Imagine booking a flight from Athens to New York only to find out that the flight is being Operated by Emirates Airlines. Or imagine flying from Manchester, UK to Houston Texas onboard Singapore Airlines. These oddball flights are more common than you may think. This oddity is defined as a “Fifth Freedom Route”. The UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines this as, “the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled international air services, granted by one State to another State to put down and to take on, in the territory of the first State, traffic coming from or destined to a third State (also known as a Fifth Freedom Right).
Benefits Of Traveling On Fifth Freedom Routes
Passengers have much to benefit on Fifth Freedom Routes. In many instances, you can travel on a luxurious airline for less. Emirates for example, operates their super luxurious A380 from Milan (MXP) to New York (JFK). Prices for economy can be found for as low as $600 one way as opposed to $700 for JFK to Dubai. Some routes offer one of a kind stopovers such as United Airlines famous “island hopper.” While it is possible to fly directly between Honolulu (HNL) and Guam (GUM), United offers a longer rather unique fifth freedom route with stops at remote islands like Majuro, MH (MAJ), Kwajalein, MH (KWA), Kosrae, FM (KSA) Pohnpei, FM (PNI) and Chuuk, FM (TKK) before reaching Guam about fifteen hours later. While not the most direct option, routes like this offer off the beaten path destinations along the way.