An open-jaw ticket is an airline return ticket where the destination and/or the origin are not the same in both directions. The name is derived from how it looks when drawn on a map.
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For example, an open-jaw itinerary could go from NYC to London, and then from Paris back to NYC. Open-jaw flights allow travelers to see two destinations in one trip without backtracking to the initial destination to catch their flight home.
The practice goes by a few different names, including skiplagging or hidden-city flying. Passengers disembark at their layover city, leaving an empty seat on their next flight, and save money in the process. But airlines are cracking down on the practice, claiming it breaches their rules and costs them revenue.
A circle trip is like a round-trip except that the route on the return trip differs from the route on the outgoing trip. The journey involves two or more stopovers and returns to the originating city.
As its name suggests, an open leg flight is one that, well, has an open leg. Perhaps someone chartered the flight to where you are currently located. Now, that private jet needs to be in another location (or back where it came from) for another flight.
Skiplagging itself isn't deemed illegal. However, many major airlines, such as American, Delta, Lufthansa, and United, have policies against its practice. Therefore, passengers who engage in skiplagging are not committing a criminal offense.
If an airline finds out what you are doing, it could simply cancel your ticket or even ban you from flying with it. That's what reportedly happened recently to a North Carolina teen who booked an American Airlines flight from Florida to New York but disembarked at his Charlotte connection.
But skiplagging is controversial, and many airlines frown upon it — so much that it can be punishable by miles or status cancellations and even a lifetime ban from the airline.
While skiplagging isn't illegal, American Airlines filed a civil lawsuit earlier this month against Skiplagged.com, accusing the company of unauthorized and deceptive ticketing practices and tricking customers into believing they've gained access to a secret loophole.
Timing plays an important part. Specifically, plane tickets usually don't get cheaper closer to the departure date. Instead, flights tend to be the most inexpensive when you book between four months and three weeks before your departure date.
If you're looking to travel to multiple countries in one go, the cheapest way to do so is often by booking a multi-stop trip with a single airline (or at least one airline alliance).
Can you do roundtrip from different airports? Yes. If you depart from one airport but return to another, or fly to one airport and return from another, this is called an open-jaw flight.