Open Jaw Flights: The Business Traveler's Guide to Saving Money

Open jaw flights might save you time and money if your business travel includes stops in more than one city. You might be wondering what an open jaw flight is and how it relates to business travel if you've never heard of this term before.

A normal round-trip airline ticket takes you from Point A to Point B and back again. An open jaw ticket, on the other hand, lets you fly into one city and back from another. You may fly from Point A to Point B, then drive to Point C, and then fly back to Point A from Point C.

This method gives you more freedom than a regular round-trip ticket, and open jaw tickets are generally cheaper than buying two separate one-way tickets.

You might not believe it, yet this happens more often than you think. Business trip itineraries often include visits to more than one city over the course of a few days. This could be because of internal site visits or a series of meetings with investors. It can be difficult to figure out how to get around on complicated multi-city trips like these, but open jaw planes are a useful tool for business travelers. In this article, we'll talk more about how to identify and book open jaw flights, as well as how to make the most of their time-saving potential.

Learning about the numerous kinds of open jaw flights

A regular round-trip ticket will show the same airports for both the outbound and return flights. There are three basic types of open jaw flights: destination, origin, and double open jaw flights. An open jaw ticket is one where the origin and destination are different.

What does it mean to have an open jaw flight to a destination?

The passenger flies from one city to another and then goes to a separate city to catch their flight back.

For example, a business traveler flies from London to Florence and then back to London from Rome.

What does it mean to have an origin open jaw flight?

The passenger flies from one city to another and then back to a city that is not their hometown.

For example, a business traveler flies from Manchester to Rome and then back to London from Rome.

What does it mean to have a double open jaw flight?

A double open jaw ticket is when the city of origin and the city of destination are different for both legs of a roundtrip itinerary.

Example: A business traveler flies from Manchester to Rome and then back from Florence to London.

What’s the difference between multi-city vs. open jaw tickets?

When you book a multi-city flight, you book more than one flight on the same reservation.

Imagine that your company is releasing a new product and you have to deliver speeches in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. You could book a flight that goes to more than one city and includes the following legs:

• From New York to Chicago
• From Chicago to Los Angeles
• From Los Angeles to New York

This is frequently cheaper than booking each leg of the trip as a separate one-way flight.

Open-jaw tickets don't include the intermediary flights of a multi-city package. You would need to take two flights for this scenario.

• From New York to Chicago
• From Los Angeles to New York

You could either take a bus or train between Chicago and Los Angeles or buy a separate one-way ticket that isn't on the open jaw fare.

An extended layover or stopover is another sort of multi-city journey. You put off your connecting flight for a few days so you can go to other places. Some airlines, like Icelandair, let travelers add a free layover that might last up to a week. But each airline has its unique rules about stopovers, so it's better to call them directly.

Basic problems with managing executive travel

When you plan travel for CEOs and important business people, these are the main problems you will need to solve.

Privacy: High-level meetings require a certain amount of privacy and secrecy, especially when talking about private business information and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Travel plans must include a place where CEOs may work without being disturbed.

 

Productivity: Itineraries should be created with productivity in mind so that executives can keep working at every stage of the trip. Think about things like Wi-Fi access when traveling, business class lounges, and apps that help you get things done.

 

Flexibility: The needs of executives who travel alter all the time because their schedules are always changing and they sometimes have to make last-minute changes. Travel arrangements need to be flexible so that you can rapidly take advantage of fresh business opportunities.

 

Safety: If you're planning travel for important VIPs, you need to make sure their safety needs are satisfied. Think about hiring a private vehicle service and do a full risk assessment before each trip.

 

Cost: Executive travel normally has bigger discretionary expenditures than regular business trips, but it's still crucial to make sure that spending is in line with the organization's goals and priorities.

Making the most of open jaw flights for business travel

The examples above show that open jaw flights can be set up in many different ways. But what are the advantages of traveling in and out of different cities for business?

An open jaw itinerary has a few benefits, such as:

More flexibility: With open jaw flights, you may organize many site visits or meetings in surrounding locations without having to book separate flights for each one. And you won't have to go back to your original airport, so you'll have more freedom to explore.

Cost efficiency: Business travelers save money on transportation by not having to go back to the original airport between meetings. Furthermore, a single open jaw booking is usually less expensive than buying several one-way tickets. This advantage is because open jaws and return tickets use the same fare codes, which lets you get economy reductions. You can save money by searching for flights to and from nearby cities instead of just the same airports.

