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Have you ever flown from New York to Frankfurt, Germany, with a Southeast Asian airline? How about from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, with a Dutch carrier? If you have, then you’ve experienced one of the wonders of aviation—a fifth-freedom flight.
A fifth-freedom flight is one in which neither the origin nor destination airport are within the operating airline’s home country. A classic example of a fifth-freedom flight is Emirates’ route between New York and Milan on its Airbus A380.
Fifth-freedom flights are more than just an obsession of aviation geeks—they offer a way to fly between destinations at often cheaper rates with greater award availability and luxurious cabins that would be otherwise unavailable.
Here’s a complete guide to fifth-freedom flights, the different routes on offer and how best to book them using points and miles.
What Are Fifth-Freedom Flights?
Fifth-freedom flights are those between two international destinations, neither of which are in the operating airline’s home country.
The name comes from the Five Freedoms of the Air—a set of reciprocal air rights agreed upon by 54 nations at the Chicago Convention in 1944—that include the following:
- The right to fly over a foreign country’s territory without landing
- The right to land in a foreign country for non-traffic reasons, such as refueling or maintenance
- The right to carry passengers, mail or cargo from the airline’s home country to a foreign country
- The right to carry passengers, mail or cargo from a foreign country to the airline’s home country
- The right to pick up and discharge passengers, mail or cargo from a foreign country to another foreign country, provided the flight originates or ends in the airline’s home country
Source: Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), International: The Nine Freedoms of the Air.
Freedom No. 5 sets the legal basis for fifth-freedom flights, hence the name. Airlines are able to ferry passengers between intermediate points outside of their homeland, subject to the agreement of the regulatory agencies and governments of all three countries involved.
However, it’s important to note that the flight must originate or terminate in its homeland. In practice, that makes fifth-freedom flights a segment of a larger international route.
For instance, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operates fifth-freedom flights between Buenos Aires (EZE) and Santiago (SCL). However, the route originates in KLM’s home base, Amsterdam (AMS), and ends in Santiago.
Similarly, Emirates offers fifth-freedom flights between Newark, New Jersey (EWR), and Athens, Greece (ATH), but the route ends in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (DXB).
Benefits of Fifth-Freedom Flights
Fifth-freedom flights benefit travelers and airlines alike. Here’s an overview of how fifth-freedom flights benefit airlines.
Benefits of Fifth-Freedom Flights for Airlines
Airlines benefit from fifth-freedom flights as a way to generate more revenue, serve lower-demanded destinations and overcome operational limits.
For instance, British Airways operates numerous fifth-freedom flights within the Caribbean, which originate from either London-Gatwick (LGW) or London-Heathrow (LHR). An example is British Airways’ service between Nassau, Bahamas (NAS), and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (GCM), which is part of their long-haul service between London and Nassau.
If British Airways were to offer a separate nonstop flight from London to Grand Cayman, this would result in significantly more operational costs compared to adding a short fifth-freedom flight between Nassau and Grand Cayman on the back end of its long-haul service to Nassau. It would require enough demand to justify the additional cost of a separate nonstop route between London and Grand Cayman.
By offering a fifth-freedom flight instead, British Airways can sell tickets for the long-haul route between London and Nassau as well as tickets for the London to Grand Cayman and Nassau to Grand Cayman leg, resulting in greater revenue with minimal extra operational costs.
Airlines also sometimes offer fifth-freedom flights due to technical and operational limits.
One example of this is the British Airways long-haul route from London-Heathrow to Sydney (SYD), which has a connection in Singapore (SIN). Most commercial airliners currently have insufficient range and fuel capacity to operate a nonstop flight between London and Sydney, so British Airways’ stopover in Singapore allows the aircraft to refuel and change crews.
Likewise, in the example of British Airways’ flight between London and Grand Cayman via Nassau, the stopover in Nassau enables British Airways’ 777 to refuel and offload passengers, making the takeoff and landing at Grand Cayman’s smaller runway possible for a wide-body aircraft.
Another example is the Emirates fifth-freedom flight between Barcelona, Spain (BCN), and Mexico City (MEX) on its way to Dubai. Mexico City’s high elevation affects aircraft takeoff performance, meaning that airlines are subject to increased weight restrictions. Therefore, while Emirates could fly nonstop to Dubai with additional weight restrictions, it benefits both technically and financially from adding a stop in Barcelona, reducing fuel requirements and enabling them to carry more passengers.
