an origin open jaw. So your return flight would be unrecognizable from your arrival flight. For example, flying to London from Washington D.C. but returning from Manchester to Atlanta.

Open jaw flights are similar to round robin flights (itineraries that hop from city to city), but they don’t require you to find your own transportation between cities – it’s just one continuous itinerary.

Round robin trips (or multi-city bookings, as they are sometimes called), can be a great way to take advantage of a long stopover in multiple locations.

They may be useful for planning things such as visits to multiple families over the holidays or booking complicated segmented journeys to a single area, like Europe.

You may even be able to plan a grandiose around-the-world trip for $1,156!

At a glance, it may seem like an open jaw flight or round robin travel plan are silly things to do.

After all, why make things more complicated than they need to be? With open jaw flights you are on the hook for transporting yourself from one airport to another. Why bother with the extra hassle?

There are several reasons why someone might choose an open jaw flight.

The first, and most obvious, is that it allows you to see more cities on your trip . If you’ve got more than one destination you want to visit, a destination open jaw flight can let you spend more time seeing all you want to see since you don’t have to worry about returning to your original destination before flying home.

Similarly, an origin open jaw flight lets you include another domestic city on your itinerary before you return home. This can be great for people who have multiple family members they want to visit but can only afford one trip.

Open jaw flights are often cheaper , too, especially if your destination is an expensive one. Why pay extra to fly to a pricey location when you can land a few miles away for significantly cheaper? For example, this is a strategy that could help you find cheap flights to Europe .

The same goes for booking multi-city flights. If you’re an adventurous traveler with a serious case of FOMO, booking a round robin flight allows you the chance to cram in several extra stops along the way so you can experience the destination in person, without booking a separate trip or plane ticket for each place.

Most people book their flights through aggregator websites that scour the internet for the best deals. And most of those sites give you two options: round trip or one way. So how does a person get themselves an open jaw flight without going to a travel agent?

You’ve got two basic options

, depending on how much of the legwork you want to do yourself.

Option #1: Use a Special Search Engine

If you choose the automated route, you will be limited to sites like Matrix Airfare , which are optimized for finding open jaw flights. These sites can put together itineraries for you in a manner much like a regular booking site finding a round trip plan for you. Simply plug in your desired destinations and let the algorithms find your trip for you. Try swapping cities in and out to find the optimal price and flight times.

Option #2: Manually Search

If you’re a bit more dedicated, you can go the traditional route of creating your own itinerary using the “multi-city” option on most flight search sites. What you will be doing here is basically booking a bunch of one-way flights and putting them together on your own. There’s considerable room for error here, so be careful.

Planning a multi-city itinerary is similar to searching for an open jaw route, but you will have more options when it comes to searching for different routes you can take. Sites like Skyscanner and Kayak can be great tools for finding cheap multi-city flights.

Multi-city flights don’t necessarily need to be round-trip either. Some travelers also try booking past their destination, exiting during the layover, to take advantage of lower airfare deals.

When you’re ready to book, be sure to comb over your planned itinerary a few times before finalizing your ticket. These tickets tend to be more complex, so doing a double – maybe triple – check is a good idea.

Open jaw flights are two separate flights where one ticket flies you in, and the other is used to fly you out from another destination.

Multi-city flight tickets, on the other hand, fly you in and out of the same location to your next destination. It's just another name for round robin flights and could be more beneficial if you're trying to book a long layover for sightseeing or whatnot.

Both can save you money on airfare, so the biggest factor in deciding which to choose comes down to what you're wanting to get out of your trip.

Are open jaw flights more expensive?

Not necessarily. Because planning your travel using an open jaw itinerary gives you much more flexibility, you may be able to find one-way flights that are less expensive than a roundtrip might be. You could opt to fly in at an off-peak time or choose a different airport, both of which can result in cheaper fares. Either way, it's a good idea to compare the best travel credit cards so that you can maximize your rewards and perks.

Is it cheaper to book multi-city flights or one-way?

It can be cheaper to go the multi-city route instead of buying multiple one-way tickets, but this is usually only the case if you’re flying longer distances from destination to destination. If you’re staying within a general region, booking one-way flights might be the better bargain, as you’re not restricted to using airlines that are partnered, which is the case with multi-city bookings. You can shop for the best prices without regard to who the carrier is.

How do I book an open jaw flight on Delta?

If you are not using Delta SkyMiles to pay for your flights, then use the Delta website or app to research flights for each leg of your journey. Book directly through the website or app. You can also use third-party sites, such as Kayak and Expedia, to research the most economic options for your trip.

If you are using SkyMiles to book an open jaw flight, expect to trade miles for each single flight on your journey. Throughout Delta’s booking site, you’ll only find prices in miles for one-way fares, not roundtrip.

Can you buy an open plane ticket?

Open-ended airline tickets are a decades-old relic that are unfortunately a thing of the past. These were tickets that allowed the holder return to home on an undefined date in the future after having flown to some destination.

Today, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an airline that offers such tickets. Flexible fares, one-way tickets, and student travel packages are more modern workarounds to being able to fly someplace and keep your options open for your return date.

Can you buy flexible plane tickets?

Some airlines offer flexible fare tickets, which allow you to reschedule your return flight date. These tickets are usually more expensive than the cheapest fares, but can be worth the extra expense if having the ability to change your date of return for little or no fees is important to you.

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What are stopovers and open jaws on award tickets?

There are many ways to make the most of your hard-earned travel rewards. When it comes to redeeming airline miles , utilizing stopovers and open-jaw award tickets can help you do that. With select loyalty programs, this can allow you to visit multiple destinations for the price of one.

However, understanding the complexities of stopovers and open jaws can be overwhelming, so here is the context you need to begin searching for these award tickets.

What is a stopover?

Of the two terms, this one is more straightforward. Put simply, a stopover is when you stop in a city for a longer-than-normal time en route to a destination. This extended connection time differentiates a stopover from a layover; a layover is when you connect in a hub airport (and never leave the airport) before continuing on your journey.

That said, the length of time that qualifies as a stopover versus a layover can vary, depending on the route. For international award tickets, the general rule of thumb is any connection that lasts at least 24 hours is a stopover. Anything less than 24 hours is considered a connection or a layover.

A stopover allows you to fly into a city, stay for a few days and then continue to your ultimate destination — like this example from Houston to Tel Aviv via Frankfurt. If you just had a connection in Frankfurt, you'd stay in the airport for two or three hours. However, you could make it a stopover by spending a few days there.

Unfortunately, not all programs allow stopovers on award tickets. Air Canada Aeroplan , Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Air France-KLM Flying Blue are among the programs that allow for stopovers — though each program has its own terms and conditions. Additionally, you may need to call to book one (as is the case with Flying Blue), and there are often airline or routing restrictions.

Related: Quick Points: See two cities for the price of one with stopovers

What is an open jaw?

No, an open jaw is not a trip to the dentist when it comes to award tickets. Instead, the term comes from how the flight path looks on a map.

Here's an example. Let's say you'd like to book an award ticket from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR). An open jaw would allow you to return from another airport, like Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD).

A double-open jaw goes further and returns to another airport, like Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) instead of SFO. Sometimes, you'll also hear people refer to this as two dangling legs.

You could book the above routing as two one-way award tickets, but then you'd potentially need to pay two change or cancellation fees if you need to adjust your trip.

Regardless of whether you have one (or two) open jaws, it's up to you to "fill" that open jaw to take the return flight. For some travelers, this means paying for a separate, one-way ticket — potentially on a low-cost carrier that isn't readily available using miles. Other times, it can involve a different form of transportation, like a train or bus.

Example of a trip with a stopover and open jaw

To show you the extent of what's possible, let's go through an example of an award trip with both a stopover and an open jaw.

With United MileagePlus, a round-trip, economy award flight from the U.S. to Europe is typically 60,000 miles at the saver level. However, United's Excursionist Perk allows you to add a free stopover within Europe. Because the program also allows an open jaw, you can visit multiple cities for the price of one.

In this example, you can fly from O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to LHR and explore London for three days. Then, you can continue from London to Frankfurt. You can explore Germany at your leisure before ending up in Munich for your flight from Munich International Airport (MUC) back to Chicago.

And the price? The same 60,000 miles you'd pay for a simple, round-trip award ticket from Chicago to Munich.

This is just an example of what you can do with these award tickets.

Read more: The complete guide to maximizing stopovers and open jaws on award tickets

Bottom line

Stopovers and open jaws allow you to add another destination to your award ticket for few, if any, additional miles. As always, we recommend confirming award rates and space before transferring your credit card points.

Mastering Open Jaw Flights: Maximize Your Adventure with this Travel Trick

By Paul William

Disclosure: Some of the links below may be affiliate links which means I receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through them.

Are you an adventurous traveler looking for a flexible way to explore multiple destinations on a single trip? Look no further than open jaw flights, a unique ticketing option that can save you time and money while giving you the freedom to create your dream itinerary.

In this post, we’ll dive into the world of open jaw flights, explaining what they are, the reasons for booking them, and the different types and variations you might encounter.

We’ll also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this travel option, and guide you through booking an open jaw flight using Google Flights.

Finally, I’ll show you a real world example of how I used Open Jaw booking for my recent trip to Hawaii . So with the stage set, let’s get started!

Table of Contents

What is an Open Jaw Flight (AKA Open Jaw Ticket) ?

An open jaw flight is a round-trip flight itinerary where you fly into one city and return from another, leaving the middle of the journey open for exploration.

In other words, the “jaw” is the gap between your arrival and departure cities.

Open jaw tickets are perfect for travelers who want to visit multiple destinations without having to backtrack to their original city of arrival.

