I learned about flying “open jaw” from Rick Steves. This simply means that I don’t need to return to where I arrived in Europe, for example Madrid, to fly back to Manila. The fare is supposedly cheaper than getting a round-trip ticket.
To verify this, I made a provisional booking at Expedia. The site cannot yet accommodate the dates when I intend to travel so I just chose Aug. 28 to Oct. 9 or exactly six weeks. I entered Manila to Madrid for my departure flight and Athens to Manila for my return flight. The cheapest fare amounts to $1,436.30 via Qatar Airways.
Now let’s see what Expedia will come up with if I get a round-trip ticket…
The fare is actually cheaper at $1,382, again via Qatar Airways. But then flying back to Madrid from Athens would mean another payment of $200 (according to eDreams), not to mention the hassle of having to go back to Spain’s capital so as not to miss my return flight to Manila.
