What is an open-jaw ticket?
A round trip that flies into one city and home from another, or leaves from a different city than it returns to. It is priced as one ticket, not two one-ways.
Open-jaw ticket, explained
The name comes from the shape of the trip on a map: the two ends do not meet, so the route looks like an open jaw. The most common kind flies out to one city and back from another, for example New York to Rome and Paris to New York. You cover the gap between Rome and Paris yourself, by train, car or a short flight.
Airlines price most open-jaw trips as a round trip, using half of the round-trip fare to each city. That is why an open jaw usually costs far less than two one-way business class tickets, which are often priced close to a full round trip each.
The fare rules decide which open jaws are allowed. Most international business class fares allow one, as long as the gap stays within a region the airline defines.
On a business class trip
A two-week trip through Italy and France: New York to Rome on the way out, Paris to New York on the way home. You see both countries without flying back to Rome, and the ticket prices as one round trip.
Related terms
- Multi-city ticket
One ticket with three or more flights between different cities, priced and issued together rather than as separate tickets.
- Stopover
A planned stay of more than 24 hours in a connecting city on an international ticket, as opposed to a layover, which is a short wait between flights.
- Fare rules
The conditions attached to a fare: whether you can change or cancel, at what cost, the minimum and maximum stay, stopovers and open jaws.
- One-way ticket
A ticket for one direction only. On many international routes a business class one-way costs close to a round trip; some airlines price it at about half.
Further reading: Business class to Europe, How to fly business class for less, New York to Rome in business class, New York to Paris in business class. Every term in the glossary.
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