An example of an Open Jaw flight would be booking a roundtrip flight where the departure leg is New York-to-Los Angeles and the return leg is San Diego-to-New York. In this case it would be up to you to travel from Los Angeles to San Diego.

Most people book these open jaw itineraries intentionally so they can explore multiple destinations, and not have to backtrack to their original arrival point for the departure.

Reasons for Booking Open Jaw Flights

Open Jaw flights offer several benefits to travelers, including:

Flexibility: Open jaw itineraries allow you to explore multiple destinations without being tied to a specific return flight route. This gives you the freedom to create a customized trip that suits your interests and travel preferences and encourages you to explore more destinations. Read more below for my real life example of how I did this in Hawaii.
Time and Money Savings: By avoiding the need to backtrack to your arrival city, you can save both time and money on flights, accommodations, and other travel expenses.

RELATED POST: The 7 Best Cheap Flight Newsletters to Save Up To 90% On Flights

Types and Variations of Open Jaw Flights

There are two main types of open jaw flights:

Simple Open Jaw:

This type of open jaw flight involves flying into one city and departing from another. For example, you could fly from New York to Paris, travel by train or car to Marseille, and then fly back to New York from Marseille.

Double Open Jaw:

A double open jaw flight has both origin and destination cities different. For instance, you could fly from Los Angeles to Barcelona, travel overland to Madrid, and then fly from Madrid to San Diego.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Jaw Flights

Advantages:.

Customization: Open jaw flights enable you to tailor your trip to your interests and travel preferences, giving you the freedom to explore multiple destinations without limitations.
Savings: By eliminating the need to backtrack, open jaw flights can save you time and money on airfare and other travel expenses.
Unique Experiences: Open jaw itineraries encourage you to venture beyond traditional tourist routes, opening up opportunities for one-of-a-kind travel experiences.

Disadvantages:

Complexity: Planning and booking open jaw flights can be more complex than traditional round-trip tickets, as you’ll need to coordinate multiple flights and potentially deal with layovers or connections.
Availability: Open jaw flights may not always be available, especially during peak travel seasons or for less popular destinations.

RELATED POST: Hidden City Ticketing: The Travel Hack That Could Leave You Stranded

A Real Example: My Open Jaw Flight To/From Hawaii

On my recent 3 week trip to Hawaii , I personally experienced Open Jaw flight booking.

I flew into Honolulu (on the Island of Oahu) for the first part of my trip, but then ultimately departed from The Big Island of Hawaii back to the east coast of the United States.

In between, to get from Oahu to the Big Island, I booked a separate cheap flight on Hawaiian Airlines for the short 50 minute flight from Honolulu to Kona, on the Big Island.

In this case my Open Jaw ticket was roundtrip booking on American Airlines that consisted of a departure flight from New York into Honolulu, and a return flight from Kona, Hawaii back to New York.

How to Book an Open Jaw Flight Using Google Flights

Google Flights is the tool I always recommend travelers start with when researching their travel options. Booking an open jaw flight using Google Flights is simple and straightforward. Follow these steps to find and book your perfect itinerary:

Step 1: Visit Google Flights and select “Multi-city” as your trip type.

When you arrive at Google Flights , by default the search will show results for round trip searches. Simply click on where it says “Round trip” and a menu will drop down allowing you to select “Multi-city”.

Step 2: Enter your departure and arrival cities and preferred travel dates, then click “Search”.

screenshot of google flights multi city functionality for search

Step 3: Google Flights will display your options, and you can choose the Airlines and itinerary that works for you

screenshot for open jaw flight result on google flights

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What Is an Open Jaw Flight?

Last updated:

What is an open jaw flight? How to book an open jaw ticket?

Open jaw flights are changing the way we travel, allowing us to explore multiple destinations without the limitations of round-trip or one-way tickets. In this article, we delve into the benefits, practical uses, and essential tips for planning and booking your own open jaw adventure.

Did you miss a connecting flight? File a compensation claim online .

1. What Is an Open Jaw Flight?

An open jaw flight is a type of airline ticket where the traveler flies into one city and departs from another, without returning to the original city.

An open-jaw itinerary allows travelers to visit two destinations without the need to backtrack to their initial destination to catch their return flight . They can be more expensive than round-trip tickets, but they offer greater flexibility and the opportunity to explore more places.

2. Open Jaw vs Double Open Jaw

Open jaw flight? What is a double open jaw flight? Is there a difference?

Open jaw and double open jaw are both types of flights that allow travelers to visit multiple destinations without being restricted by the limitations of round-trip or one-way tickets . However, there are differences between these two types of flights.

An open jaw flight occurs when you fly from one city to another but return to a different city as your starting point. Alternatively, it can involve flying from one city to another, traveling overland to a third city, and then returning to your original departure city. These are the two types of open jaw flights.

The first type is called a destination open jaw, which is when a passenger flies from one city to another and returns to the original city from a different place.

The second type is called origin open jaw flight. It is when a passenger returns from their destination to a different city than where they started their open jaw trip.

Example of destination open jaw flight: you fly from New York to London, travel by land to Manchester, and return to New York from Manchester. Example of origin open jaw flight: you fly from New York to London, and return from London to Washington.

Double open jaw flights, on the other hand, involve flying into one destination, departing from another, and returning to a different city than the original departure point. It combines two open jaw segments into a single itinerary. For example, you are flying from New York to London. Then you travel around Europe for some time, and, let’s say, fly back to the US from Madrid instead of London. In addition to that, you don’t return to New York but to Washington.

3. Open Jaw vs Multi City

What is an open jaw flight? And what is a multi-city flight ?

Open-jaw flights are essentially multi-city flights with a significant distinction – multi-city trips comprise the flight between cities, whereas open-jaw trips do not.

A multi-city flight lets you visit multiple cities or destinations in a single journey. This type of itinerary includes multiple flights in a single ticket. For example, you can fly from City A to City B, then from City B to City C, and finally return to City A. This is a popular option for travelers who want to explore specific cities and include multiple stops in one trip.

Example of a multi-city flight: Seoul – Budapest; Budapest – Warsaw; Warsaw – Seoul. Or Seoul – Budapest; Budapest – Warsaw, if you don’t need to return to your origin city. With multi-city flights, you don’t have to return to the origin airport. It can be one way.

On the other hand, an open jaw flight involves booking a round-trip ticket where the departure and/or arrival airports are different. The term “open” is the defining feature of open-jaw itineraries.

4. Benefits of Open Jaw Flights

What are the pros of open jaw flights?

Why should you consider taking an open jaw flight?

Flexibility. Open jaw flights offer an unprecedented level of flexibility in designing personalized itineraries. By permitting travel to one destination and departure from another, open jaw flights provide travelers with the freedom to explore multiple cities, countries, or even continents on a single trip. This level of flexibility allows for the creation of unique travel experiences tailored to individual preferences and interests.
Time and cost savings. Open jaw flights frequently prove more time-efficient and cost-effective than traditional round-trip tickets. By eliminating the need to backtrack to the initial departure point, valuable hours of travel time can be saved, maximizing the duration of exploration. Furthermore, open jaw flights can assist in reducing transportation costs between destinations, particularly when traveling to different regions or continents.
Seamless multi-destination travel. One of the most significant advantages of open jaw flights is the seamless connectivity they provide for multi-destination travel. It allows travelers to explore a variety of cities or countries effortlessly without having to plan separate one-way flights or endure long layovers.
Itinerary variety. Open jaw flights unlock a treasure trove of itinerary possibilities. They enable travelers to embark on multi-country tours, explore contrasting cultures, and discover geographically diverse regions without constraints. This option allows travelers to uncover hidden gems, visit off-the-beaten-path destinations, and immerse themselves in a more comprehensive travel experience.

5. How to Book Open Jaw Flights?

What is the best way to book open jaw flights?

5.1 Flight Booking Websites (Easy)

If you are wondering how to book open jaw flights, there are several ways you can do it, but using a flight search engine is the easiest. Here’s an example of how to use the multi-city option to search for open jaw flights:

Go to a reputable flight booking website such as Kiwi.com , Momondo.com or Expedia.com.
Select the “multi-city” option in the search bar instead of the standard “round-trip” or “one-way” option. Remember, open jaw flights are essentially multi-city flights, so use “multi-city” option when searching for open jaw flights,
Enter your departure city and your first destination, and then enter your second destination and your return city.
Check if there are any open jaw flights available that match your criteria.
Compare the prices and flight times to find the best option for your trip.

By using the multi-city search option on websites such as kiwi.com , momondo.com or expedia.com , you can easily find a good open jaw flight itinerary and enjoy the flexibility and cost savings they provide.

To find the best open-jaw flight options, research and compare various booking platforms and airlines. Some factors to consider are pricing, flight schedules, customer reviews, and the reputation of the airlines.

5.2 Directly From the Airline

Another option – you can book open jaw flights directly from an airline, as long as they are offering a multi-city booking option.

Many of the best airlines offer this option.

6. Tips for Making the Most of Open Jaw Flights

To make sure your trip goes smoothly, think about a few important factors.

You’ll need to choose your departure and arrival destinations carefully, taking things like transportation, visa requirements, and logistics into account. Make sure the destinations you choose align with your travel plans and preferences.

6.1 Transportation

Plan and research transportation options between your open jaw destinations, including flights, trains, buses, ferries, and car rentals. Consider factors such as cost, travel time, convenience, and availability of direct routes or connections depending on the distance and feasibility.

6.2 Visa Requirements

Make sure to check the visa and entry requirements for each destination on your open jaw itinerary. It’s important to research visa requirements beforehand. Since you will be physically visiting your destination countries during an open jaw journey, a visa may be necessary.

