'Fifth-freedom' routes let travelers experience exotic airline travel

Toronto: Have you always wanted to fly Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airlines, a carrier renowned for its service, but haven't had the time or money to get away to Asia?
No worry – you can fly them without leaving North America.
The Hong Kong-based carrier flies – and sells tickets on – flights between New York's JFK and Vancouver, British Columbia.
It would be natural to assume such a route could be served only by U.S. or Canadian airlines. But that's not the case.
Cathay Pacific, which has been flying the New York-Vancouver route since the summer of 1996, is one of a handful of airlines that can sell tickets on flights from the United States to a country in which the airline isn't based.
Chile's LAN Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Kuwait Airways and Air India are among other airlines that are beneficiaries of a series of bilateral agreements that the U.S. has negotiated with other countries that permit such flights.
Some customers even seek out such flights because of their unusual nature.
"For enthusiasts, these flights are fantastic," says Brett Snyder, a self-proclaimed "airline dork" and author of the popular aviation blog The Cranky Flier.
"People choose this kind of stuff all the time," Snyder says of the routes, which often are referred to as "fifth-freedom" routes in aviation lingo. "Fifth-freedom operations are defined as the ability of an airline to carry traffic between two foreign cities on a flight that also goes to or comes from its home country," explains Susan Kurland, assistant secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Airline enthusiasts seek such flights because they're relatively rare and in many cases give them a chance to fly an airline from a far-off land offering a unique brand of service.
"It's like a little bit of exotic flavor," Snyder says.
He points out the Las Vegas-Vancouver fifth-freedom route operated by Philippine Airlines, one of the more unusual carriers to sell flights between two mainland North American cities.
There's more than novelty to such flights.
Travelers who know to look can sometimes score big savings, says George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. "The trick is just knowing about them," Hobica says. "Why would you look for Air India if you're flying to Europe from the United States?
06/12/09 Ben Mutzabaugh/USA TODAY

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Categories: Foreign Dec 2009