Fare configurations

The simplest itinerary involves going from point A to point B; of course, not all journeys have this "one-way" and "two-point" configuration!

With flights, we have the:

• one-way ("simple")
  • point A to point B
• return
  • point A to point B
  • point B to point A
• multi-city ("destination open jaw")
  • point A to point B
  • point C to point A
• multi-city ("origin open jaw")
  • point A to point B
  • point B to point C
• multi-city ("double open jaw")
  • point A to point B
  • point C to point D
• complex circle trip
  • point A to point B
  • point C to point D
  • ... (many different random flights) ...
  • point Z to point A
• stopover escape artist ("hidden city")
  • point A with a stopover at point S en route to point B
    • the passenger abandons the "S to point B" leg
• false return ("throw-away")
  • point A to point B, with return flight to point A
    • the passenger abandons the "point B to point A" leg

Let's look at some examples and special cases:

➡️ One-way

Nothing complicated, as simple as going from one place to another:

• all flights are actually one-way "simple" tickets ;)
  • a longer itinerary simply entails adding more flights

An itinerary that does not entail more flights might happen due to the passenger:

• permanently moving from one city to another
• choosing to take another means of transportation home

🔄 Return

Again, nothing complicated, as simple as going from an origin to a destination and going back to the origin, yet:

• the return flight might occur on a different airline

Multi-city (destination open jaw)

Now for a more fun one:

Suppose we fly from New York to London, take a cruise and then finish the cruise in Rome; we then fly back from Rome to London, all happy!

... that is a "destination open jaw" because the flight path resembles a jaw opening towards the destination!

Most of the time, this happens with trips that are not tours in their literal sense (i.e. a trip that turns back to the origin):

• cruises that disembark at a port different than the embarkation port
• land trips that are more lines than loops

Multi-city (origin open jaw)

The evil twin of the destination open jaw that appears on far fewer itineraries:

Suppose we fly from New York to London, take a cruise and then finish the cruise back in London, but we fly to Tokyo and retire there!

A more common example of this would go something like this:

Suppose we fly from New York to Chicago, then fly from Chicago to Philadelphia, then take a bus home back to New York...

While this would not involve an origin open jaw journey, it would still count as an origin open jaw fare configuration!

So, again, it entails a special case of the one-way ticketer, who might not have a one-way journey, but has a one-way fare configuration (using another mode of transportation to get home!)

Multi-city (double open jaw)

The same applies with the double open jaw, as with the origin open jaw, except that we involve at least four cities:

Let's fly from New York to London, then go to Paris on land, then fly from Paris to Tokyo and retire there!

More commonly, we might have this instead:

Let's fly from New York to Chicago, take a bus to St. Louis, then take a flight from St. Louis to Philadelphia, then take a bus to New York!

Complex circle trip

This kind of trip most commonly occurs with athletes, performing artists and business people: they originate from their hometown, then go on several flights from city to city to work, then go back home once their "season" is done!

However, this also happened to me once on a regular tourist trip to China:

• fly from Toronto to Chicago
• fly from Chicago to Beijing
• fly from Beijing to Xi'an
• fly from Xi'an to Chongqing
• (cruise from Chongqing to Wuhan)
• fly from Wuhan to Guilin
• fly from Guilin to Shanghai
• fly from Shanghai to Chicago
• fly from Chicago to Toronto

In the matter of a few weeks, I had taken 8 flights (4 international and 4 domestic!)

Stopover escape artist ("hidden city")

Some travellers may choose to:

• buy a ticket from airport A to airport B to airport C
• abandon the itinerary at the stopover airport B

Just as a return fare configuration is often cheaper than a one-way ticket, abandoning an itinerary at a stopover can sometimes be cheaper than the full itinerary! Airlines frown upon this practice as it obviously leaves seats empty

(I have personally never done this...)

This can also occur unintentionally if the person misses their connecting flight from airport B to airport C!

False return ("throwaway")

Somehow, the traveller also might find it cheaper to buy an A-B return ticket than to buy a one-way ticket! The traveller will fly from "A to B" and then discard the "B to A" ticket; of course, airlines also frown upon this practice!

However, this can also occur unintentionally if the person misses their return flight home! (This also has never happened to me, nor have I ever intended it to happen!)