To ensure you have the correct information on visa requirements, it’s best to visit the official websites of each country’s embassies, consulates or immigration departments. Look for dedicated visa sections or pages that provide details on the entry requirements for foreign travelers.

6.3 Baggage Allowance

Don’t forget about baggage allowance!

When booking open jaw flights with multiple airlines or connections, make sure to check each carrier’s baggage policies and restrictions. Take into account the need for transferring or rechecking your luggage between flights and plan accordingly. To make your travel experience smoother, pack efficiently and within the baggage allowances.

6.4 Travel Insurance, You Might Want It

Get yourself a good travel insurance policy that covers trip interruption.

When buying travel insurance , make sure it covers your entire trip, including open jaw itineraries. The insurance policy should provide enough coverage for various situations like trip cancellation, medical emergencies, and lost baggage. Read the policy carefully, including the exclusions, to ensure complete protection during your journey.

6.5 Flexibility

Before finalizing your open jaw flight booking, it’s important to consider the ticket flexibility options available. Opt for fares that allow changes or cancellations with minimal fees as unforeseen changes to your travel plans can happen. Having a flexible open jaw plane ticket can protect you from potential headaches and financial loss in case you need to make modifications to your itinerary.

Do you have more questions about open jaw flights? Ask in the comments.

About the author:

Una Baufala

Una is an organized globetrotter and foodie who’s been living a digital nomad lifestyle since 2013. She always starts her day early with a good book before diving into work. Apart from traveling and aviation, her other passions include gym, hiking and cycling. Una is also a strong proponent of AI technology. She firmly believes in its potential to simplify life and has often advocated for its wider adoption in our day-to-day activities. Her favorite airlines are Qatar Airways, Emirates, and KLM.

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What is an Open-Jaw Flight?

An open-jaw flight is a roundtrip itinerary that arrives in one city but departs from another.

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For example, an open-jaw itinerary could go from NYC to London, and then from Paris back to NYC. Open-jaw flights allow travelers to see two destinations in one trip without backtracking to the initial destination to catch their flight home.

You can also reverse the situation, where you fly from Point A to Point B, then return from Point B to Point C. For example, you might fly from Boston to London, then return from London to New York, then take the train or bus back to Boston. Sometimes you might find cheaper flights this way, which can save you money even if you have to pay for an extra transportation ticket back home.

Technically, open-jaw flights are a variation on multi-city flights , with one key difference: multi-city itineraries include the flight between cities, while open-jaw itineraries do not.

In the example above, if you’re flying to London but home from Paris, you’d need to book a separate flight (or train, bus, etc) between London and Paris. In many cases, if you try to make an open-jaw into a multi-city itinerary (by adding a flight between the two cities) it becomes much more expensive.

What is a double open-jaw flight?

A double open-jaw flight goes from Point A to Point B, then returns from Point C to Point D. For example, flying from Detroit to London, then returning from Paris to Chicago.

Are open-jaw flights more expensive than typical roundtrips?

Open-jaw flights are not necessarily more expensive than traditional there-and-back roundtrip flights. There are a lot of factors at play, including the routes and the time you plan to travel. Some open-jaws might actually be less expensive than a traditional roundtrip.

When traveling internationally, however, it’s important to note that open-jaws are almost always cheaper than two separate one-way flights.

How do I book an open-jaw flight?

You can book open-jaw flights by using an airline’s multi-city booking function. That way, both flights will be under the same reservation.

Read our tutorial on booking open-jaw flights . Then join Going and get cheap flights and travel tips delivered right to your inbox.

Last updated Jan 10, 2024

What is an open jaw flight?

by Dan Miller | Jan 8, 2024 | airlines , all , british airways , glossary | 2 comments

In travel terms, it’s not actually something out of a museum – it actually isn’t that complicated – it just means that instead of a “regular” roundtrip ticket where it’s the exact same itinerary twice (once in reverse), your return leg leaves from a different airport.

In this example, you fly from New York (JFK) to Madrid, but your return flight leaves from London’s LHR airport.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantage is that you get to see an additional city for the same price! Normally when you add additional destinations onto a ticket, you’ll increase the price of the ticket.

When I booked a ticket for a family member on United (but using this trick to avoid the $75 close-in booking fees that were in place at the time ), there weren’t very many award flights left available because it was so close to the date of flight. Although she lives in Sacramento, we could only get the originating flight leaving from Sacramento (SMF). So on the origin she went SMF-IAH-CLE. Well, actually we BOOKED her to fly through Denver, but that had to change when she missed her flight in the morning!! 🙂

On the return back, she flew directly from Cleveland to San Francisco, because there weren’t any award flights going back to Sacramento. Without knowing about the tricks of an open jaw flight, we wouldn’t have been able to book the flight at all!

The best part about this is that it cost the same amount as a “normal” roundtrip – just 25,000 miles roundtrip!

The one disadvantage is that you are on your own to get between your open jaw cities, in this case Sacramento and San Francisco. You could book another award ticket, or you could take the train, or book a cheap paid flight (depending on your destination). In her case, she just had someone drive the 2 hours to pick her up at SFO.

Maximizing an open jaw flight

Most airlines offer an open jaw on roundtrip destination tickets. United actually lets you do an open jaw on both the origin AND the destination. That means that you could:

Fly from Cincinnati to London
Return from Madrid to Detroit

So London to Madrid and Cincinnati to Detroit are your open jaw flights, where you’re responsible for your own transportation between the two cities. If you combine these with a stopover , which is another great airline award ticket feature, you can visit even MORE destinations on the same award ticket.

Hopefully this helps clear things up!

For more information on this and other airline terms, see Stopover, layover, open-jaw? What are they and what’s the difference?

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What is an Open Jaw Ticket

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Open Jaw Tickets 101

An open jaw flight, often referred to as an open jaw ticket, is when a passenger at one end of their trip arrives and departs from a different city or airport.The name is derived from the way it looks when drawn on a map.

What is an Open Jaw

The rule of thumb for an open jaw to be considered an open jaw is that the distance between the two points where the opening exists must be shorter than the distance from the both the departure and arrival destinations.

For example, the below route would be considered an open jaw as an itinerary would be purchased for the London Heathrow (LHR) to Hong Kong (HKG) and Bangkok (BKK) back to London Heathrow (LHR); a second one way ticket would be purchased from Hong Kong (HKG) to Bangkok.

open jaw flight from London to Hong Kong and Bangkok back to london

What is Not an Open Jaw

Too great of a distance.

This would not be classed as an open jaw as the distance between Perth (PER) and Auckland (AKL) is of a greater distance than the Singapore (SIN) to Perth (PER) leg of the journey.

Only Going in One Direction

Additionally an open jaw cannot be one which travels in only one direction. As such you cannot have an open jaw from San Francisco (SFO) to Hong Kong (HKG) to London (LHR) and back to San Francisco. In reality this would be considered an Around the World ticket.

Why Not Two One Way Tickets?

Booking two separates one way tickets is not the same as an open jaw. The principle works when doing a normal round trip and booking two one-way tickets for that trip (nearly always you will see it more expensive). The reason is the fare class the airlines will sell you the ticket in.

The rational airlines take these days is that if you need a one-way ticket you do not know when you will be flying back and therefore you need a less restrictive ticket. Where as if you book a round trip, or an open jaw ticket, you know when you will be flying back so there isn’t a need to sell a such a flexible ticket and may in fact work against the airline.

Reason you would use an Open Jaw Flight?

There are many reasons why people may wish to purchase open jaw tickets – on one hand the need is done for necessity while on the other hand it is done to reduce the cost of the ticket or to improve mileage earning rates.

In short, the savings are that:

Saves time by not having to back track on yourself
Saves Money by potentially starting in a cheaper origin than your home base
You get to explore more because you have more time to travel

Note: Open jaw tickets are good ways to use your award tickets as they let you see more of everything

There is a common view that booking open jaw ticket has a disproportionately higher chance to create error fares (a fare which is super cheap due to a glitch in the fare construction). But, finding an error fare in such a way is not easy and a very rare occurrence. The reason for this is that your fare construction must be extremely complex – something along the lines of a double open jaw (explained below), split over 3 continents, with 4 sectors (flights) and booking a ticket in a fare class which competes with the other (such as not allowing any layovers). As such, you are more likely to find an error fare due to someone entering the data incorrectly than a glitch in the system these days.

Variable Travel Locations with an Open Jaw Ticket

Because of necessity.

You could be forced to do an open jaw if you were on a cruise and you depart from Tokyo, Japan but you arrived in Singapore. There would be little point of going back to Japan first, so flying home from Singapore makes sense.

Out of a Desire to See a Country

The need for an open jaw would arise, if for instance, you wanted to go explore and in doing so your arrival and departure points are in different parts of the country. For example, if you departed from London, you could arrive in Bangkok but depart from Phuket this means you can spend more time enjoying the scenery instead of having to travel back to your arrival airport

See Many Different Countries

Alternatively, you may want to explore different countries, think Interrail across Europe. You could depart from New York and land in Paris but depart from Poland. Travelling back from Poland to catch a flight back to New York could easily take a whole day to do so reduces the total time you have on holiday.

Because you Want to do a Stopover.

Open jaws are not limited by land or sea, you could buy an open jaw ticket with Lufthansa where you landed in Colombo in Sri Lanka, do a stop over, buy a seperate ticket to Hong Kong, enjoy the main part of your holiday and depart back to Frankfurt on Lufthansa.

Multi-City With an Open Jaw

You could even bake in a trip with multiple destinations where only your first and last destination (and therefore your longest sectors) are covered in the open jaw (red) and the segments between (green, blue and purple) are on separate tickets but can be changed or rebooked without having to potentially pay heavy penalties to change the whole booking if it was all on one itinerary.