Benefits of Fifth-Freedom Flights for Travelers
Travelers also benefit from fifth-freedom flights.
First, having the chance to fly in a foreign carrier’s business- or first-class cabin offers a unique opportunity and often better service than local options. Some classic examples of this include Emirates’ fifth-freedom flight between New York and Milan, and Singapore Airlines’ fifth-freedom flight between New York and Frankfurt.
Compared to U.S. and European carriers operating the same routes, these Middle Eastern and Asian airlines offer a better premium-cabin—and even economy class—experience.
Similarly, most fifth-freedom flights are operated using wide-body aircraft, given that they’re a segment of a long-haul route. This gives you the chance to enjoy spacious wide-body aircraft cabins on routes that would traditionally be serviced using short-haul narrow-body aircraft.
Another benefit of fifth-freedom flights for travelers is pricing.
Airlines offering fifth-freedom routes sometimes price airfare lower compared to local airlines operating the same route. This offers you the chance to experience a higher quality in-flight experience for a lower price than local airlines offer. That said, this isn’t always the rule and there are exceptions.
Additionally, you can often find greater award availability on the fifth-freedom leg of the journey. Fifth-freedom routes typically have less demand and increased competition from local carriers. For this reason, airlines often release more award seat availability to cover their costs.
This combination of benefits makes fifth-freedom flights something that should be on every traveler’s radar.
Best Fifth-Freedom Flights and How to Book Them with Points
Without further ado, here are some of the best and most unique fifth-freedom flights available and advice on how to book them using points.
Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines may not be the first airline that comes to mind when planning your travels. However, Ethiopian offers a wealth of fifth-freedom flights.
These flights give you the chance to fly short-haul segments in business-class cabin configurations typically used for long-haul routes. They also allow you to fly long-haul at affordable mileage rates.
If you’re based on the East Coast, you can take advantage of Ethiopian’s nonstop flights to a handful of West African destinations. Ethiopian offers fifth-freedom routes from Washington-Dulles (IAD) and Newark (EWR) to Lomé, Togo (LFW), as well as from New York (JFK) to Lomé and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (ABJ).
These fifth-freedom routes connect onward to Ethiopian’s hub airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ADD).
Ethiopian is a member of the Star Alliance, meaning you can book these fifth-freedom flights through the following frequent-flyer programs: Air Canada Aeroplan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club and Avianca LifeMiles.
ANA Mileage Club has some of the best availability for Star Alliance flights combined with lucrative award rates, so we’ll use it for our examples. You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to ANA Mileage Club at a 1:1 ratio.
A fifth-freedom Ethiopian flight between the East Coast and West Africa booked through ANA Mileage Club costs 35,000 miles in economy and 65,000 miles in business class each way.
Image courtesy of ANA
Image courtesy of ANA
Image courtesy of ANA
Similarly, if you’re looking to hop between European countries in a business-class cabin, Ethiopian is a strong contender when it comes to intra-European fifth-freedom routes.
For instance, you could fly from Stockholm (ARN) to Oslo, Norway (OSL), for 15,000 ANA miles in economy or 27,500 miles in business class each way when booked through ANA Mileage Club.
Image courtesy of ANA
Image courtesy of ANA
You could fly with Ethiopian between Vienna (VIE) and Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH); Milan (MXP) and Zurich (ZRH); or Geneva (GVA) to Manchester, England (MAN); all at the same rates.
Image courtesy of ANA
Image courtesy of ANA
Image courtesy of ANA
Ethiopian’s footprint spans beyond Africa, the U.S. and Europe.
For instance, you could fly between Sao Paulo (GRU) and Buenos Aires (EZE) for 30,000 miles in business class each way when booked through ANA Mileage Club.
Image courtesy of ANA
Alternatively, you could fly between Hong Kong (HKG) and Bangkok (BKK) for 30,500 miles in business class per direction.
