I've read advice about saving money by flying "open jaw" yet it seemed to me when checking SideStep, Delta.com, Orbitz that OJ was more expensive. I would appreciate any help in clearing up my confusion. Thanks in advance.

Sometimes it is more expensive, though most of the time it isn't, especially when you factor in the cost (and/or time, lost vacation time, etc) then backtracking to the airport of your initial arrival.

Best wishes,

Rex

Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. We were able to fly OJ into Rome, out of Venice for less than a RT ticket.

We've never found it to be particularly less expensive. It is, however, often much more convenient. When we've done it, it was primarily to suit our preferred schedule, rather than a money issue. And as rex says, you can usually save more time and money than backtracking to your original arrival city.

Perhaps you're unfamiliar by the terminology. While many people refer to 'open jaw,' most airline reservation browsers refer to 'multi-city' tickets. Try your itinerary with that option.

It's not any more expensive thann 1/2 of the RT fare for each city - IF you're talking about regular airlines.

If you're talking budget carriers or consolidators - that's a whole other thing.

ellenem hit the nail right on the head. Thanks for the "translation".

When I have flown open-jaw I booked it directly with the airline, not a middleman. On websites it is called multi-city. I have always paid the little bit extra and done it over the telephone. The ticket price was only a smidge more (or the same).

Often when people are trying to book 'open jaw' for the first time, they try booking two one-way tickets--incredibly expensive! They don't understand that 'multi-city' is the online term. Perhaps Fodorites should consider using the term 'multi-city' for clarity instead of 'open jaw' . . .

Open jaw has a slightly different meaning is why. Multi-city could mean flying between 3, 4, 5 whatever number of cities. Open jaw simply means into one city and out of a different one for the trip home.

You can actually save money and/or lots of time by doing the open-jaw. Last year we flew into Rome, took the train to Florence, and then to Venice. We then flew a cheapo European airline (MyAir) from Venice to Paris for about $50, and then home from Paris.

Covered a lot of territory with no backtracking.

I don't think "open-jaw" is always less expensive, it can be a little more, but we booked NYC-Milan and Geneva-NYC a couple of years ago and it was about a $200 less than the roundtrip to Milan. Sometimes you get almost the same price. But even if it's a little more expnesive, it's worth it, considering the train ticket that you won't buy, your time, energy, and convenience.

Thanks, all! Needed clarification and great information. I now realize I have many more options that previously thought. This is good?

And if your travel schedule allows, try reversing your "open jaw" request--that can make a difference in prices, too. E.g., price it flying into Venice and out of Rome, then price it flying into Rome and out of Venice.

Note that Delta is maybe the only airline with flights that leave Venice at a reasonable time of day, rather than 6am. and maybe US Air, too.

Airfare sites don't use "open jaw" from what I've seen, they use "multi-city" even if you're only using two segments.

Other factors that affected the price that I experienced this spring (searching for Florida-Rome/Venice-Florida)..
1. time of day
2. number of connections
3. length of connecting time
4. connecting city
Ex. of that - I chose to connect in Cincinnati over Atlanta or JFK and saved $100 per person.

I booked an open jaw ticket - Flying into Rome and out of Paris. I had to change my plans while in Italy and flew out of Venice back home to LAX bypassing Paris altogether. The ticket cost an additional $6. That's it.

KLM departs the Venice airport at 12:05pm.