What is an open-jaw ticket?
A return itinerary where you fly into one city and out of another, covering the gap yourself — and it is frequently cheaper than two one-way tickets and occasionally cheaper than a conventional return.
The three forms:
Destination open-jaw. Fly to A, return from B. You travel between A and B independently — by train, hire car, ferry, or a separately booked flight. The most common form, and ideal for a trip covering ground.
Origin open-jaw. Depart from your home city, return to a different one. Useful if you are relocating or have reason to end elsewhere.
Double open-jaw. Both ends differ.
Why it is priced as a return rather than as two one-ways. Airline pricing treats a round trip as a single fare construction, and one-way fares are frequently disproportionately expensive — sometimes approaching the cost of a return. An open-jaw is constructed as a return fare with different endpoints, so it typically prices close to a normal return rather than as two singles. The saving against two one-way tickets can be substantial.
How to book it. Most airline and agency sites offer a multi-city search option, which is where open-jaw itineraries are constructed. It is frequently hidden behind a tab, and searching return then one-way separately will not find the fare.
Where it works best:
Linear trips — arriving in one city and travelling onward, rather than backtracking to your arrival point purely to fly home. The time saved is frequently worth more than any fare difference.
Rail-and-fly combinations across Europe.
Long trips where returning to the start is wasteful.
The constraints:
Both segments are usually on the same airline or alliance, which limits options.
Fare rules still apply, and mixing fare types can produce restrictive conditions.
Baggage allowances may differ between segments on different routes.
The surface segment is your responsibility entirely — if you fail to reach the departure city, the airline owes you nothing, so leave genuine margin.
Related constructions: a stopover, where a deliberate long connection lets you visit an intermediate city, which some airlines offer as a promoted programme.