Financial Savings with an Open Jaw Ticket

Sometime, doing an open jaw can be financially beneficial. Take the below example, there is a saving of £684 when comparing a trip from London to Hong Kong and a trip from London > Oslo > Hong Kong > London. However the trade off of a significantly cheaper ticket is the time it will take to get from point A to B and that ultimately is the question in many cases.

In terms of the fare paid, contrary to popular belief, they are not two one way tickets. Depending on the complexity of the open jaw ticket, fares can be calculated in any which way. But for basic open jaw constructions usually a fare is calculated by taking two return tickets, halving the cost, and merging them together. For instance, . a return from Hong Kong to Oslo on the 14 th November and Hong Kong to London on the 28 th November is calculated, the sum is then halved to account for a one way ticket in each direction, and then added together to get the final sum of £1,345.

Savings that are Worth an Open Jaw Ticket

The below example shows how using an open jaw ticket can save you some money if you are willing to wait the layover.

—– London > Oslo > Doha > Hong Kong > Doha > London — Total: £1,544 (£199 + £1,345)

—– London > Doha > Hong Kong > Doha > London — Total: £2,228

Savings that are NOT worth an Open Jaw Ticket

An interesting (depending on your view of interesting) is that depending on where the airlines base of operations is, you could end up flying back to your point of origin and having a layover at your home airport. Take the below example with British Airways where the flight from Stuttgart, Germany saves you a bit of money but the trip ultimately takes you back to London Heathrow with the cost of a flight out to Stuttgart would wipe any potential savings from starting your Journey (not to mention the time it would take to get there, the flight back and the 6 hour layover).

Stuttgart > London > Hong Kong > London

London > Hong Kong > London

Types of Open Jaw Tickets

Destination open jaw.

A destination open jaw is when a passenger flies to one city but returns from another.

It is the most commonly used open jaw method due to its simplicity.

Origin Open Jaw

A direct opposite of the Destination Open Jaw is the Origin Open Jaw – where the passenger departure city is different to the one where they will return to.

It has its specific uses but is limited in its execution and its use is usually geared towards having a financial impact on a journey. Take the UK’s tax on Air Passenger Duty. It is common for passengers to depart from the Scottish Highlands or Dublin to avoid the need to pay Air Passenger Duty (a sum of circa £150 per passenger) and then fly back to London.

Double Open Jaw

This form of Open Jaw is where the passenger’s arrival and departure airports differ in both directions.

The most uncommon type of open jaw ticket, its use is very limited due to the complexity in finding a routing which meets a fare criterion which in itself is not prohibitively expensive.

But once found there can be significant savings, take for instance Cathay Pacific’s Oneworld partner award chart, which allows up to 5 stopovers, 2 transits, and two open-jaws on a single award ticket. There are some pretty strict guidelines to follow, but if you can piece an itinerary together there can be tremendous value.

How to book an Open Jaw

As mentioned above, open-jaw itineraries aren’t just two one-way tickets stitched together. Airlines still considered them “round trip” itineraries even though it might not seem to be in the traditional sense.

To book a ticket, you simply need to book the two longest legs as a round trip and book the connecting ticket separately.

Book an Open Jaw with Google Flights

With Google Flights, the calendar of lowest fares only works for one way and round trip flights so if you are flexible have a quick look to see what flights are cheap around the time you are flying Dont forget to select the airline you want to fly with otherwise you may get skewed results.

Once your ready and have an idea of your dates (or if your dates aren’t flexible), you’re ready to check out open jaw flights.

Select the Multi-city from the dropdown menu and punch in your search critera and off you go.

Book an Open Jaw with Skyscanner

Skyscanner is similar to Google Flights in that the functionality is near identical. However, just like Google Flights, there are limitations and with Skyscanner its their anywhere tool. Skyscanners anywhere tool does not work in multi-city mode so you will need to know where you want to go and how much it will cost (if you are price sensitive).

Same as before, once you are ready, you will be able to see your flights, add and amend as necessary.

Book an Open Jaw with Kayak

Book an Open Jaw with Trip.com

While open jaws are often a great tool to reduce travel time and costs, you may often get results with some higher prices or you may save as I did with lower prices. The key is to be patient and test out different travel dates or airports to see which results will pull up the best price comparisons and use a trial and error approach. You may in the end decide to pay a higher price to be able to see more of the world, the open jaw ticket is a flexible tool for a multitude of things.

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Understanding an Open-Jaw

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An Open-Jaw allows you to explore more!

Do you ever book a round-trip ticket and then add on a separate round-trip ticket within your original ticket to visit another city? Well, you likely won’t ever have to again! For example, if you book something like New York – London round-trip and also want to visit Paris, you may think that you’d need to purchase London – Paris – London separately on another ticket… which, yes, you can do, but it will cost you more!

An open-jaw is basically flying from city A to city B and returning to city A from city C. There are no flights between city B and city C. For example, you fly New York to London and from Paris to New York on the same ticket – you have an open-jaw between London and Paris if you have no flights between the two cities. Make sure to refer to The Differences Between Layovers, Stopovers, Open-Jaws, and Destinations to learn more about the differences.

When Are Open-Jaw Tickets Allowed?

Almost all the time – and most often than not, it would price the same way as a normal round-trip ticket. For example:

New York – London – New York

would likely price similarly to:

open-jaw between London and Paris

Many airlines allow you to book open-jaws on both revenue and award tickets – therefore you don’t necessarily have to redeem miles to take advantage of an open-jaw.

What if you want to add in a flight between London and Paris in the same journey? No problem! Just purchase an additional one-way ticket between the two cities or redeem British Airways Avios (or other miles).

What if you want to include all flights on the same ticket? That is fly New York – London – Paris – New York . You can try, but it will likely price out more than if you just book the open-jaw ticket and then a separate ticket between London and Paris .

Why Not Just Book Two One-Way Tickets?

You may be thinking that it might just be easier to book two separate one-way tickets instead of adding in an open-jaw on one ticket. That is book New York – London and Paris – New York separately on different tickets. This method works on North American flights because each leg of the trip is priced separately – but that doesn’t always work for intercontinental flights.

Have you ever noticed that a one-way flight from New York to Europe costs more than a round-trip ticket? Exactly! Airlines love to sell one-way tickets on long-haul flights for often double the cost of a round-trip ticket. More people fly round-trip and therefore they might have an empty seat on the return flight if you only book one-way, therefore they account for the empty seat on the return flight even if you fly one-way. Yes, this doesn’t always make sense, but that’s how it is.

So, no, it is not easier to book two separate tickets instead of one ticket with an open-jaw. Always book open-jaws.

This above applies to revenue tickets, as one-way mileage tickets obviously cost half of a round-trip ticket.

Explore More with Open-Jaws

What’s a Double Open-Jaw?

A double open-jaw is when you depart from city A and fly to city B, but return from city C to city D. You have an open-jaw on both ends of the trip. For example, you fly New York – London and Paris – Miami all on one ticket – that’s a double open-jaw .

Double open-jaws can price a bit more than a ticket with a single open-jaw, but it shouldn’t price more than two one-way tickets. That is, the above example should cost less than if you were to book two separate, one-way tickets on those routes.

When Should You Book an Open-Jaw?

There are many reasons why you should book an open-jaw. The most basic one of them being that you want to explore more than one city on the same trip but do not want to backtrack to your first city to return home – that’s the whole point of open-jaws. If you want to visit London and Paris on the same trip, you shouldn’t have to return to London to fly back home .

Other reasons why you might want to consider an open-jaw:

for example: departs from Rome and arrives in Athens
for example: departs from New York and arrives in Miami
for example: start in Barcelona and end in Madrid

Important Note Regarding Regions

Open-Jaws are usually only allowed in the same region. That is you cannot fly New York – London and Tokyo – New York on the same ticket because London and Tokyo are not in the same region. You would need to have your open-jaw in the same region as London.

Double open-jaws work the same way – they need to be in the same regions. You can’t fly New York – London and Tokyo – Sydney, that would never work (it would just price out as two one-way tickets). The whole point of open-jaws are for you to explore more than one destination in the same region .

Visit Paradise with Open-Jaws

How Do You Book an Open-Jaw?

You use the multi-city feature of the airline’s website. Simply enter in your first leg and second leg of the journey, desired dates of travel, number of passengers, and class of service. You should then get a list of results and you can pick and price your desired flights.

Note that some airline websites do not allow you to book an open-jaw, therefore you might have to call in and book over the phone, which might be subject to an additional fee.

Mileage tickets work the same way – just make sure you check the box that says “use miles”. More often than not, you will have to call in for more complex trips.

In Conclusion

Open-Jaws allow you to see more. You can visit more than one destination on the same ticket for a slightly higher cost. You do have to arrange your own transportation between the cities where your open-jaw exists – but this is usually a cheap revenue ticket, mileage ticket, or ground transportation – such as train or car.

Note that open-jaws are all determined by each individual airline’s fare rules. Therefore some airlines may allow open-jaws in one region while other airlines will not. The best way to put together open-jaw flights is to use the multi-city feature on Google Flights – as you will see a list of airlines and prices. You can then proceed to book once you have found your desired itinerary.

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Open jaw flights and everything you need to know about them

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1 Although it sounds complicated, an open-jaw can come in very handy when travelling.

Have a look at how open-jaw flights might come in handy in your next trip.

What is an open jaw flight?

An open jaw flight includes a return ticket where the destination and/or the origin are not the same in both directions. You can find three types of open jaw flights and each of them has its advantages.

