Openjaw

Openjaw refers to an airline itinerary in which the two main air segments do not form a closed loop, meaning you fly into one city and depart from a different city, with a non-flown segment between the two air portions. In practice, this often involves flying from origin A to destination B, then traveling by land or sea to destination C, and flying from destination D back to origin A (or from C back to A), creating an “open jaw” between the two air legs.

A common example is starting in New York, flying to London, taking a rail or car trip to Paris, and returning home from Paris to New York. Here the outbound and return flights do not share a single continuous journey, and the travel between London and Paris is completed by non-air means. Openjaw can also occur in more complex itineraries known as double openjaw, where neither the initial origin nor the final destination coincide with the other end of the trip, often involving multiple non-flying segments.

Openjaw itineraries are popular for travel planning because they offer flexibility to explore regions without backtracking and can reduce total travel time. They are frequently used in multi-city trips, round-the-world tickets, and scenarios where overland travel is convenient or desired. However, fare rules can be more complex than standard round-trip tickets, and some airlines or fare families may impose restrictions, higher change fees, or separate ticketing requirements for different segments.

Booking considerations include checking baggage policies across separate tickets, understanding visa and entry requirements for each country visited, and ensuring that connections between air and ground segments align with your overall schedule. Using multi-city search tools can help identify viable openjaw options.