Open-Jaw Tickets: The Travel Hack Explained

You fly into Lisbon. Two weeks later you are in Madrid. Now what? Go back to Lisbon just to catch your return flight? That costs time, money and a full day of your trip.

There is a better way. It is called an open-jaw ticket.

What is an open-jaw ticket?

An open-jaw ticket is a flight where your arrival city and departure city are different. You fly into City A and return from City B. The stretch between them is yours to cover by train, rental car or bus.

Example: Frankfurt to Lisbon (outbound), Madrid to Frankfurt (return). You land in Portugal, travel through Spain and fly home from there. No backtracking. No wasted day.

The name comes from the gap on the map. The route looks like an open jaw.

Why does it cost the same as a roundtrip?

Here is the real surprise. Open-jaw tickets cost roughly the same as a standard roundtrip with most airlines. Sometimes even less.

The reason: airlines price each leg separately. When you book Frankfurt to Lisbon plus Madrid to Frankfurt, the airline calculates both legs on their own. As long as both routes are similarly popular, the total stays in roundtrip range.

A concrete example. Frankfurt to Lisbon roundtrip: around 180 euros on TAP. Frankfurt to Lisbon plus Madrid to Frankfurt: around 185 euros. Five euros difference. In return, you skip the backtrack from Madrid to Lisbon (train: roughly 30 euros, 9 hours) and gain an entire travel day.

According to The Points Guy, open-jaw tickets are one of the most underrated booking tricks out there.

Open jaw vs. open return: a massive difference

Do not confuse open-jaw with open return. An open return means you book a flight out and leave the return date flexible. Sounds great. Costs 40 to 80 percent more than a fixed ticket.

Open-jaw has fixed dates. Only the cities differ. That is the key distinction. Fixed dates, flexible cities: cheap. Flexible dates, fixed city: expensive.

How to book open-jaw on Google Flights

Step by step:

Go to Google Flights
Select “Multi-city” instead of “Round trip”
First leg: Your home airport to City A (e.g. Frankfurt to Lisbon)
Second leg: City B to your home airport (e.g. Madrid to Frankfurt)
Enter dates, search

Google Flights shows you the total price immediately. Compare it with a regular Frankfurt to Lisbon roundtrip. You will see the difference is minimal.

On Expedia the process is identical. Click “Multi-city,” enter both legs. Expedia often combines different airlines on each leg, which can push the price even lower.

Tip: Skyscanner is also worth checking for multi-city routes. It highlights cheaper alternative dates alongside your search.

When open-jaw makes sense

Open-jaw works brilliantly for certain trip types. Not all.

Ideal for:

European road trips. Fly into Rome, travel through Florence to Milan, fly home from there. Train routes across Europe make the overland stretch comfortable and cheap.
Car rentals. Pick up in Barcelona, drop off in Nice. One-way fees are often just 30 to 50 euros extra.
Longer trips of 10 days or more. The more time you have, the more value an open route delivers.
Multi-city itineraries. Three cities in two weeks? Open-jaw saves you the return leg to city one.

Less useful for:

Weekend getaways. Friday arrival, Sunday departure. Nothing to optimize there.
Cities with no good overland connection. If the ground transfer costs 500 euros, it eats your savings.
Last-minute bookings. Price gaps between roundtrip and open-jaw tend to widen close to departure.

Real price comparisons

Here are actual prices from March 2026, checked on Google Flights:

Route	Roundtrip	Open-Jaw	Difference
FRA to LIS, LIS to FRA	182 euros	n/a	n/a
FRA to LIS, MAD to FRA	n/a	187 euros	+5 euros
MUC to BCN, BCN to MUC	145 euros	n/a	n/a
MUC to BCN, MRS to MUC	n/a	152 euros	+7 euros
BER to FCO, MXP to BER	n/a	168 euros	+3 euros vs. BER to FCO RT (165 euros)

Three to seven euros extra. In exchange, you skip hours of backtracking, transfer costs and lost vacation days.

As Lonely Planet puts it: open-jaw gives you the freedom to plan your route instead of fitting it around a ticket.

Zercy’s secret weapon

Open-jaw is one of Zercy’s core features. When you say “I want to visit Portugal and Spain,” Zercy automatically suggests an open-jaw route. You do not need to know the trick exists. Zercy recognizes the pattern and shows you the route with prices, ground transfers and alternatives.

No manual multi-city searching. No comparing across three platforms. Zercy thinks ahead so you can spend more time traveling and less time searching. For more ways to save on flights, check out 7 Tricks to Find Cheaper Flights.

Zercy analyzes your travel plans and automatically detects when an open-jaw ticket is the smarter option. Try it at zercy.app.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is an open-jaw flight ticket?

An open-jaw ticket is a flight where you arrive in one city and depart from a different city. You cover the distance between them on your own. It is booked as a single ticket, not as two separate one-way flights.

Why do open-jaw tickets cost the same as roundtrips?

Airlines price each flight leg individually. As long as both legs are similarly priced routes, the combined cost stays at roundtrip level. The price difference is typically 3 to 10 euros.

How do I book an open-jaw ticket on Google Flights?

Select the “Multi-city” option instead of “Round trip.” Enter your outbound flight as the first leg and your return from the second city as the second leg. Google Flights calculates the combined price automatically.

When is an open-jaw ticket most worth it?

Open-jaw delivers the most value on European road trips, car rental routes and trips lasting 10 days or longer. Anytime you are traveling overland from A to B anyway. For weekend trips or very short stays, it offers little advantage.

Open-Jaw Tickets: The Travel Hack Most People Don't Know About