1. Destination open jaw

A destination open jaw is a flight where a passenger flies from one city to another, but returns to the original city from a different place. It is most commonly used among tourists and travelers who like to make the most out of their trip and visit multiple cities without having to travel back to the landing airport.

2 Destination open-jaw

For example fly from Venice to Paris and then back from Nice for 95 EUR

2. Origin open jaw

An origin open jaw is a flight where the passenger returns from the destination to a different city to where they started their trip. It is a great traveling method for business travelers who need to find the quickest, most efficient and affordable variation for their business trip.

3 Origin open-jaw

For example fly from Treviso to Valencia and then back to Milano for 27 EUR

3. Double open jaw

A double open-jaw is a kind of roundback flight itinerary where the passenger’s origin and destination differ in both directions. Different airports in the same city don’t usually count towards being open jaw.

4 Double open-jaw

For example fly from Treviso to Paris and then back from Brussels to Ljubljana for 49 EUR

What are the advantages of an open jaw flight?

There are several reasons why you should consider booking an open-jaw flight, let’s look at some of the most important :

Save time – a lot of time it is easier and much quicker to travel to a more distant airport and catch a direct flight, than to choose stopover flight from your nearest airport. You can fly directly to your destination and back to another airport, just make sure to book a reliable transfer to take you to your home. In this case, where it’s impossible to use your personal car and public transports are not available at any time, the ideal solution is to book a GoOpti transfer – picking you up and dropping you off directly at home from any airport in the region, at any desired time.
Save money – booking a multi city connection is usually much cheaper than booking a classic roundtrip flight or two single air tickets. Open jaws use the same fare components and fare codes (buckets) used for return tickets, including the cheap discount economy fares.
Explore more – by booking certain open jaw flights you will have the opportunity to discover much more amazing places during your journey. You can book your long-haul flights well in advance, and refine your trip between your first and last destination without affecting the long haul ticket. Open jaws can be a great way to explore more without having to take the time to return to your original airport
Error fares – since open jaw flights are more complicated in terms of airline booking system complexity, there is also a higher chance you will , more often than in a classic round trip flight or a direct return flight.

How to book an open jaw?

Using the multi-city option.

Open jaw flights are booked using the multi-city option on the search engine. It allows you to enter different airports and destinations both for both directions. Meaning you can enter your home airport to your first destination for your first flights, and for the second enter the final city on your trip back to your home or any other airport. For example, if you want to fly from Ljubljana to Paris, then return from Prague (your final city on the trip) you would enter Ljubljana-Paris for the first flight, and Prague-Ljubljana for the second.

Including nearby airports

When booking using a multi-city and trying to find the best deal possible, it is also wise to include nearby airports and cities in your search, so that you can really take advantage of this way of travelling, especially if you are trying to save time and money. However, you have to consider the cost of the transportation to and from the airport. It is important to choose the most reliable transportation to the airport.

Using the right tools

Some of the best tools to find open jaw flights on the internet by yourself are GoOpti , Matrix Airfare Search and, even though you cannot book flights it like in the previous two, Google Flights quickly offers great combination of flights on your search. Alternative Airlines can be useful as well.

Booking open jaw flights can be a great opportunity to plan your trip that completely meets your needs . Whether you want to save on time and get your business trip done as soon as possible, because well, time is money … Or you want to see other destinations in between and don’t want to be bound to a certain itinerary for the whole trip.

However, open jaws can also have some disadvantages if you don’t do it right. Always be sure to plan your journey in advance and book your accommodations as well as your transfers on time .

GoOpti is ideal in this case as it offers shuttle services to all surrounding airports at any given time . As always, we highly recommend you to book your GoOpti transfer as soon as you purchase your flight ticket . For more flight offers check here .

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What’s An Open-Jaw Flight & Why Should You Care?

Two dots on a map and a single line connecting them.

However, it’s possible to book a round-trip ticket where either the return trip either departs from or arrives at a different airport. That’s called an open-jaw flight:

denoting or relating to a trip in which an airline passenger flies in to one destination and returns from another.

Here’s where people are preparing comments like, “ WHO DOESN’T KNOW WHAT AN OPEN-JAW FLIGHT MEANS! !!” or, “ WRITE ARTICLES WITH REAL INFORMATION !”

If you think that, obviously this piece isn’t for you. There was a time when all of us, including you (gasp!), didn’t know what an open-jaw flight was. This is for people just getting into points and miles who have never heard of open-jaw flights before, or if they have, really aren’t sure exactly what the term means.

And if you’re one of the people who have never heard of open-jaw flights, ignore the people who make comments like those above.

Now, back to the post:

Open-Jaw: denoting or relating to a trip in which an airline passenger flies in to one destination and returns from another.

An example of an open-jaw flight would be the flights we took on our $25,000 trip halfway around the world.

We flew on a single ticket from Los Angeles to Cairns via Sydney on Virgin Australia and flew back to Los Angeles from Tokyo via Taipei on China Airlines.

For this trip, we booked a separate award ticket to get us from Australia to Japan.

Another example would be the flights my dad and his wife took to get to Indonesia and Thailand :

They flew from Seattle to Bali via Taipei on EVA Air and then flew back to Seattle from Bangkok via Tokyo on a combination of Thai Airways and ANA.

Why would you need to book an open-jaw ticket?

When I booked our ticket to Australia, Delta only allowed round-trip award tickets. One-way tickets were possible but cost the same amount as a round trip. However, you could book an open-jaw ticket and your award would cost the price of 1/2 of each ticket on the trip. So I paid for one award (1/2 the cost for a round trip to Australia and 1/2 the cost of a round trip to Japan). Nowadays, Delta allows one-way tickets (and removed all award charts so there’s no real way to know what an award ticket should cost anyway).

A more practical example would be my dad’s flights. ANA has some of the best award chart pricing to get to Asia using its Mileage Plan program, an American Express Membership Rewards partner. The main restriction is that you can only book round-trip award tickets. By booking an open-jaw ticket, they visited Bali (and much of Indonesia) along with Thailand before heading back home on a single award ticket.

Open-jaw tickets can also work the other way. For example, when Sharon and I visited London one time, our trip looked like this:

We flew from New York to London Heathrow and flew back from London Gatwick to Orlando.

An important thing to know is that when you fly from different airports in the same city, this doesn’t usually count as an open jaw. So you can fly from Heathrow and back to Gatwick and they’ll both count as “London.” The same for New York where JFK and Newark are both considered “New York” (so is LaGuardia but LGA doesn’t have international flights in/out of it).

By booking both of these flights as part of the same open-jaw ticket, we saved $150 on each ticket by not paying the fuel surcharge since our flight was not originating in Europe .

While most airlines will allow you to book a single open jaw on an award ticket, the “double open jaw” is usually a no-no.

An example of this is if you wanted to fly from New York to Paris and then fly back to Orlando from Frankfurt. Neither the departure nor arrival cities are the same.

Most frequent flyer programs will not let you book an award like this as a round trip, as they’ll usually limit bookings to a single open jaw. If you want, you may be able to book this trip as several one-way awards but you might end up paying more miles or taxes as a result.

Final Thoughts

Once you grasp the concept of an open-jaw ticket, it opens up nearly unlimited possibilities when booking awards. You’ll be able to piece together trips you never thought were possible. Think of open-jaw itineraries like Algebra I. It’s the base that everything you’ll learn will build upon. It only gets harder and more complicated, yet ever more rewarding from here on out 🙂 ( Note from Sharon: What Algebra II class did YOU take that was more rewarding than Algebra I??? )

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I realize you are focusing on awards flights, but you left out the biggest reason a person might book an open jaw flight, when you are using a different method of travel for part of your trip (boat, train…) For instance you might flight to Paris, take Eurail to Rome and then fly home from Rome, instead of wasting time, energy and $$$ travelling back to Paris, just to catch a flight.

True, I considered a section about that but it didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the article. It is the the main reason people will book open jaws, be it traveling around with a tour group, cruise or on your own.

my travel to Europe almost always involves flying into one city and flying out of a different airport. it depends on the cruise itinerary. I enjoyed your post.

Beginners Guide: What is a Stopover & What is an Open-Jaw?

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Stopovers and open-jaws are a great way of increasing the value of points and miles. You can add extra destinations to award flights, often at no additional cost, allowing you to see and experience new locations without laying down more miles for the privilege. Unfortunately, award routing rules and restrictions vary widely by frequent flyer program, making it difficult for beginners to take advantage of the opportunity.

So, what are stopovers and open-jaws? That’s what we’ll cover in this post. What they are, how do they work, and a few examples to help clear up any confusion.

What Is a Stopover?

A stopover occurs when you make an extended stop at another airport while traveling to your ticketed destination. A stopover on a domestic flight is considered to be any scheduled time on the ground longer than 4 hours; an international stopover is a stop of more than 24 hours . While a stopover is traditionally en route to your destination, each award program has different rules and region classifications for a stopover, which can allow for complex routing if you understand the fine print of the program.

One of the most appealing aspects of stopovers is that you can extend the time spent in the stopover city for as long as the program's ticketing allows, typically up to a year. So you can fly from departure point to stopover city, stay for almost a year, and continue along to your ticketed destination.

What Is the Difference Between a Stopover and a Layover?

We've previously covered this topic , but we'll break it down using a quick whiskey analogy?

All Scotches are whiskey
All Bourbons are whiskey
However, all whiskeys are not necessarily Scotch or Bourbon. What about Irish Whiskey?

Bringing it back to air travel: All stopovers are layovers, but not all layovers are stopovers.