Image courtesy of ANA
One word of warning when booking Ethiopian’s fifth-freedom flights is that its business-class cabins vary widely. While you’ll be guaranteed a spot in one of its widebody aircraft in most cases, their configuration varies drastically based on the type of aircraft you’re flying.
For instance, Ethiopian’s A350-1000 aircraft are equipped with the airline’s newest business-class cabin arranged in a 1-2-1 seating configuration. In contrast, its A350-900s have a 2-2-2 seating configuration in business class.
Likewise, its Boeing 777s and 787s tend to have older business-class cabins that, while comfortable and fully adequate, are far from the cutting edge of premium-cabin experiences.
Ethiopian is also notorious for last-minute plane swaps, so don’t get your hopes up to fly a specific business-class cabin. Instead, make sure you’re content with flying in one of its older Cloud Nine business-class cabins to ensure you’re not disappointed come departure time.
Emirates
Emirates offers numerous fifth-freedom flights across the globe.
Two of its most famous fifth-freedom flights for U.S.-based travelers include those between New York and Milan, and Newark and Athens.
You can transfer Bilt points at a 1:1 ratio to Emirates Skywards, American Express Membership Rewards at a 5:4 ratio and Capital One Miles at a 4:3 ratio. You also can transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Emirates at a 5:4 ratio, depending on card eligibility.
Unlike most frequent-flyer programs, Emirates prices its round-trip award fares cheaper than its one-way awards.
For example, a one-way business-class flight between New York and Milan, or Newark and Athens, will cost you 87,000 Skywards miles.
Image courtesy of Emirates
Image courtesy of Emirates
In contrast, a round-trip business Saver award fare requires 108,000 Skywards miles (which comes out to 54,000 miles per direction when booked at once).
Image courtesy of Emirates
You can also fly economy on these flights for a reasonable redemption rate of 17,500 miles one way or 35,000 miles round trip.
Image courtesy of Emirates
Image courtesy of Emirates
You can use Emirates’ fifth-freedom routes to fly between countries within Asia.
For instance, you can fly between Singapore and Phnom Penh, Cambodia (KTI), or Hong Kong and Bangkok, for 48,000 miles round trip in business.
Image courtesy of Emirates
Image courtesy of Emirates
Likewise, you can fly to and within South America in Emirates’ luxurious business cabin.
You can fly from Miami (MIA) to Bogota, Colombia (BOG), for 65,000 miles in business class round trip.
Image courtesy of Emirates
You also can fly between Rio de Janeiro (GIG) and Buenos Aires for 60,000 miles in business class round trip.
Image courtesy of Emirates
If you’re based in the West South Central region of the United States, Mexico City can be a great international hub to position yourself in for long-haul travel. In this case, you could fly with Emirates from Mexico City to Barcelona for 120,000 miles round trip in business class.
Image courtesy of Emirates
And if you’re island-hopping in the Indian Ocean, why not take advantage of Emirates’ luxury business-class cabin to fly between the Seychelles (SEZ) and Antananarivo, Madagascar (TNR), for 25,000 miles round trip.
Image courtesy of Emirates
Overall, Emirates offers a ton of opportunities for lucrative fifth-freedom flights, no matter where you’re located or travelling to.
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines offers a number of fifth-freedom routes that enable you to enjoy its business-class cabin on short-haul flights.
You can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt points, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points and Wells Fargo Rewards to Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles at a 1:1 ratio. You also can take advantage of monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards to save up to 50% on certain routes.
KLM prices its fares dynamically, but you can often find good Saver award availability on its fifth-freedom routes.
For example, you can fly between Singapore (SIN) and Denpasar, Indonesia (DPS), for 26,500 miles in KLM business class each way.
Image courtesy of Flying Blue
You also can fly from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL), to Jakarta, Indonesia (CGK), for 25,000 miles in business class each way.
Image courtesy of Flying Blue
Similarly, as previously mentioned, you can fly from Buenos Aires (EZE) to Santiago (SCL) for 25,000 miles in business class each way.
Image courtesy of Flying Blue
These are great options if you want to experience KLM’s luxurious business-class cabin on short-haul routes within Asia and South America.
Qatar Airways
While Qatar Airways doesn’t offer much in the way of fifth-freedom flights, one interesting option is the ability to fly between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (SGN), and Phnom Penh (KTI) in its world-renowned QSuites business cabin.
