Q: I'm taking the family on a Colorado vacation in April '08. We want to travel into Durango but return out of Grand Junction. Do you have any suggestions on how to find the best airline fares for an itinerary like this. We can use Albany, NY or Burlington, VT for departing airports.
A: Near as I can make out, for your routes and dates, there is no fare "penalty" for buying what they call in the industry an "open jaw" ticket (leaving from and returning to the same airport, Albany in your case, but flying into and returning from two different airports).
The fares for April travel for your route are essentially the same whether open jaw or a simple roundtrip. In fact, I found that the open jaw was a bit less for April travel than it would be for a simple round trip into Grand Junction. Fares on United and Delta are about the same from Albany, around $605-$631 for early April travel including tax.
To perform an open jaw search on Travelocity, click on the "multiple destination" link on the home page search box.
