We're going to Prague and Paris in mid October. I've been researching flights from Chicago, and I am woefully ignorant about how to get the best deal for the three legs of this trip. Any suggestions about air travel? Thanks in advance.

An open jaw ticket is exactly what you describe; US to Paris, Paris to Prague, Prague to US. Depending on the airline, they can sometimes be the same price as a round trip ticket between two destinations. Most of the airline websites will allow you to enter a search for flights between multiple destinations to get an idea of the price.

Good luck!

Open jaw means fly into one city, out of another. For example, you can fly into Prague, then make your way to Paris via train or budget intra-Europe flight, then fly home from Paris. Your plane ticket would be from Chicago to Prague, returning from Paris to Chicago. Usually just as cheap as a round trip, and you don't have to backtrack to get back to Prague.

Anne

I agree with Anne - - and less so with smrt2, at least with regard to the semantics. What smrt2 describes is generally called a "triangle trip" because the "middle leg" is part o the same itinerary as the outbound and return legs of the itinerary. When the outbound and return legs are NOT joined (on the original itinerary, from one airline or artner or cooperating airlines) - - that's when the "jaw is open".

Best wishes,

Rex

ORD-CDG
PRG-ORD

That's open jaw.

If you do that, you need to get from Paris to Prague on your own. Smartwings, a discount carrier, flies CDG-PRG once or twice a day. But the fares aren't particularly cheap - usually about 80-90 Euros one-way. But better than connecting via two different carriers. Or check the major carriers Air France and CSA Czech for their fares.

Or, you can just price out ORD-CDG-PRG-ORD and compare to the above open-jaw + Smartwings flight. It may be about the same or even cheaper.

Open jaw is AAA-XXX & XXX-BBB or AAA-XXX & YYY-AAA. In either case the length of the open jaw (AAA to BBB, or XXX to YYY) must be less than either of the flown legs.

I have not seen so many Internet sites that allow pricing of open jaw itineraries. I might recommend the services of a good travel agent who can see what the carrier and cost options are for you.

Oh mygam, just check on plane fares from Chicago to Prague and Paris to Chicago. That is an open jaw flight. You will need to get yourself from Prague to Paris by whatever means works for you. Best wishes.

Open jaw is not 3 flights - it is two. The idea is to avoid backtracking.

A regular ticket would be Chicago to Paris round trip - then finding another way - air or train or ? from Paris to Prague and back to Paris for the return flight to Chicago.

An open jaw would be flyng Chicago to Paris the return from Prgaue to Chicago - so there is no need to return to Paris. (What smsrt2 desribed is not an open jaw - just a 3 leg journey). With open jaw you get from Paris to Prague however you want. (Typically the cost of an open-jaw itinerary is 1/2 the cost of the flight to each of the cities involved. For example, Chicago to Paris is $600 and Chicago to Prague is $800 - so the open jaw would be $700.)

And most of the major travel sites allow you to search for open jaw tickets - you just have to search in the multi-city or multi-destination options. there is no need to use a travel agent.

I found when pricing a similar trip that the price is different depending on which city you fly into and out of. So price it both ways-- i.e. into Prague and out of Paris, into Paris and out of Prague. It also seemed to me that flying through Paris always cost more, from Denver anyway. And, yes, Expedia and Orbitz at least allow you to price multi-city. Try pricing one-ways, too. You never know-- airfare is a mystery.

Patty5252, I'm unaware of many websites that DON'T allow you to book open-jaw. They don't call them that, they just call them "multi-city", but it is an option to plug in those multi cities and create any open jaw flight -- on most websites. But for anyone unable to figure out how to do that, you are right -- a travel agent might be the alternative.

Of course you can buy open jaw tickets on regular websites like Travelocity, etc. I've done it several times. They couldn't be in business if they were operating on such a limited basis as not to allow people to buy tickets like they wanted.

"Open jaw" means Chicago to Paris and Prague to Chicago as your round-trip ticket (nothing to do with how you get from Paris to Prague).

Flying between the three places is "multi-city".

I usually poke around on Orbitz and a couple airline websites, then telephone the airlines to arrange and purchase the ticket once I have a good idea what I need.

"Flying between the three places is "multi-city" "

Well, yes, but then so is your description of open jaw. At least if you're booking on a website, you'll have to click "multi-city" to book the open jaw you're talking about.

'tis true... that's why i always call the airlines for this kind of ticket (i'm one of those technically challenged people who couldn't figure out how to book it online).

Open jaw - it's when you look at those prices and your jaw drops

It is really not that complicated to do it on your own online.

If you want to buy all three legs on the same ticket, you do:

Flight1: AAA-BBB
Flight2: BBB-CCC
Flight3: CCC-AAA

If you want to do open-jaw and find your way between city B and city C, you do:

Flight1: AAA-BBB
Flight2: CCC-AAA

Either way, you use the "multi-segment" booking page, even if it's just two flights for the open-jaw.

Pretty straight forward to me...

Mea culpa. I've seen open jaw defined both ways...

LOL... not to make fun of you... but Conan O'Brien did an entire (little) segment last night on mispronouncing words... and how it (lamely) works to always utter: "yeah, well, I've heard it pronounced both ways"...