Open-jaw flights: How they work and when to book one

Nov 09 2026 MFR travel team

Have you considered how logical it is to book your flight into Madrid and return from Barcelona than zigzag back to Madrid for your return flight?

The concept of an open-jaw flight is simple, you fly into a city and depart from a different city, providing the opportunity to see more by car, train, ferry, or even (with some trips) on another flight.

Kind of strange, right? However, the most amazing thing is that it's one of the easiest ways to plan a multi-destination trip.

So, what exactly is an open-jaw flight?

A typical return ticket looks like this:

Berlin → Madrid → Berlin

An open-jaw itinerary could instead be:

Berlin → Madrid

Barcelona → Berlin

You travel from Madrid to Barcelona yourself. That missing flight sector creates the "open jaw".

There are also double open-jaw itineraries, where the airports differ at both ends:

Berlin → Los Angeles

San Francisco → Munich

You know, they're great for trips that just naturally follow one way and not always go back the way you came.

When does booking an open-jaw flight actually make sense?

Here's the thing: The biggest perk isn't even the airfare. It's avoiding the extra travel.

Have you ever always wanted to spend a fabulous two weeks traveling from Italy up to France? The problem is, arriving back at your original destination simply because your return flight from there costs you a whole day, an additional train ticket, and possibly an extra hotel night.

An open-jaw booking may let you simply continue forward and fly home from your final city.

They're particularly useful for:

• road trips and rail journeys
• cruises starting and ending in different ports
• longer trips through several cities or countries
• business travel involving meetings in multiple locations

And no, an open-jaw ticket isn't automatically cheaper.

Airlines use fare rules, seat availability and route combinations. You may discover, for example, that an open-jaw fare costs roughly the same as a regular round-trip one. Or perhaps you'll discover that a pair of one-ways is, well, the best deal.

The useful comparison is the total trip cost, not just the airfare. A €40 saving on a return ticket isn't much of a saving if getting back to the original airport costs €90 and half a day.

Open-jaw or multi-city?

The terms often appear together when you're booking, but they aren't quite the same thing.

If you're flying Berlin → Madrid and later Barcelona → Berlin, that's a straightforward open jaw.

If you want to fly Berlin → London → Paris → Rome → Berlin, you're planning a multi-city itinerary with several flight sectors.

Many airline and booking websites place open-jaw searches under the "Multi-city" or "Multiple destinations" option rather than offering a separate open-jaw button.

Check this before you book

The section between your arrival city and your next departure city is normally your responsibility.

So if you fly into Madrid and your return flight leaves Barcelona, don't treat Madrid to Barcelona like an airline connection. Leave enough time between the two parts of the trip and plan that journey separately.

Did you verify the fare conditions? Modifying a segment of your ticket can have ramifications for the rest of your trip, more so if the ticket includes multiple flights.

Remember your baggage. Your bags won't necessarily be transferred automatically if you book further flights separately. Make sure that it is all properly connected up.

What about Passenger Rights and EU261?

Booking an open-jaw itinerary doesn't remove your Passenger Rights.

EU rules on air passengers' rights kick in if things don't go to plan - and they're strong when it comes to cancellations, long delays or denied boarding. But do you know what the rules are based on? It's the flights involved and the specific disruption. EU rules treat bookings made separately very differently from those made as a combined whole – which makes a difference if you've got a return or connecting flights. 

Let me tell you this: When in doubt, the gap you leave is what matters. If you decide to go on a trip by yourself from Madrid to Barcelona, any journey on the ground (even if included in your itinerary) doesn't fall under airline policy. You can always check your flight with MYFLYRIGHT to see if a claim exists.

Should you book an open-jaw flight?

If your trip naturally finishes somewhere different from where it started, check the open-jaw price before automatically booking a return flight.

Compare three things: the open-jaw fare, separate one-way tickets, and the real cost of returning to your original airport.

Sometimes the traditional return wins. Sometimes the open jaw saves hours of pointless backtracking.

And occasionally, that's worth considerably more than saving a few euros.

About the author

Elena Velikova, Senior Claim Specialist

Elena Velikova has four years of experience working with flight-related claims and passenger issues. Her work involves reviewing disrupted journeys, airline bookings and the circumstances that can affect passengers' rights. This practical experience gives her insight into how seemingly small booking decisions, including itinerary structure and separate reservations, can become important when travel plans don't go as expected.