Although I love writing about flights, hotels, and travel I also am an aviation nerd at heat and love learning about the rules and regulations associated with aviation. Today I want to discuss the Five Freedoms of Air, but will focus on the 5th freedom because it’s relevant for an upcoming trip report (hint). Also, you may wonder about the previous 4 freedoms of air, but don’t worry because you don’t need to know about the previous 4 to understand the 5th freedom.
What Are The Freedoms Of Air
Air travel is extremely unusual because it involves flights to/from a wide variety of countries and cultures around the world. As international air travel grew other countries worried the US airlines would dominate international travel and therefore implemented several rules and regulations to prevent one countries airlines to dominate world travel. From those regulations we get the Freedoms of Air. The freedoms of air dictate where airlines can take off and land from, but also where they can stop and what they can do along the way. For example, the first freedom states that an airline can take-off from its home country and land in the destinations country (i.e. USA to Canada).
The Fifth Freedom of Air
The Fifth Freedom of Air stipulates that an airline can operate revenue flights between foreign countries so long as the flight originates or terminates in the carriers home country. The fifth freedom means that a flight Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong can stop in Vancouver, pick up paying passengers, and continue to New York. The reverse means that a passenger can buy a New York to Vancouver flight on Cathay Pacific. Fifth freedom flights offer passengers the ability to fly an airline between two countries other than the carriers home country. While I’m sure the official definition is much longer this explanation should suffice.
How Fifth Freedom Flights Work
Fifth freedom flights were originally intended to help airlines create routes over very long distances or better connect two cities. An airline may not have the operational ability to fly non-stop from New York to Hong Kong so a stop in Vancouver is necessary to connect the cities. Because the stop in Vancouver is necessary, the fifth freedom then allows that airline to sell revenue tickets between all possible city parings. For this example you’d be able to buy Hong Kong to Vancouver, Hong Kong to New York, or Vancouver to New York. Often fifth freedom flights are an operational necessity, but they offer passengers unique opportunities to fly airlines that otherwise do not fly specific routes.
Notable Fifth Freedom Flights
Cathay Pacific: New York (JFK) to Vancouver (YVR)
Ethiopian Airlines: Los Angeles (LAX) to Dublin (DUB)
Emirates: Auckland (AKL) to Sydney (SYD)
Emirates: New York (JFK) to Milan (MLN)
Singapore Airlines: New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA)
The above flights are fifth freedom routes that I personally find interesting and maybe even hope to fly some day. The flight I’m most interested in at the moment is the Singapore Airlines New York to Frankfurt route which features Singapore Airlines’ unique Suites Class.
Final Thoughts
Although I don’t think anyone needs to memorize the various freedoms of aviation I do think they are important to understand to potentially make your next trip more comfortable or interesting. I’d imagine most New Yorkers would simply look to book a US airline or Lufthansa from the US to Germany, but for just a few extra dollars could fly Singapore Airlines which offers an elevated cabin experience across the atlantic.
