Fifth Freedom flights.note

Source: /Volumes/X9 Pro/ObsNotes/YoudaoYunNotes/默认笔记本/Fifth Freedom flights.note.pdf Converted: 2025-12-10 12:19:23

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There are so many around the world, that it would be lovely if there was a list but I don’t

think they exist.

WHAT IT MEANS

The term "fifth freedom" stems from the nine air-rights "freedoms" that countries typically

negotiate in their bilateral aviation agreements.

Some of the so-called freedoms are more straight-forward than others.

The first freedom, for instance, simply grants the right for a nation's airlines to fly across

the airspace of another. For example, the U.S. aviation pact with Canada gives U.S.

carriers the first-freedom right to fly across Canada on their way to Europe or Asia.

The fifth freedom, which allows the unusual U.S. flights coveted by airline enthusiasts, is

somewhat more complicated. But, in simple terms, it allows the a carrier of one country

to sell tickets on a flight between two other countries as long at least one leg of the

journey begins or ends in the carrier's home country.

For example, Kuwait Airways has fifth freedom to carry passengers from New York to

London because its part of a Kuwait Airways service that continues on to its home nation

of Kuwait after the stop in London.

But because some nations' flight agreements are more restrictive than others, fifth-

freedom flights are not allowed between just any set of countries. Because the complexity

of overlapping aviation pacts often restricts options for fifth-freedom routes, they tend to

be fairly unusual.

There are many out there, but Emirates seems to have a few. With their Singapore-

Columbo, or Hong Kong-Bangkok (which is also one used by quite a number of

Airlines). Emirates, LAN & China Airlines all have routes between Australia & New

Zealand, Lufthansa has some from Singapore to Bangkok as well (also Kuala Lumpur I

think). I know that Qatar offers Singapore to Doha as well. Philippines Airlines at one

point flew Las Vegas to Vancouver, not sure if they still do though.

http://www.airlinereporter.com/2013/08/reviewing-cathay-pacifics-first-class-the-best-tran

s-con-ever/?replytocom=277090

Taking Advantage of Fifth Freedom

Flights

In the unofficial “Freedoms of the Air,” the is the ability for a carrier of Country A to

carry passengers on an international route solely between Country B and Country C when on a multi-

leg flight that involves Country A. This is usually because of a necessitated stopover — the distance

between Country A and Country C is too far, so a stopover is made in Country B. Other times, it’s to

help combine traffic for multiple countries, such as Brussels Airlines West Africa routes. The carrier is

allowed to carry passengers between A-B, A-C, and B-C.

An example of this is the Kangaroo route between London and Sydney. This route is too long for any

carrier to fly nonstop, so historically, a stop has been made somewhere in Asia. British Airways flies

London to Sydney via Singapore, and carries passengers from London to Singapore, London to

Sydney, and Singapore to Sydney. That last example is a fifth-freedom route, since a UK-based

carrier is carrying passengers between Singapore and Australia.

HOW CAN THIS BENEFIT ME?

Often times, fifth-freedom carriers will serve a certain destination pair with much larger aircraft than

the home carriers will. Let’s go back to the example of Auckland – Sydney. This route is served by

Australia-based carriers like Virgin Australia and Qantas as well as Air New Zealand. The aircraft on

this route include narrow-bodies like the Boeing 737, Airbus A320, and some Boeing 767 and Boeing

777 on certain flights.

However, it’s also served by Dubai-based Emirates, which flies the route with its Airbus A380 and

Chile-based LAN, which flies the route with its Airbus A340. Emirates tags Sydney-Auckland to the

end of its Dubai-Sydney flight, while LAN tags Auckland-Sydney to the end of its Santiago-Auckland

flight.

If you want to fly between Sydney and Auckland, you can book a ticket on Emirates or LAN, even

though neither is based in either country. Fifth freedoms are how I flew the Emirates A380 in First

Class between and (for only a few hundred dollars more than coach!). Emirates

is partners with Korean Air, which is a partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards. You can book the AKL-SYD

flight in Business for 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points transferred to Korean Skypass one-way, or

37,500 points in First. LAN’s is also a , and their A340s are

much wider than the Boeing 767s they fly on most North American routes. Lastly, because LAN is a

member of OneWorld, you can use your American AAdvantage miles or British Airways Avios to fly

them (and LAN doesn’t charge fuel surcharges)!

fifth freedom

Hong Kong Bangkok

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