Yesterday, Joe (if you’re new here, Joe’s my husband. I’m Sharon. We’re the 2 halves of Your Mileage May Vary) wrote a piece about Orlando’s only fifth freedom flight. Several of our readers commented on the piece to tell him he was mistaken about some of the facts (he fully admits he goofed. He’s going to fix it. He couldn’t last night; he worked late. He’s working late tonight too, but he promises he’s going to fix it), and although I proofread his post, I’m not the travel geek of the house so I didn’t know he was incorrect.
However when we woke up tonight, we had 2 emails in our YMMV inbox that both asked the same question:
“What’s a fifth freedom flight?”
Apparently we both somehow forgot what might be THE MOST important thing about Your Mileage May Vary – it’s not really intended to be a typical travel blog for the “experts.” I mean sure, some of the stuff we write is more for them. But we also realize that not all of our readers are frequent flyers who strive to learn everything about aviation, the hotel industry and credit cards. Some of the people who read our blog are just normal people who fly a couple of times per year (or even less!), have never stayed at a hotel on points, and think that getting cash back on their credit card purchases is perfectly reasonable. But they may have some budding interest in those things the “experts” think they know everything about, so they look at blogs that might have some material that’s for “everyday people,” not necessarily just the “experts.”
This post is for y’all! So about that fifth freedom flight…
The reason it’s called that is because it’s the fifth of what are are actually nine freedoms of the air (which are also known as the freedoms of transport). Combined, they make up a group of rights that are outlined across international treaties and form the foundation of international air travel. They’re laws and agreements countries have agreed to and allow airlines to operate outside the borders of their home countries.
Who decides?
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO for short) does.
ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. (thanks, Wikipedia!) In simpler terms, they help 193 countries to cooperate together and share their skies to their mutual benefit.
Official & unofficial freedoms
As per ICAO, there are five official freedoms and four unofficial ones, to make that total of nine.
The five “official” freedoms:
The first five are pretty simple:
First Freedom of the Air (a.k.a. First Freedom Right)
It allows flights from one country to fly in the airspace of another country while on its way to a third country.
(An example of this would be an Air Canada flight going from Montreal to Cancún – it flies over the United States)
Second Freedom of the Air (a.k.a. Second Freedom Right)
This one allows a plane from one country to stop in another country for technical reasons.
(We recently wrote about such an example)
Third Freedom of The Air (a.k.a. Third Freedom Right)
The third freedom of the air allows a plane to fly from its home country to another country.
(again, that Air Canada flight starting in Canada and going to Mexico. Or whichever other country)
Fourth Freedom of The Air (a.k.a. Fourth Freedom Right)
(When you fly on Air Canada from Cancún back to where you live in Montreal. Mexico to Canada)
Fifth Freedom of The Air (a.k.a. Fifth Freedom Right)
Fifth freedom of the air allows a plane to fly between two foreign countries on a flight that originates or ends in the airline’s home country.
(Remember that example we recently wrote about? IF Qantas was allowed to pick up passengers in Singapore [I don’t think they are, but “if”], that would be a Fifth Freedom flight because it would be an Australian carrier that was bringing passengers from Singapore to England).
Australian Frequent Flyer has an awesome, continually updated page that lists all of the Fifth Freedom routes.
The four “unofficial” freedoms
The last four freedoms are considered “unofficial” (or “so-called”) by ICAO because they’re not covered by any international treaties that specifically call them “freedoms.” But they’re still important in terms of being able to fly passengers and cargo around the world.
Sixth Freedom of The Air (a.k.a. Sixth Freedom Right)
(Still using Air Canada as an example – Air Canada boards passengers in Paris and is bound for Los Angeles, but stops at its Toronto hub).
Seventh Freedom of The Air
(Let’s leave Air Canada for a while. If Air New Zealand started flights between Montreal and Dublin, with no ongoing service to New Zealand, that’d be a Seventh Freedom Flight)
Eighth Freedom of The Air (a.k.a. Eighth Freedom Right, or consecutive cabotage)
(Going back to Air Canada, an Air Canada plane could fly between Chicago and Los Angeles, if the flight started in Canada [or any other place outside of the United States])
Ninth Freedom of The Air (a.k.a. Ninth Freedom Right, or stand alone cabotage)
(I don’t know of any examples, but I’m sure one of the “experts” will write a comment if they know of any. So I’ll just make one up. If the U.S. gave Air Canada the right to fly back and forth between LAX and JFK, with no stops, ever, in Canada – that’d be a Ninth Freedom Flight)
Why are they important?
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
The article mentioned that the author wasn’t aware of any cabotage (9th freedom) flights. I can think of one.
Ryanair flies between Milan Bergamo and Palermo, both Italian airports. I do not think Ryanair has a separate Italian airline.
Chile allows cabotage but no foreign airline takes advantage of it. Chilean policy is that if a foreign airline operates more than a small number of cabotage flights, Chile will seek similar rights for Chilean carriers in that other country.