Depending on the route chosen, your flight can take a few ice-filled drinks, wrestles with packets of peanuts, a dinner, a light refreshment, a breakfast, hopefully a snooze, a couple of trips to the loo and a movie or two. So what types of tickets are out there? I have found there are 6 different airfare types you can purchase to get you flying. To help you decide if an ‘open jaw’, ‘single’ or ‘round the world’ is the right choice for your next holiday, here is a simple airfare terminology guide to help you choose the right ticket.
Table of Contents
One-way Airfare Ticket
A one-way ticket is great if you do not know when you will be returning to where you are leaving from. It allows a single flight between two destinations. For example: Melbourne to Sydney or Los Angeles to London. Purchasing a one-way ticket will allow you the flexibility to return or move on to another destination when you feel like it.
Return Airfare
A return airfare ticket is a flight to your chosen destination and then back to your original departure point. For example: Melbourne to Perth and then back to Melbourne or London to Paris and back to London. These can be very economical however, not always flexible. Often the cheaper the return airfare ticket the more restrictions they have, such as not being able to change the time or date of the flight.
Round-the-world Airfare Ticket
A round-the-world airfare ticket allows you to make a number of stops (where you can stay for a while) along your chosen route. The main thing you must do is continue in the one direction until you return to your original destination. For example: Melbourne – Los Angeles – New York – London – Hong Kong – Melbourne. If you know where you want to go then a round-the-world ticket may be for you.
Open-jaw Airfare Ticket
An open-jaw airfare ticket allows you the freedom to fly into one city and out of another. Thus, you will have the option to use other means of transport between the two cities. For example: Fly Melbourne to Sydney, then travel overland by car or train to Brisbane and then fly out of Brisbane back to Melbourne. Or fly to Singapore, travel overland to Bangkok then fly out of Bangkok back to Melbourne.
Air Passes
If you have limited time in a destination or don’t want to spend hours on a coach or train you may consider purchasing an air pass. With one of these you can fly to major cities and organise any short tours from there, then hop on a plane to another major city. These passes are available in most countries. For example, you may want to visit some of Australia’s major cities so you could buy an air pass that would start in Sydney, fly to Melbourne, then onto Adelaide, Perth and back to Sydney. Very similar to a round-the-world pass but for a particular country.
A Multi-stop Airfare Ticket
A multi-stop airfare ticket is an individually tailored flight itinerary that allows you to stop off at multiple destinations before returning to your original departing point. For example: Melbourne – Honolulu – Los Angeles – New York – Houston – Las Vegas – Melbourne.
There are some terms you may hear while researching airfares including Lay-Over and Mixed Class ticket. A Lay-Over is when you have a ticket to a destination that has an enforced stop because the travel is a long time. For example: Melbourne to New York via Los Angeles – you stop in Los Angeles for a few hours so the plane can refuel or you change planes to continue to your destination.
A Mixed Class ticket is when you change airline classes on different flights. For example: you may want to fly from Melbourne to London. You could fly to Asia in Economy Class and then fly the longer portion of the flight from Asia to Europe in Business class.
Final Words on Airfares
My advice to find your perfect airfare is to shop around until you find a ticket that suits you and your budget. I use Booking.com on a regular basis to not only search and find great hotel deals but to search for suitable airfare tickets at the best price possible. And don’t forget to take out travel insurance to cover you for any mishaps that might happen. If you find any other airfares available I would love to hear about them in the comments following.
How interesting, I didn’t know that there were this many types of air fares available! I will certainly consider them all. Thanks for the all the great information.