Open-Jaw and Multi-City Flights from the UK: How to Plan Cheaper Trips

Overview

An open-jaw itinerary is a trip where the airports at one end of the journey do not match. For example, you might fly from London to Barcelona, travel overland through Spain, then fly home from Madrid to London. The surface journey between Barcelona and Madrid is your “open jaw”. The term can also describe an itinerary where you fly into one airport and return to a different UK airport, such as Manchester to Rome followed by Milan to Birmingham.

A multi-city booking normally lets you enter several flight sectors in one search. It may produce a single itinerary, or it may simply display a combination of flights that still needs careful checking. A standard return ticket, by contrast, usually uses the same departure and arrival airports in both directions.

There are three common ways to build an open-jaw or multi-stop trip:

• One multi-city booking: several sectors are priced together by an airline or booking platform.
• Two one-way tickets: an outbound flight and a return flight are bought separately, possibly with different airlines.
• Separate tickets with surface travel: you fly into one city, use rail, coach or another transfer, then depart from a different airport.

Any of these can work. The right choice depends on the total door-to-door cost, the flexibility you need and how much disruption risk you are prepared to accept. A cheaper fare can lose its advantage once checked baggage, airport transfers, overnight accommodation or a missed-connection contingency is included.

How to estimate

Start with the complete journey rather than searching for a flight immediately. Write down the places you want to visit, the order in which you will visit them and the airports that could serve each stop. Then compare at least three structures:

1. Like-for-like return: depart from and return to the same UK airport where practical.
2. Open-jaw or multi-city search: compare the required outbound and return airports in one booking.
3. Separate-ticket alternative: price each flight independently and add the cost of moving between airports or cities.

Use this basic formula for each option:

Total trip cost = flight fares + baggage and seat fees + airport transfers + surface travel + overnight costs + booking or payment fees + disruption buffer.

The disruption buffer is not a guaranteed charge. It is an amount you set aside for realistic risks, such as needing a hotel after a late arrival, replacing a missed onward ticket or paying for a new transfer. For a simple comparison, record the buffer separately rather than hiding it in the fare total.

Check the flights in both directions. A low-cost outbound from one airport may be outweighed by an inconvenient return from another. Compare arrival times, terminal changes, airport distance from the city centre and the cost of reaching each airport at the required time.

For separate tickets, avoid treating a connection as protected unless the tickets are covered by a relevant airline or booking arrangement. Leave enough time to collect and recheck bags, pass through immigration where required, change terminals and handle delays. A same-day connection may look efficient but can create a large replacement cost if the first flight runs late.

For broader fare-search techniques, see our flight fare comparison checklist and guide to budget airlines from the UK.

Inputs and assumptions

Record the same information for every itinerary. This prevents a headline fare from being compared with a more complete, flexible option.

Use the airline’s current fare conditions for baggage and change rules. Cabin limits can differ by fare type and airline, so do not assume that a small bag included on one sector is included on every sector. Our UK cabin baggage comparison guide can help you identify which measurements and weight limits need checking.

Make assumptions visible. For example, you might assume one cabin bag per traveller, no checked luggage, public transport between airports and no overnight stay. If travelling with children, sports equipment or several checked bags, create a second calculation because the cheapest fare may no longer be the cheapest practical choice.

A useful worksheet can have one row per option:

Option | UK airport pair | destination airport pair | fare total | baggage | seats | rail or transfer | hotel | total | ticket risk | notes.

Worked examples

These examples use illustrative figures only. They show the method rather than current fares.

Example 1: One city, different return airport

A traveller wants a long weekend in northern Italy. They compare a conventional return from one UK airport with an open-jaw plan that arrives in Milan and departs from Venice after travelling between the cities.

• Return option: flights £160, baggage and seats £70, local airport transfers £35. Estimated total: £265.
• Open-jaw option: outbound and return flights £145, baggage and seats £70, rail between cities £45, airport transfers £40. Estimated total: £300.

The open-jaw flight price is lower, but the complete journey costs more. It could still be preferable if the traveller wants to visit both cities and would otherwise pay separately to travel to Venice. The correct comparison is the total route, not the fare shown beside the flight search result.

Example 2: Two separate tickets for a multi-stop journey

A traveller plans London to Lisbon, Lisbon to Marrakech and Marrakech to Manchester. A multi-city search produces one higher-priced itinerary, while separate one-way tickets appear cheaper.

For the separate-ticket option, record each fare, baggage charge and seat fee. Then check whether the Lisbon connection requires an overnight stay, whether bags must be collected and rechecked, and how much time is available between tickets. Add a contingency for a replacement ticket or hotel if the first sector is delayed. If the adjusted total is only slightly below the single-booking option, the simpler itinerary may offer better value.

Do not assume that a booking platform’s display means every sector has the same protection. Read the booking conditions and identify who is responsible if one flight changes or is cancelled. For guidance on monitoring fares before committing, use our UK flight deal alerts workflow.

Example 3: Returning to a different UK airport

A traveller based near Leeds finds a lower fare home to London after an open-jaw trip. Add the cost and time of travelling from London back to Leeds, including the possibility of an airport arrival that is too late for the preferred train. Compare this with returning directly to a northern airport, even if the direct fare is higher. For many travellers, the additional ground journey is the deciding cost and inconvenience.

When to recalculate

Recalculate the itinerary whenever a key input changes. Airfares can move, but so can baggage fees, seat prices, rail fares, airport transfer availability and accommodation costs. Repeat the comparison after changing travel dates, adding a checked bag, switching airports, changing the number of travellers or replacing a direct sector with a connection.

Recheck shortly before booking if you have been tracking a fare. Confirm the final baggage allowance, airport terminals, connection time, ticket conditions and payment total on the booking page. Recalculate again after booking if an airline changes a schedule or airport, because a previously comfortable connection may no longer work.

For practical use, copy the worksheet for each trip and save the date and time of every fare check. Keep one version for the cheapest possible route and one for the most resilient route. Then choose using three questions: what is the complete cost, what happens if a flight is late, and how difficult is the journey between airports? This approach makes open-jaw flights from the UK and multi-city bookings easier to compare without mistaking a low headline fare for a genuinely cheaper trip.