It depends on the route, demand, and airlines involved. Multi-city tickets can be cheaper when airlines promote open-jaw or multi-stop itineraries, and they’re usually easier to manage on one booking. However, separate one-way tickets may cost less on competitive routes or when mixing low-cost carriers. Compare both options—total price, baggage fees, and flexibility—to see which offers the better value.
✈️ Introduction to Multi-city vs. One-way Flights
When planning a trip that involves visiting multiple destinations or flying into one city and out of another, travelers often face a common dilemma: should they book a single "multi-city" itinerary or piece together "separate one-way" tickets? Each approach has its own pricing logic and can be more cost-effective depending on your specific travel plans.
- Multi-city Flight: This is a single ticket that includes multiple flight segments, often with different origin and/or destination cities. For example, flying from London to Paris, then Paris to Rome, and finally Rome back to London, all booked under one reservation. Another common multi-city scenario is an "open-jaw" trip, such as flying from New York to Tokyo and then returning from Osaka to New York.
- Separate One-way Tickets: This involves booking each flight segment as an individual, standalone ticket. For example, buying a one-way ticket from London to Paris, then a separate one-way ticket from Paris to Rome, and a third one-way ticket from Rome to London.
💰 When Multi-city Tickets Can Save Money?
Multi-city tickets can often be a surprisingly cost-effective option for more complex itineraries, primarily due to how airlines structure their fares and alliances.
Open-jaw itineraries are usually cheaper when you fly into one city and out of another. Multi-city bookings can also lower costs by combining alliance partners, reducing backtracking, and unlocking special long-haul or multi-region fares. They offer more consistent baggage rules, too. Overall, a well-structured multi-city ticket often beats buying separate one-way segments.
💸 When Separate One-way Tickets Might Be Better?
While multi-city tickets offer advantages for certain itineraries, separate one-way tickets can be the cheaper option in specific situations, especially when flexibility and budget carriers are involved.
For short-haul routes dominated by budget airlines, separate one-way tickets are often much cheaper than multi-city bookings. You can mix airlines for the lowest fare on each leg, keep flexibility if plans change, and redeem miles for individual segments. One-ways also help when unsure of return dates and can sometimes benefit from rare last-minute deals that beat bundled itineraries.
⚖️ Quick Rule of Thumb and Comparison
To help you decide, here's a quick comparison and a rule of thumb:
Feature | Multi-city Ticket | Separate One-way Tickets |
Price Potential | Often cheaper for complex international or open-jaw trips on full-service airlines. | Often cheaper for short-haul, domestic, or budget airline segments. |
Complexity | Single booking, single PNR (Passenger Name Record), easier to manage changes. | Multiple bookings, multiple PNRs, more complex to manage. |
Flexibility | Less flexible to change individual segments without affecting the whole itinerary. | Highly flexible; each leg can be changed/cancelled independently. |
Airline Mix | Typically limited to one airline or alliance partners. | Allows mixing any airline, including budget carriers. |
Baggage | Usually consistent policy across segments. | Policies can vary greatly between different airlines, potentially leading to extra fees. |
Connections | Often protected if within the same booking (airline responsibility). | Unprotected; you are responsible for missed connections if there are delays. |
Rule of Thumb:
- For complex international itineraries, open-jaw trips, or journeys involving multiple major cities with full-service airlines: Start with a multi-city search on Trip.com. You'll often find better overall value.
- For short-haul segments, domestic travel, or when you specifically want to use budget airlines for some legs: Consider searching for separate one-way tickets.
- Always compare! The best strategy is to check both options on Trip.com for your specific dates and destinations. The Trip.com search engine allows you to easily compare multi-city options against combinations of one-way flights.
Data was updated on December 14, 2025; please refer to real-time search for specific details.