Qatar is a member of Oneworld alliance, allowing you to use American Airlines AAdvantage miles to book Qatar QSuites at competitive rates. You can transfer your Citi ThankYou Rewards points to American Airlines AAdvantage at a 1:1 ratio when you hold a premium Citi card.
You can fly between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh for 22,500 miles in Qatar QSuites each way.
Image courtesy of American Airlines
So if you’re travelling across Asia, make sure to take advantage of this unique fifth-freedom flight between Vietnam and Cambodia in luxury.
Swiss International Air Lines
If you’re looking to get between Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, you could fly with Swiss International Air Lines in its luxury business-class cabin.
Swiss is a Star Alliance member, allowing you to book it through multiple frequent-flyer programs. If you book through ANA Mileage Club, you’ll pay 30,000 miles each way for a business-class ticket in its 777-300ER cabin.
Image courtesy of ANA
You also could book this same flight for 20,000 points through Air Canada Aeroplan, thanks to its lucrative distance-based award chart. However, availability can be hard to come by through Aeroplan, which is where ANA has the upper hand.
TAP Air Portugal
Portugal’s flag carrier, TAP Air Portugal, offers a fifth-freedom flight between Accra, Ghana (ACC), and Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe (TMS).
If you’re looking to hop between West African nations in style, this is a solid way of doing so.
While TAP Air Portugal operates a narrow-body aircraft on this route—the A321neo—it offers spacious lie-flat business-class seats that far surpass your typical European short-haul business-class cabins.
TAP Air Portugal is a Star Alliance member, opening up numerous opportunities to book this flight using points.
One of the best options is to book it through Air Canada Aeroplan for 15,000 points in business class each way.
Image courtesy of Air Canada
You also could book through ANA Mileage Club, but it will set you back double the number of miles—30,000 to be exact—compared to booking through Air Canada Aeroplan.
Image courtesy of ANA
So if you’re hopping across West African countries, take advantage of this fifth-freedom flight to fly in comfort.
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines operates a number of fifth-freedom routes that allow you to fly in luxury.
For example, you can fly with Turkish between Luanda, Angola (LAD), and Libreville, Gabon (LBV). As a Star Alliance member, you can easily book this flight through ANA Mileage Club for 30,000 miles per direction.
Image courtesy of ANA
If you find award availability through Aeroplan, you could book the same flight to Libreville for 15,000 miles in business each way.
Turkish typically uses its A330-300 aircraft for this route, which has a slightly dated, yet still comfortable, business-class cabin.
Turkish Airlines also operates a fifth-freedom flight between Singapore and Melbourne, Australia (MEL). You can book this flight for 43,500 miles each way through ANA Mileage Club.
Image courtesy of ANA
You’ll be able to enjoy Turkish’s sleekest business-class cabin on its A350-900 on this route.
Virgin Atlantic
If you’re hopping between Caribbean islands, Virgin Atlantic offers two fifth-freedom flights that are worth taking advantage of.
You can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt points, Capital One Miles (via Virgin Red), Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points and Wells Fargo Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points at a 1:1 ratio.
You can fly between Barbados (BGI) and Grenada (GND), and Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVD). These flights are part of Virgin Atlantic’s long-haul service from London-Heathrow.
During off-peak seasons, you’ll pay 2,250 Virgin points each way in economy for these flights.
Image courtesy of Virgin Atlantic
Image courtesy of Virgin Atlantic
Business-class award availability is hard to come by on these routes, so the main benefit is being able to use points instead of cash for inter-island flights—which can still net you more than 3 cents per point in value.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re an aviation enthusiast chasing rare routes or a frequent traveler looking for better value, we recommend including fifth-freedom flights in your booking strategies. They give you the chance to enjoy world-class service on unexpected routes, unlock premium-cabin experiences for fewer miles and explore more of the world in comfort.
From the Emirates well-known New York-Milan route to Ethiopian’s hidden intra-European gems, these flights offer exciting opportunities for premium-cabin experiences. So the next time you’re planning a trip, take a moment to look beyond the well-trodden routes with local carriers—you might just find a fifth-freedom flight that turns a simple journey into a luxury and affordable experience.
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Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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