A layover is the time spent between connecting flights. For example, you’re flying LAX → JFK, but you have a 2-hour layover in ATL to switch planes before flying onwards to JFK. A layover is a short, sub-4-hour block of time for domestic travel and sub-24-hour block for international travel. Within that time window, you connect to the next scheduled flight to reach your ticketed destination. A stopover occurs when you exceed that 4 or 24-hour block of time.

The difference between a layover and a stopover is the amount of time spent in the connecting city . Frequent flyer award redemption rules outline how many stopovers, connections, or layovers you’re allowed on one-way and round-trip awards. A round-the-world itinerary boils down to one award ticket that includes a set number of stopovers and must be ticketed in one direction, i.e., continuously traveling east.

What Is an Open-Jaw?

An open-jaw is when you have a roundtrip airline ticket where the destination and/or the origin are not the same in both the outbound and return travel . There are a few different ways of putting together open-jaw itineraries:

City A is Chicago
City B is Paris
City C is Madrid

City C is Philadelphia

Provided the open-jaw is within the program rules and follows the routing restrictions set out by the carrier it will cost the same as a standard award significantly increasing the value of your miles as you’re adding a destination for free.

Combining Stopovers and Open-Jaws

Where things really start to spice up is if a program allows you to combine stopovers with one or more open-jaw segments. This adds substantial value to the award as you can add multiple cities to the itinerary, but still only pay a single award fee.

A classic example of this is Cathay Pacific’s oneworld ® partner award chart, which allows up to 5 stopovers, 2 transits, and two open-jaws on a single award ticket. There are some pretty strict guidelines to follow, but if you can piece an itinerary together, and you get a knowledgeable reservations agent that knows what they’re about, you can extract tremendous value from a single award fare.

What Happens if I Book a Stopover or Open Jaw when it isn't Allowed?

Let's say you book a one-way international ticket that has a connection of more than 24 hours. If the program whose miles you used to book the ticket doesn't allow a stopover, you'll be charged for each trip separately. For example, if you book a flight from New York to Paris and Madrid using American miles, you'll pay the one-way rate from New York to Paris (30,000 miles in economy) and then you'll pay the one-way rate from Paris to Madrid (12,500 miles in economy). The secret of maximizing stopovers is to book your ticket using miles that will let you pay 30,000 for both flights together using a stopover.

Airlines Which Allow Stopovers and Open-Jaws

We're not going to dig into the stopover and open-jaw policies of every carrier. Instead, we'll cover major airlines that allow stopovers and/or open-jaw itineraries.

Until changes to the program, you could also book a stopover with Flying Blue miles, but in an unannounced change to their award policy, they changed the rules and stopovers are no longer permitted.

Of the programs listed, Asiana, JAL, and Cathay Pacific have some of the most generous routing restrictions, but can be tricky to navigate. Alaska will allow you to book a stopover on one-way awards, a rarity for U.S. programs, and you can also pull some pretty good value from United’s Excursionist Perk .

Example of an Open-Jaw Award

For our example, we’re going to run through a basic open-jaw award flying Vancouver — Tokyo — LA using ANA Mileage Club . ANA operates a fantastic award chart with some of the best value business awards across the Pacific into Asia at 75K round-trip in business (off-peak). Points transfer 1:1 from Amex Membership Rewards and 3:1 from Marriott Rewards so you can leverage points earned via The Blue Business ® Plus Credit Card from American Express or the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless ® Credit Card for ANA flights.

It's worth noting that ANA routing rules differ depending on the carrier you fly and your departure point, something we cover in more detail in our ANA sweet spots post . Also, the price you'll pay in miles fluctuates throughout the year as ANA's prices change.

The first step is to sign into your ANA account , and select ‘ Award Booking ‘ and click ‘ Open-jaw .'

Select your flights.

And review your award booking before progressing to the reservations page.

Final Thoughts

Stopovers and open-jaws can be a little tricky to wrap your head around initially, but it’s worth investing your time to understand the routing restrictions of each award program. It can add an enormous amount of value to your miles and allows you to visit multiple destinations on just one award ticket.

If you have any questions about stopovers or open-jaws, please reach out in the comments.

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How To Maximize Stopovers and Open-jaws [Ultimate Guide]

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How To Maximize Stopovers and Open-jaws [Ultimate Guide]

An Introduction to Stopovers and Open-jaws

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In the award travel world, stopovers and open-jaws are topics that get a ton of attention. They can be difficult to plan and overwhelming to visualize, but can allow you to visit 2 or more places for the price of 1 !

With revenue tickets, these routes are normally not allowed — so, in this sense, award tickets are sometimes objectively better than revenue tickets.

But there are several frequent flyer programs that have incredibly generous award routing rules: Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles immediately come to mind.

In this guide, we’ll provide you an overview of award routing rules with specific airlines, and discuss the planning side of stopovers and open-jaws.

Lastly, we will show you some amazing example itineraries you can build with each frequent flyer program that can be worth tens of thousands of dollars in added value, for free!

Let’s first define what a stopover and open-jaw are, exactly.

A stopover is the act of stopping and staying in a city for longer than 24 hours . Here’s an example of a stopover:

An open-jaw is named that because of how the flight trajectory physically looks. Here’s what we mean.

Let’s say you were in New York, and you wanted to fly to Hong Kong — but then return to NYC from Tokyo. Basically, you’re flying from Point A to Point B, and then going to Point C for your return journey to Point A.

The map would look like this:

The last term we’ll talk about is a double open-jaw . This might be tremendously beneficial if you’re visiting multiple cities!

Here’s an example of what we mean:

The 9 Best Programs To Maximize Stopovers and Open-jaws

Before we go in-depth into each rewards program, it’s important to note that airlines can change their award routing rules at any time without notice .

In the past, airlines such as American, Delta, and United have had very generous award routing rules. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

Here, we’ve compiled what we think are the best programs you can use to work in stopovers and open-jaws to your vacation.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan wins so many awards in the hearts of frequent flyers.

It has an easy-to-use online award search engine (with the exception of Cathay Pacific and LATAM), and it also has generous “beginner” routing rules!

What do we mean by beginner routing rules? Well, these routing rules are very generous, but also extremely simple to understand and use .

Basically, here are Alaska’s routing rules:

You may only fly 1 partner airline and Alaska Airlines on an award ticket.
The terms and conditions state that the stopover must occur in a hub city (i.e. Hong Kong when flying Cathay Pacific), but you might have luck calling in and requesting another stopover.
There are no close-in booking fees, and the partner booking fee is $12.50 plus a $15 phone booking fee.
Changes and cancellations are free until 60 days before departure. After that, you must pay $125.
You can transit via a third region.
You may be able to backtrack , but this is unconfirmed and generally not allowed.

Now that you have an idea of the routing rules, let’s see how we can put this in practice.

Keep in mind that each airline has its own award chart with Alaska Airlines — so this might be hard to keep track of, but it will be totally worth it!

There are some ways to eke out extra value without paying more miles, particularly from Air Tahiti Nui, Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Hainan Airlines, Japan Airlines, and Qantas.

Let’s put some numbers to routes now. Here are some great example routes you can take:

Boston (BOS) – Beijing (PEK) – Urumqi (URC) one-way for 50,000 Alaska miles in Hainan Airlines business class
Chicago (ORD ) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Johannesburg (JNB) one-way for 70,000 Alaska miles in Cathay Pacific first class (or 50,000 in business class )
Los Angeles (LAX) – Brisbane (BNE) – Perth (PER) one-way for 70,000 Alaska miles in Qantas first class (or 55,000 in business class )
Los Angeles (LAX) – Nadi (NAN) – Adelaide (ADL) one-way for 55,000 Alaska miles in Fiji Airways business class
New York (JFK) – Tokyo (HND) – Bangkok (BKK) one-way for 75,000 Alaska miles in Japan Airlines first class (or 65,000 in business class )

These are just a few examples of ways you can build in additional value into your trip!

Take the ORD-HKG-JNB itinerary, for instance. You are literally adding 13 hours of first or business class flying time and ~$10,000 worth of first-class flights for no additional miles.

Let that sink in for a moment … you will get $10,000 in free plane tickets, just for knowing about Alaska’s award routing rules !

Hot Tip: Want some more inspiration for using Alaska miles? See our guide on the best ways to redeem Alaska miles.

We love Air Canada Aeroplan ‘s generous routing rules when traveling round-trip with any long-haul itinerary on different continents.

Right now, you can pay just 5,000 additional Aeroplan points to add a stopover on flights, even one-way flights! You can add up to 2 stopovers on round-trip tickets.

Stopovers are not permitted on travel wholly within North America (including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America).

With such a diverse network of partners in the Star Alliance, it’s easy to build awesome vacations. Keep in mind that Aeroplan uses a hybrid region-based and distance-based award chart.

Here are some great example routes you can take:

Chicago (ORD) – Seoul (ICN) – Singapore (SIN) for 90,000 Aeroplan points on Asiana Airlines business class
Los Angeles (LAX) – London (LHR) – Athens (ATH) for 80,000 Aeroplan points on United Polaris business class and Aegean Airlines business class
New York (JFK) – Taipei (TPE) – Bangkok (BKK) for 90,000 Aeroplan points on EVA Air Royal Laurel business class
Seattle (SEA) – Auckland (AKL) – Tokyo (HND) for 90,000 Aeroplan points on ANA business class and Air New Zealand business class

Overall, Aeroplan offers a simple way to book stopovers. You can get tons of extra value from it!

Hot Tip: Want to know some better ways to redeem Aeroplan points? Look at our best ways to use Aeroplan points !

Let’s call ANA Mileage Club ‘s routing rules as they are: generous for simple travelers.

