Open Jaw Flights
 

Hi, is there a special trick to finding open jaw flights? I was looking into that for flights to Italy this October and I found that it was much more expensive than round trip to/from same cities. I am entering it as two separate flights (such as Phila to Rome, Florence to Phila) into various websites. Is there another way to do it? We are five traveling so any better prices would be great!

Use Kayak.com and select " multi-city" option--it should be about the same price as RT.

You're entering it wrong. Select the multi-city option on the websites, not separate one-way flights. Are you really wanting to fly PHL/FCO and FLR/PHL? That might be part of the expense as FLR doesn't have flights to the US and you have to connect elsewhere in Europe. Try PSA (there's a shuttle bus to the PSA airport from Florence). Rome is a short train ride from Florence so I wouldn't rule out flying in and out of Rome.

I think every website I've seen calls that "multi city" on the rate option tabs, or something similar. Air France calls it "multiple destinations" and itasoftware.com calls it "multi-segment"

Thank you SO MUCH! I tried in kayak and found a few possibilities and much cheaper than two one way tickets. I can look up but what is PSA?

PSA = Pisa

PSA is the airport code for Pisa.

We are starting our Italy trip by staying a week in an apartment in Castellina, then going to Rome for a few days. So I thought it might make more sense to fly into Florence, which is closer to Castellina and leave from Rome. We would be renting a car so I don't know if we would have to pay an additional fee dropping off at a different airport. Advice? Thanks.

Whether flying into FLR, PSA, or FCO makes sense to you or not depends on what objectives you want to prioritize. If your objective is to drive the least, your plan may make sense.

However, since you are flying from elsewhere, there are probably may other options with different arrival times, driving time, driving hassles, and cost. You need to put together different total scenarios consisting of different arriving airports and places to pick up a car to see which combination you want instead of just trying to optimize one component.

Possible arrival airports are FCO, FLR, and PSA. You can pick up cars at FLR, PSA, FCO, or train to Orvieto or Chiusi and pick up a car there as an exmaple.

I have included FLR into many of my possible options, but the flight options into FLR from where I live had always been limited.

I've just noticed your travel is in Oct. Delta's direct JFK/PSA flight is seasonal and I think ends in Sept. If you can find a deal to PSA, driving from there to Castellina is not much more than FLR to Castellina.

You do know that 5 people plus luggage will not fit in a car and will be a tight fit in a van? Cars/vans in Europe are smaller than the US.

I flew JFK-PSA in November a couple of years ago, but I think it is a seasonal routing.

Last trip to Italy there were five adults and we fit into an Italian rental car. It was a Ford Focus wagon.

To be fair, the three in the back seat were a tight fit. And they still complain about it to this day ;-) The luggage just fit although we each only had one carry on size piece.

So it can be done. But we weren't traveling all day in the car either.

If there are smaller children in the mix and you don't go crazy with luggage either way, you may be able to make a car work.

Most rental companies and rental brokers do not charge additional fees for dropping off in different cities within the same country. You will pay an extra charge for picking your car up at the airport--but that is pretty normal worldwide now.

i fly openjaw mostly as i dont like to backtrack.
i have flown into Amsterdam and out of Rome a few times at a very good price. also have flown into Milan and out of Rome..
sometimes it is worth spending a few hundred more to avoid backtracking.

Sometimes open jaw works out cheaper. This time we're flying into Naples and out of Rome. If I was doing in and out of Rome it was more expensive. It happens a lot that way.

If you go to AutoEurope.com you can put in whatever possibilities you want to drop off and pick up for the car. I wouldn't rent a compact for 5 people.

If you decide to drop off in Rome don't pick inside the city. There is a drop-off near Villa Borghese. There are a lot to pick from so just google map them to see what's best.

Thanks for all of the input. I plan to work on this tonight and figure out every possible scenario to see what works best. Yes I know 5 will be tough, it is our three kids in their 20s and parents. We have already told them they are brining almost nothing as far as luggage goes. That could be a problem for my daughter but my two sons should be fine with it. My one son is in the Peace Corps in Armenia so it may end up that flying him to Rome is the only option that will work well for all of us. Of course we could still fly into Pisa or Florence and he could take a train and meet us. Lots to think about. Thanks!