Are you familiar with something called Fifth Freedom flights?
It’s an agreement between governments that allows an airline that’s not based in either country to fly between two cities or countries where the airline isn’t based.
For example, you can fly from New York to Milan on Emirates, or Los Angeles to London on Air New Zealand, or from Sao Paolo to Buenos Aires on Turkish Airlines.
Those Fifth Freedom flights often offer better service and better fares.
They are actually flights that continue on (or from) an airline’s main base.
It’s just that they are allowed to take passengers between those two other points.
Most recently, Fifth Freedom rights were granted to Mexican carrier Volaris.
You can now fly between San Jose, Costa Rica and Los Angeles on Volaris, or between San Salvador and New York.
These flights may not always show up on the websites of online travel agencies, but they are legal, they operate, and sometimes the best way to find them is to go to the individual airline websites and punch in the two city pairs to see what happens.
For more information about booking air travel, check out:
- Why You Shouldn’t Feel Rushed When Booking Online
- How You Can Get Creative With Bundled Travel Deals
- How Much Airlines & Hotels Make Off Your Added Fees
Keep reading for more travel tips.