You might be wondering what differentiates Alaska Airlines from ANA since we used the same “generous for simple travelers” above? Well, ANA allows 1 stopover and 1 open-jaw, but it only allows round-trip flights. Basically, Alaska has generous routing rules on one-ways, while ANA requires round-trip travel.

ANA also has very generous fares for round-trip business class awards . Combining these routing rules with the best-in-class award prices, ANA becomes a powerful asset that we can use.

To be specific, ANA has its regular routing rules and round-the-world award routing rules (the latter is generally going to be out of scope of this guide, so we’ll focus on adding value from the regular routing rules).

Remember that ANA-operated flights are subject to seasonality rules, so keep that in mind when planning trips.

Let’s get into some example redemptions you can make:

Miami (MIA) – Zurich (ZRH) – Dubai (DXB) – Miami (MIA) for 104,000 ANA miles in SWISS Air business class ( high fuel surcharges )
New York (JFK) – Tokyo (HND) – Jakarta (CGK) – New York (JFK) for 100,000 ANA miles during the low season in ANA business class
San Francisco (SFO) – London (LHR) – Istanbul (IST) – San Francisco (SFO) for 88,000 ANA miles in United Polaris business class and Turkish Airlines business class
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Brussels (BRU) – Accra (FRA) – Washington, D.C. (IAD) for 104,000 ANA miles in Brussels Airlines business class and South African Airways business class

Overall, using ANA miles is an excellent way to add some value to your trip.

Hot Tip: Be careful of huge fuel surcharges and avoid them by trying to fly on United (preferably its brand-new Polaris class ), Air Canada, LOT Polish, or Turkish Airlines. Otherwise, you’ll be paying upwards of $1,000 in total taxes and fees.

Asiana Airlines Asiana Club employs 2 region-based award charts: 1 for Asiana flights, and 1 for partner flights.

Additionally, Asiana Airlines-operated flights are subject to seasonality, so in a sense, its award redemption scheme is very similar to ANA.

Asiana Airlines allows up to 7 stopovers, but they cost extra miles (no additional value added). This is overall a pretty weak offering, but it can still provide some value flying to places like Europe , Korea , and South America .

We won’t go over some stopovers with the airline since this always costs extra miles, but here’s an idea of how to use an open-jaw for convenience purposes (and also using a well-known sweet spot to Europe):

Los Angeles (LAX) – Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC) – Los Angeles (LAX) for 100,000 Asiana miles in Lufthansa first class

Since they’re in the same region, you’ll be charged for 2 U.S.-Europe one-way awards, which price out at 50,000 miles each way.

Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 Business Class Window Seat

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles continues to be one of the most underrated loyalty programs out there.

There are tons of optimization to be had using Asia Miles , but the program is a bit complex. For this reason, we think Asia Miles is for “advanced award travelers.” Let’s get into the routing rules.

Basically, you can fall into 3 sets of award redemption buckets:

Asia Miles Awards Chart (only flying Cathay Pacific)
Airline Partners Award Chart (only flying 1 partner the entire way)
Oneworld Multi-carrier Award Chart (flying 3+ partners if part of your itinerary includes Cathay Pacific; otherwise, up to 2 partners without Cathay Pacific)

Each of these is distance-based, and they are subject to different open-jaw and stopover rules. We will focus on Oneworld multi-carrier awards, as they are the most complex and can provide the most value .

Here are the rules when using the multi-carrier award chart, as well as what they mean for you:

If your travel includes Cathay Pacific, you may fly on 3 or more Oneworld airlines. Otherwise, you may fly up to 2 partners. Basically, you should add Cathay Pacific, if not for its amazing inflight product, because it allows you to fly more partners!
The maximum distance you can fly in 1 itinerary is 50,000 miles ( 50,000 miles is an extremely long distance — 99.99% of travelers will be under this all the time ).
The total mileage is determined by the sum of the distances from each of the segments (airport A to airport B). For example, if you’re flying from New York to Hong Kong to New Delhi, you must add the total distances between the 2 segments as opposed to taking the distance between New York and Delhi without considering Hong Kong.
You are allowed a maximum of 5 stopovers, 2 transfers (layovers), and 2 open-jaws per itinerary.
Mixed cabin awards will be charged the highest class mileage price for the entire itinerary. Don’t book mixed cabins unless you don’t have a choice.
You can’t book premium economy.

These might be confusing, but if you take the time to really understand what you could be booking, you can get some outsized value from using Asia Miles’ generous routing rules.

Here’s an extreme example of a trip you could take, illustrating the value you can get with these routing rules:

New York (JFK) – Tokyo (HND) [Japan Airlines]
Tokyo (HND) – Hong Kong (HKG) [Cathay Pacific]
Hong Kong (HKG) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) [Malaysia Airlines]
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Sydney (SYD) [Malaysia Airlines]
Sydney (SYD) – Doha (DOH) [Qatar Airways]
Doha (DOH) – Colombo (CMB) [SriLankan Airlines]
Chennai (MAA) – London (LHR) [British Airways]
Madrid (MAD) – New York (JFK) [Iberia]

How long is this itinerary? You’d be flying 32,975 miles and over 71 hours on 8 different airlines across 9 countries.

How complex is this itinerary? It has 5 stopovers and 2 open-jaws between Doha/Dubai and London/Madrid.

If this doesn’t have you drooling yet, just wait. This amazingly complex itinerary will cost 130,000 miles in economy, 210,000 miles in business class, and 300,000 miles in first class! Using the Asia Miles award calculator will help price out your itinerary.

Just 210,000 Asia Miles in business class?!

So, for 40,000 miles more than a round-trip JFK-HKG ticket in Cathay Pacific business class, you can visit 7 more countries, try 8 different business class products (including Malaysia Airlines’ A330 and A350 business class), and fly more than double the distance?

Yes, please!

We can’t overstate just how amazing using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for Oneworld multi-carrier award tickets truly is.

The biggest challenge will be finding award availability for all flights. If you can pull off a huge, round-the-world trip using Asia Miles, you’ll have the opportunity to try loads of amazing airlines and visit tons of countries!

Emirates has 3 reward tiers for redemptions: Saver, Flex, and Flex Plus.

We’ll focus on Saver awards for economy and business class because they are the cheapest options for its cabin classes. Also, Emirates eliminated Flex first class awards a while ago, so those are no longer possible.

The stopover allowance is 1 free stopover on round-trip saver tickets (business/economy).

In practice, you can always add stopovers to Flex Plus tickets, though these are considerably more expensive than Saver and Flex tickets.

Also, open-jaws are allowed if they are in the same zone.

Emirates doesn’t publish the zone definitions, so the best way to find out if 2 places are in the same zone is to compare the mileage costs using the Emirates Skywards Miles Calculator. To find out, follow these steps:

Visit the Emirates Skywards Miles Calculator .
Type in your route (e.g., Los Angeles – Dubai).
Note the award costs (e.g., Business Saver on LAX – DXB = 165,000 miles round-trip).
Type in another route with one different city (e.g., New York City – Dubai).
Note the award costs (e.g., Business Saver on JFK – DXB = 145,000 miles round-trip).
Compare the award costs (165,000 ≠ 145,000).
If they’re the same, you can be pretty certain that the 2 cities are in the same zone; if not, they are not in the same region.

Of course, you will still need to pay for fuel surcharges , which can be upwards of $1,500 for round-trip tickets.

Here are some great example routes you can take to maximize open-jaws and stopovers:

Los Angeles (LAX) – Dubai (DXB) – Johannesburg (JNB) round-trip for 200,000 Emirates Skywards miles in Emirates A380 business class
New York (JFK) – Milan (MXP) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip with a stopover in Milan for 90,000 Emirates Skywards miles in Emirates A380 business class
Newark (EWR) – Athens (ATH) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip for 145,000 Emirates Skywards miles in Emirates business class
San Francisco (SFO) – Dubai (DXB) – Malé (MLE) round-trip for 180,000 Emirates Skywards miles in Emirates business class

In all examples, Business Saver allows for 1 stopover.

Bottom Line: Overall, Emirates has a decent stopover policy for round-trip flights, but because of its hub-and-spoke model of airline networks, it’s very difficult to add open-jaws since Emirates only allows them for “cities in the same zone.”

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank is similar to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: it employs a region-based award chart for JAL flights and 2 distance-based award charts for partners.

We’ll focus on the distance-based award charts for partners since there’s more opportunity to optimize using the partner award chart.

The 2 award charts are for travel on:

Oneworld partners
Non-alliance partners (including Air France, Korean Air, Emirates, etc.)

Here are the routing rules for partner airlines:

One-way itineraries are allowed.
Itineraries cannot backtrack to the point of origin in order to continue onwards to a final destination.
Itineraries cannot backtrack to the country of origin in order to continue onwards to a final destination.
Departure and arrival cities may be different but must be in the same country.
You’re allowed a total of 6 segments, excluding an open-jaw.
You are allowed 3 stopovers or 2 stopovers and 1 open-jaw.
The distance of the open-jaw is counted in the total itinerary distance.
You cannot mix non-alliance partners and Oneworld partners.

Here is a great example redemption you can make with Japan Airlines while maximizing stopovers and open-jaws:

Los Angeles (LAX) – Paris (CDG) [Air France]
Paris (CDG) – Dubai (DXB) [Emirates]
Dubai (DXB) – Sydney (SYD) [Emirates]
Sydney (SYD) – Hangzhou (HGH) [China Eastern]
Shanghai (PVG) – New York (JFK) [China Eastern]

The total trip distance is 28,639 miles (according to JAL’s Total Mileage Calculator), which would cost 110,000 miles in economy or 160,000 miles in business class.

