open jaw booking help
 

From what I understand of open-jaw booking, I believe what I want to do is considered an open-jaw: I want to go DSM->BWI->SMF. However, I'm confused as to how that prices. If I do a multi-city trip, it comes to be ~$500. But if I do a DSM/BWI r/t, thats $350, and if I do a BWI/SMF r/t, thats ~$250. Would the open jaw booking then result in a $300 fare? also, how do I determine the BWI/SMF r/t fare? as in what day & time should I use to get the pricing?

Open Jaws can be booked on United's web page. Just use the "multi-city" functions. Example: Outbound... DSM-BWI Inbound ....BWI-SMF. This will give you the RT price of ticket plus all "fare rules."

First of all, ur unflown portion (SMF-DSM) is greater than the shortest flown portion. Therefore, DSM-BWI-SMF is not even a valid open jaw. You need to use two OW fares.

And I cant make heads or tails of the rest of what you want to do.

I agree that you are proposing a couple of one-way fares. What I'd suggest is that you try booking a circle trip (DSM-BWI-SMF-DSM) and plan to throw away the last segment. Make sure to price out several itineraries to get the cheapest fare on the SMF-DSM segment, and make sure to have a Saturday night stay in SMF before ticketing the DSM return.

Or, for that matter, I don't think you even have to "close" the circle by going back to DSM, so long as the "open" part of the circle is the shortest leg. (Others will correct me if I'm wrong about this, and it may depend on the combinability rules of your particular fares.) So you could book DSM-BWI-SMF-xxx where the distance xxx-DSM is less than DSM-BWI (your shortest segment). So try, for example, DSM-BWI-SMF-ORD or DSM-BWI-SMF-DEN or DSM-BWI-SMF-IAD.

I think you might be confusing the two concepts.

An open jaw can only have two segments--well, not really segments, but two fares. That is, say: LAX-JFK-SFO or JFK-LAX/SFO-JFK where LAX-SFO is a surface segment and is not flown.

A circle trip is where you have more than one destination but a single origin. Say, LAX-IAD-ORD-LAX where LAX is your origin and you stop in IAD & ORD, not just connect. Of course, your origin, or even connecting points could be co-terminals, but for the sake of simplicity, lets forget about that for the moment.

What you are proposing is a combination of the two, and I don't think such exists as far as fare rules are concerned. Most engines would just price out a bunch of one ways, although an intelligent booking engine, or a human TA, might suggest a one way + an open jaw. So, for your DSM-BWI-SMF-ORD example: DSM-BWI as a one way, then an open jaw BWI-SMF-ORD which should price cheaper in most circumstances.

I have a nagging feeling this might be the case. But, interestingly, the definition of "open-jaw trip" from UA's contract of carriage reference guide is: "any trip which is essentially of a round trip or circle trip nature, but the outward point of departure and the inward point of arrival, or the outward point of arrival and inward point of departure, are not the same. Example of open-jaw trip: Point 1 to Point 2 to Point 3." (emphasis added)

So whateve the booking engine might do, the definition includes all trips like DSM-BWI-SMF-xxx. Perhaps, as you suggest and as I speculated in my earlier post, fare rules might limit open-jaw trips. (As we know well, you can't use roundtrip fare components to price an open-jaw where the unflown segment is longer than the shortest flown segment.)