also called fifth freedom · 5th freedom
A route where an airline carries passengers between two foreign countries as part of a longer journey from its home.
A fifth freedom flight is when an airline flies you between two countries that are both foreign to it, as one leg of a longer route from its home base. It is not a codeshare, where two airlines just share one flight; here a single airline is carrying you on a stretch far from its own country. These odd routes sometimes put a fancy cabin on an unusual city pair at a surprisingly low price.
You want to fly between two Asian cities and stumble on a Gulf airline flying that exact leg as part of its longer route home. You end up in its business class for less than the local carriers charge in economy, on a flight for which neither city is the airline's home.
These quirky routes can offer premium cabins on odd city pairs at unusually low prices.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
An airline alliance is a partnership that pools routes, lounges and frequent-flyer benefits, and a frequent flyer program is the loyalty scheme you earn in across it.
A codeshare is one airline selling a seat on a flight another airline actually operates.
A fifth freedom flight is an airline carrying passengers between two foreign countries on the way from its home, and cabotage is the rule that generally forbids it from carrying passengers between two points inside one foreign country.
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