Travel that saves time: Business travelers can keep moving by combining ground transportation with flights. This cuts down on time spent waiting at airports and going back and forth. Open jaw itineraries work for demanding business schedules when every minute counts.

How to look for and book the best open-jaw flights

You can book open jaw tickets just like you would for any other flight, either directly on the airline's website or through an online travel agency. Use an SME travel management tool like Booking.com for Business to see the most possibilities. It allows you to compare flights from hundreds of airlines all at once.

Here are some recommendations for finding the greatest open jaw results for your business once you've chosen your booking platform.

1. Choose the option for flights to more than one city

Using the multi-city option on your search tool is the easiest approach to find open-jaw flights. This shows up in the drop-down box next to "One-way flight" and "Round-trip flight." You can then enter multiple cities for your origin (Leaving From) and destination (Going To) in both directions.

For instance, if you want to go from Buenos Aires to Santiago and then back to Lima, you would enter Buenos Aires to Santiago for the first trip and Lima to Buenos Aires for the second flight.

2. Look for cities that are close by as well

If you can, check the box that says "Include Nearby Airports" to make your search even broader. Think about looking for long-haul flights to New York City. LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) are the most common ways to get to New York City. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey is also a popular third choice.

By looking for "nearby airports," you'll also see flights to Albany International Airport (ALB), which is only 2.5 hours away by train. These flights may be cheaper for business travelers.

You should also think about the cost of getting to and from each airport and how reliable it is for business travelers on a tight schedule.

3. Make plans for your vacation in between

You have to move between airports on open jaw itineraries. The trips we've spoken about above would be the ones between Santiago and Lima or Albany and New York City.

After you book your open jaw flight, you need to plan the best and cheapest route to get from one place to another. In Europe, this is frequently done by train; however, in the US, it might be done by renting a corporate automobile. In certain places, the quickest and easiest thing to do is to book a separate short, one-way flight.

Getting around the logistical problems of traveling to more than one city

When you have to go to more than one city for work, it makes organizing the trip even harder. You will need to pay close attention to travel times because there are more connections between cities than on a normal round-trip flight. Open jaw itineraries are more than just going from Point A to Point B. They include multiple stages of travel that may require renting cars and taking flights, trains, and buses.

Different cities and regions offer a variety of transportation options, and a delay in one part of the trip can impact subsequent connections. This can result in rescheduling meetings, missing conferences, and other negative impacts on your business.

If you're making a multi-city or open-jaw itinerary, you'll need the necessary tools to keep track of your calendar and the schedules of your traveling teams at all times. This means finding solutions that send you real-time updates about your travel plans. This way, you can rapidly change your plans if your flight is canceled or delayed and avoid more problems down the line.

How to make your open jaw trip a success

Here are some recommendations to help you get ready for and deal with the problems mentioned above.

First, look into connections: Make sure that there are good local transportation options between your departure and arrival airports before you book any open jaw tickets.

 

Use comparison tools to help you shop around: One of the nicest things about open jaw flights is that they are flexible. To get the most out of this, you should compare many airlines, itineraries, and connection locations. You can locate the cheapest prices and times, including flights that can be canceled, by shopping around.

 

Use real-time information from travelers: Use travel solutions that let you see where travelers are going and provide you mobile alerts in real time if there are any delays. This lets you act swiftly when the times change.

 

Add extra time: When making an open jaw itinerary, make sure to include extra time for things like meetings that run late, long queues at airport security, and traffic between cities.

It's ideal to centralize your plan to make it easier for business travelers who have to go through multiple airports, modes of transportation, and time zones on the same trip.

Your business will be able to take advantage of open jaw flights if you use easy-to-use travel management software. Open jaw tickets let you fly in and out of the most convenient places, whether you rent a vehicle, take a ferry, or go on a train. They also provide you a lot of freedom and flexibility in between. That implies that this kind of airline ticket can often save you time and money.

But every airline has its own regulations and standards for stopovers, and in some situations, a succession of one-way flights will cost less than an open jaw itinerary. It's always a good idea to look at all the possibilities before making a purchase.

Photo by Vika Glitter:

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Business administration, Travel