flights and fares

Of course, the most straightforward flight goes from "A" (start) to "B" (end), but not all trips have this "one-way" and "two-end" setup!

With flights, we most commonly have the:

• one-way ("simple")
  • flight from A to B
• two-way ("return")
  • flight 1 from A to B
  • flight 2 from B to A

But we also have:

• ending open jaw ("destination" open jaw)
  • flight 1 from A to B
  • flight 2 from C to A
• starting open jaw ("origin" open jaw)
  • flight 1 from A to B
  • flight 2 from B to C
• two-way open jaw ("double" open jaw)
  • flight 1 from A to B
  • flight 2 from C to D
• ring ("complex circle" trip)
  • flight 1 from A to B
  • flight 2 from C to D
  • ... (many other flights) ...
  • flight X from Z to A
• hidden end ("stopover escape artist" or "hidden city")
  • flight that goes from A with a stopover at S on the way to B
    • one would book from A to B but only ride to S
• throw-away ("false return")
  • flight 1 that goes from A to B and flight 2 from B to A
    • one would book both flights but take only the first flight

A closer look:

One-way

The most straightforward, going from one town to another:

• if we think about it, all flights are "one-way" flights!
• so-called "return tickets" are merely two "one-way" flights

Someone who books only one flight may be choosing to:

• go and live abroad
• take another means to get home

Two-way ("return")

By far the most common flight grouping:

• A to B, and then B back to A
• most often for short-term trips
• the "return" flight might happen on another airline

"Destination open jaw"

Now for a more fun one:

Say we fly from New York to London, sail on a ship and then end the sailing in Rome; we then fly back from Rome to London, all happy...

... that is a "destination open jaw" since the flight path looks like a jaw opening towards the two or more sites where one wants to go!

Most of the time, this happens with trips that are not tours (i.e. a trip that goes back to where one started):

• sailings that "disembark" at another port than the "embarkation"
• land trips that are lines rather than loops (the start is not where the end is)

"Origin open jaw"

The evil twin of the "destination open jaw", the "origin open jaw" happens more seldomly:

Say we fly from New York to London, sail somewhere and then sail back to London, but fly to Tokyo and live there for years!

However, this would happen more often as such:

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

While this would not mean an "origin open jaw" trip, we could still call it an "origin open jaw" flight grouping!

"Two-way (double) open jaw"

The same goes 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 happens with those who need to fly for a living: they start out from their hometown, then go on many flights to work, then go back home once their job is done for the year!

(A ballplayer will take tens, if not hundreds, of flights each year, but go back home...)

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

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

In only a few weeks, I had taken 8 flights (4 "international" and 4 "domestic"!)

Hidden-end ("stopover escape artist")

Some may choose to:

• buy a ticket from A to S to B
• not go to B and get out at stop-over S

Perhaps:

• A to S to B is cheaper than A to S
• someone gets off at S and somehow does not to go to B
  • whether by choice
    • they fell in love with staying in S
  • or not by choice
    • they missed their flight from S to B!

(I myself have never done flights like this before...)

Throw-away ("false return")

Somehow, it might be cheaper to fly from A to B with a "return ticket" than to buy it one-way:

• Buy the return ("A to B" and "B to A", instead of only "A to B")
  • Fly the "A to B" leg
  • Throw out the "B to A" leg

This flight grouping can also happen should one miss their flight home!

(This also has never happened to me, nor have I ever wanted it to happen!)