A minor caveat to consider is that Air France, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, and Korean Air don’t allow first class award bookings , so you’ll have to plan another itinerary that allows you to fly first class the whole way. We think 160,000 miles in business class is the best redemption for this particular itinerary.

This is a great way to optimize Japan Airlines’ distance-based award chart!

Hot Tip: Using Oneworld partners is an easier way to book complex itineraries, but it is quite a bit more expensive in terms of mileage costs.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is generally very strict with award routing rules. These are the following:

Round-trip saver awards are allowed 1 stopover and 1 open-jaw.
One-way advantage (more expensive!) awards are allowed 1 stopover.
Stopovers are only allowed up to 30 days.

Here are some other itineraries where you can take advantage of the routing rules provided by Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer:

Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo (NRT) – Singapore (SIN)
Houston (IAH) – Manchester (MAN) – Singapore (SIN)

If you book an Advantage award, you would be entitled to a free stopover in either Tokyo (NRT) or Manchester (MAN). That said, the price for itinerary #1 is 128,500 miles, while the price for itinerary #2 is 143,500 miles.

United Airlines has something peculiar called the Excursionist Perk .

According to United, here are the rules to use it:

For example, if your journey begins in North America, you will only receive the Excursionist Perk if travel is within a region outside of North America.
Travel must end in the same MileagePlus defined region where travel originates.
The origin and destination of the Excursionist Perk are within a single MileagePlus defined region.
The cabin of service and award type of the free one-way award is the same or lower than the one-way award preceding it.
If 2 or more one-way awards qualify for this benefit, only the first occurrence will be free.

Here’s an example that qualifies:

Los Angeles (LAX) – London (LHR) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Los Angeles (LAX)

There’s not much else to talk about, besides the fact that you basically get a free intra-region award flight. Because United has so many regions, it’s not super useful to extract extra value.

In the example above, the only added value you’re getting is the London-Frankfurt flight, which isn’t great because intra-Europe business class is horrible anyway.

Nevertheless, using the Excursionist Perk will get you a tiny bit of extra value, though it’s really only useful for convenience purposes.

Whew, what a guide! Between reading crazy legal documents, obscure terms and conditions, and confusing award charts, we’ve definitely scrutinized the fine print in this guide to maximizing open-jaws and stopovers.

Of course, there are tons more airline programs out there, but we covered most of our bases here. There are also some outdated resources out there, so we made sure to show you award maximization opportunities based on up-to-date rules!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an open-jaw.

An open-jaw is a flight where the destination and return city are not the same. An example flight could be:

New York (JFK) – Detroit (DTW)
Detroit (DTW) – Washington, D.C. (IAD)

What is a stopover flight?

A stopover is a stay in a city that lasts 24 hours or more.

An example would be:

Flying San Francisco (SFO) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
Stay in Tel Aviv for a week
Tel Aviv (TLV) – New Delhi (DEL)

What is a transfer/layover flight?

A layover is a stay in a city for less than 24 hours.

Which airlines stopover in Singapore?

Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines are the main airlines that stopover in Singapore.

Which airlines stopover in Bangkok?

THAI Air, EVA Air, Korean Air, and Singapore Air are the main airlines that stopover in Bangkok.

Which airlines stopover in Hong Kong?

Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, and Korean Air are the main airlines that stopover in Hong Kong.

Which airlines stopover in Dubai?

Cathay Pacific, SWISS Air, and Emirates are the main airlines that stopover in Dubai.

Which airlines have the best award routing rules?

We’ll split this answer up into airlines that have the best award routing rules for simple itineraries and complex itineraries.

The airlines with the best award routing rules for simple itineraries are Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, and Singapore Airlines.

The airlines with the best award routing rules for complex itineraries are Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Asiana Airlines.

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About Stephen Au

Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.

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What is Open-jaw?

Open-jaw is an itinerary that uses different means of transport, available in your area of departure, destination or both, to take you on trips to other locations.

There are three types of itineraries as shown below.

1. Point of arrival on outward journey different to point of departure on return journey Outward journey: Tokyo - Los Angeles -(via car, train, etc.)- San Francisco Return journey: San Francisco - Tokyo

Image of Point of arrival on outward journey different to point of departure on return journey

2. Point of departure on outward journey different to point of arrival on return journey Outward journey: Tokyo - Shanghai Return journey: Shanghai - Osaka

Image of Point of departure on outward journey different to point of arrival on return journey

3. Both 1. and 2. Outward journey: Tokyo - Guangzhou -(via car, train, etc.)- Hong Kong Return journey: Hong Kong - Nagoya

Pricing unit (PU)

A journey, or part of a journey which can be priced and ticketed as a separate entity; a round-trip, circle trip, one-way, normal open jaw or special open jaw; this fare construction principle is only used internationally.

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What to do about jaw pain, and when to worry

How to figure out what might be causing the ache and what to do to make it stop.

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Where your lower jaw meets your skull, in front of your ear, you’ll find your TMJ, or temporomandibular joint. Problems with this joint or the surrounding muscles can result in temporomandibular disorder (TMD), which affects millions of Americans.

It can cause clicking and popping, along with jaw pain, headaches and difficulty opening your mouth or chewing food. R ecent research suggests that TMJ dysfunction becomes more common with age, in both men and women. The good news is that if you are in pain, TMD is often treatable with at-home remedies and other conservative interventions.

A combination of causes

The likelihood of arthritis-related joint pain increases every decade after age 50, says Sumit Yadav, professor of orthodontics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry in Lincoln. And the joint problems that are caused by osteoarthritis can contribute to temporomandibular disorder. Arthritis can lead to cartilage breakdown, which can subsequently make the small disk in your jaw joint slip out of place.

Tired, tense jaw muscles can also cause clicking and pain — even without a joint problem. “The disk is held in place by ligaments, which function like rubber bands,” says Matthew Messina, a consumer adviser spokesperson for the American Dental Association and assistant professor and clinic director at Ohio State Upper Arlington Dentistry. “Clenching muscles put tension on the rubber bands, and the disks can slip out of position.”

Stress is one common cause of jaw clenching and tense muscles. And frequently chewing gum, Yadav says, can tire out those same muscles, which can contribute to TMD.

Easing the discomfort

Whether the pain is due to joint or muscle problems, almost 90 percent of people with TMD respond to noninvasive treatments, according to Wolters Kluwer’s UpToDate, a decision-making tool for doctors.

Treatments that relax jaw muscles, including self-massage on areas of tension, can be very effective. You can also apply a warm compress to the affected area to relax the muscles and increase blood flow to promote healing. “Taking a warm washcloth and holding it on the jaw muscles on the sides of the face for 5 minutes a couple times a day can be beneficial,” says Messina.

Try to relieve stress to reduce clenching, whether through psychotherapy, meditation or deep breathing. Physical therapists who specialize in TMD can also show you a variety of techniques to relax the muscles around the jaw and reduce pain.

Over-the-counter pain relievers may help you manage discomfort, says Yadav, but they don’t address the cause.

Before treating your pain, your medical provider — typically a primary care provider or dentist — will want to determine the cause of your symptoms and rule out other contributing factors, like an infected tooth.

More invasive treatments for severe cases include oral appliances, such as mouth guards, that prevent jaw clenching; evidence about their effectiveness, though, is mixed. Botox injections into the TMJ area may relax these muscles and prevent jaw pain, but Botox is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this use. In the most serious cases, if months of conservative treatments have not helped, medical providers may recommend surgery to correct structural issues in the jaw that may be contributing to pain.

When jaw pain is urgent

For some people, jaw pain can be a sign of a heart attack. “There are nerves from the heart that connect from the chest to the jaw, so issues in the chest can reflect there,” says Annapoorna Kini, cardiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Still, jaw pain isn’t a common symptom, and it probably wouldn’t be the only sign of a heart attack, says Kini.

Look out for chest pain, shortness of breath, arm pain, dizziness, sweatiness, or nausea at the same time — that could signal an emergency. The same is true if you have existing heart problems and sudden jaw pain; Kini recommends immediate medical care in that case. “When in doubt, if you’re having severe jaw pain, go to the emergency room,” she says.

Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Read more at ConsumerReports.org .

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About the author

Tasmiah Rashid

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Destination Open Jaw

Origin Open Jaw

Double Open Jaw

Option #1: Use a Special Search Engine

Option #2: Manually Search

Are open jaw flights more expensive?

Is it cheaper to book multi-city flights or one-way?

How do I book an open jaw flight on Delta?

Can you buy an open plane ticket?

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What is an open jaw?

Example of a trip with a stopover and open jaw

Bottom line

Mastering Open Jaw Flights: Maximize Your Adventure with this Travel Trick

What is an Open Jaw Flight (AKA Open Jaw Ticket) ?

Reasons for Booking Open Jaw Flights

Types and Variations of Open Jaw Flights

Simple Open Jaw:

Double Open Jaw:

Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Jaw Flights

Disadvantages:

A Real Example: My Open Jaw Flight To/From Hawaii

How to Book an Open Jaw Flight Using Google Flights

Step 1: Visit Google Flights and select “Multi-city” as your trip type.

Step 2: Enter your departure and arrival cities and preferred travel dates, then click “Search”.

Step 3: Google Flights will display your options, and you can choose the Airlines and itinerary that works for you

Why Airline Captains Sit on the Left Side (Even if They’re Right Handed)

What Is an Open Jaw Flight?

1. What Is an Open Jaw Flight?

2. Open Jaw vs Double Open Jaw

3. Open Jaw vs Multi City

4. Benefits of Open Jaw Flights

5. How to Book Open Jaw Flights?

5.1 Flight Booking Websites (Easy)

5.2 Directly From the Airline

6. Tips for Making the Most of Open Jaw Flights

6.1 Transportation