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Fifth-freedom Routes: Flying Top International Airlines Without Setting Foot In Their Home Countries

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Fifth-freedom routes comprise a unique quirk of aviation that gives North American travelers a chance to experience superior planes and service, often at a fraction of the cost. Have you ever booked a trip from the U.S. to Europe only to realize that your flight was operated by an Asian or Middle Eastern airline? If so, there’s a good chance that you’ve stumbled across a fifth-freedom flight.

Technically speaking, a fifth-freedom flight is operated by a carrier between two countries, neither of which is the airline’s home base. These routes are typically part of the service connecting those markets to the carrier’s home country. For example, Emirates flies an Airbus A380 between Christchurch International Airport (CHC) in New Zealand and Sydney Airport (SYD) in Australia, with the same flight continuing from SYD to Dubai International Airport (DXB).

There are several reasons an airline can choose to do this. Range (Dubai to Sydney is already a 14-hour flight), gaining traffic in a new market and improving aircraft utilization are a few possible reasons.

Many fifth-freedom routes are operating worldwide, but here are some of the best for North American travelers to consider, plus how to book them using points and miles.

Fly from New York to Milan and Athens, Greece, with Emirates

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Emirates’ first class is one of the most aspirational airline experiences you can imagine. Luckily, you don’t have to go to Dubai to experience it.

Emirates operates two fifth-freedom routes from the New York area to Europe: from New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) and from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Athens International Airport (ATH) in Greece. The Milan flight is operated by the Airbus A380, which has an onboard bar and showers, while the Athens flight is operated by the Boeing 777. Both flights continue to Dubai after making the stop in Europe.

Additionally, Emirates offers service from DXB to Mexico City International Airport (MEX). Given the length of this flight and the elevation of MEX, the flight stops at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) in both directions, meaning another fifth-freedom route. This is the only North American fifth-freedom route that Emirates flies without a first-class cabin — the Boeing 777-200LR that’s used to operate this route stops at business class.

Another exciting addition to the Emirates route network is the fifth-freedom hop from Miami International Airport (MIA) to El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Bogota, Colombia, on a Boeing 777. The plane offers a first-class cabin, making this route a great way to try out the legendary Emirates experience on a short flight.

To book an award, you’ll generally want to concentrate your efforts around two programs: Emirates’ own Skywards program and Air Canada Aeroplan. Both are transfer partners of American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

The Emirates Skywards program uses fixed award pricing for its redemptions. For example, here are the redemption rates for the flight from JFK to MXP:

Economy: 17,000 miles plus $54
Business: 87,000 miles plus $106
First: 102,000 miles plus $106

Air Canada Aeroplan recently switched from using a fixed award chart to dynamic pricing for several partner airlines, including Emirates. The new award chart lists prices at a “Starting at” rate and a median amount that will be updated quarterly based on redemptions from the previous four quarters.

The flight from JFK to MXP falls into Aeroplan’s 0- to 4,000-mile distance range, which lists prices as follows:

Economy: Starting at 35,000 points with a median of 35,000 points
Business: Starting at 60,000 points with a median of 80,000 points
First: Starting at 90,000 points

Fly from the US to Europe or Asia with Singapore Airlines

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

While Singapore Airlines has the world’s longest nonstop flight from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) to JFK, it also has two North American fifth-freedom routes.

JFK to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) on the Boeing 777-300ER
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT) on the Boeing 777-300ER

Singapore releases limited award space to Star Alliance partners, including United MileagePlus and Aeroplan; however, the best way to book tends to be using the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program.

Fortunately, these miles are easy to earn because KrisFlyer is a partner of all five major programs with transferable currencies: Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Capital One and Marriott Bonvoy.

One-way saver awards cost the following amounts:

Route	Economy	Premium economy	Business	First
JFK to FRA	25,000 miles	52,000 miles	81,000 miles	97,000 miles
LAX to NRT	38,500 miles	73,000 miles	103,500 miles	120,500 miles

Remember that booking through KrisFlyer allows you to waitlist for awards if your desired flight and/or class of service isn’t available at the time of booking.

Fly from Los Angeles to Paris with Air Tahiti Nui

CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY

Connecting French Polynesia to France proper, this fifth-freedom option involves flying from LAX to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) on Air Tahiti Nui’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

According to American Airlines’ partner award chart, if you want to fly Air Tahiti Nui to Paris, rates for off-peak travel dates start at 22,500 miles in economy, 40,000 miles in premium economy and 57,500 miles in business class. Rates for peak travel dates start at 30,000 miles in economy.

Fly from New York or Washington, DC, to West Africa with Ethiopian Airlines

BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY

Ethiopian Airlines has three fifth-freedom routes departing from North America, including two flights to Togo and one flight to Cote d’Ivoire.

Dulles International Airport (IAD) or EWR to Lome-Tokoin International Airport (LFW) in Lome, Togo
JFK to Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport (ABJ) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Ethiopian Airlines is a Star Alliance member, and you can book these flights to West Africa with points and miles. If you go through Aeroplan, you’ll need just 40,000 points for economy or 70,000 points for business class, a solid deal for these 10-hour flights.

How to earn points and miles to book fifth-freedom flights

It’s easy to earn points and miles to transfer to the above programs to book fifth-freedom flights. Amex Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points all transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan and Singapore KrisFlyer at a 1:1 ratio.

Here are some of the best cards available right now that offer generous welcome bonuses:

Bottom line

Fifth-freedom routes aren’t just appealing to the AvGeeks out there. Under the right circumstances, they can represent a unique value for North American travelers. The foreign carriers operating them can often provide a much better inflight experience than their American counterparts, even in economy.

Don’t limit yourself when planning your next trip. Instead, consider redeeming your hard-earned points and miles on one of these unusual routes.

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Fifth-freedom Routes: Flying Top International Airlines Without Setting Foot In Their Home Countries

Fly from New York to Milan and Athens, Greece, with Emirates

Fly from the US to Europe or Asia with Singapore Airlines

Fly from Los Angeles to Paris with Air Tahiti Nui

Fly from New York or Washington, DC, to West Africa with Ethiopian Airlines

How to earn points and miles to book fifth-freedom flights

Bottom line

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