Freedom Flights Going Through Canada
My last post on Freedom flights through Canada was definitely due or an update.
The concept of “Freedoms of the Air” is basically the right to use airspace. There are different types of freedom flights. Before the ones that you can find in Canada, below is a quick summary of the 9 (along with 1 modified) types of Freedom Flights:
|
Freedom |
Description |
| 1st | The right to fly over a foreign country without landing.
This happens frequently as many airlines need to fly through other countries to arrive at their final destination. |
| 2nd | The right for airlines to land in foreign countries for non-traffic purposes.
In other words, airlines are allowed to land for technical stops (e.g. refuel or maintenance) and not embarking or disembarking passengers or cargo. This does not happen as often since most modern airplanes have enough flying range for long haul flights. |
| 3rd | The right to fly commercially from one’s own country to another.
The 3rd and 4th freedom flights are generally linked together; otherwise, there would be no return flight. |
| 4th | The right to fly commercially from another country to one’s own.
The 3rd and 4th freedom flights are generally linked together; otherwise, there would be no return flight. |
| 5th | The right to fly between two foreign countries on a flight originating or ending in one’s own country.
This is the most interesting one because they give passengers the opportunity to fly on an airline without going through the home country of the airline. |
| 6th | The right to fly from a foreign country to another while stopping in one’s own country for non-technical reasons.
Essentially, airlines would be allowed to connect passengers. |
| modified 6th | The right to fly between two places in a foreign country while stopping in one’s own country for non-technical reasons. |
| 7th | The right to fly between two foreign countries while not offering flights to one’s own country. |
| 8th | The right to fly inside a foreign country, continuing to one’s own country. |
| 9th | The right to fly within a foreign country without continuing to one’s own country. |
Fifth Freedom Flights
Below is a list of the fifth freedom flights that go through Canadian airports.
- Air China: Montreal (YUL) to Havana (HAV)
- Cathay Pacific: Vancouver (YVR) to New York (JFK)
- China Southern: Vancouver (YVR) to Mexico City (MEX) (only bookable as international online connecting or stopover traffic only)
- Jet Airways: Toronto (YYZ) to Amsterdam (AMS)
- Philippine Airlines: Vancouver (YVR) to New York (JFK)
Sixth Freedom Flights
- Air Canada Express: New York (JFK) to Anchorage (ANC) through Calgary (YYC)
Eighth Freedom Flights
In case there is a confusion, Philippine Airlines does have one flight, PR118, that flies between Vancouver (YVR) and Toronto (YYZ). However, Philippine Airlines does not have eighth freedom rights to transport passengers solely between Vancouver and Toronto, so they only carry passengers between Vancouver and Manila on that flight.
Canadian Airlines that Operate Fifth Freedom Flights
- Air Canada: Buenos Aires (EZE) and Santiago (SCL)
Did I miss any? Please let us know in the comment section below!
Technically JFK-YYC-ANC would not be a sixth freedom flight, as JFK and ANC are in the same country
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jason. Will look further into this on the next update.
I was going to book the AC flight between SCL and EZE for my first rewards dream vacation this coming fall. (November 2018) but saw that route is being discontined in April 2018. Didnt look into much further since KLM also has a fifth freedom flight for the same route. And yes..its a fraction of the cost!!!
Thanks for sharing Gwen!
Where are you getting the info that AC Express runs ANC-YYC-JFK? I’m based in YYC, and my only direct option to NYC (on AC brands) is to EWR on AC mainline, and I can find no record of current flights between YYC and ANC on any carrier (plus, it just strikes me as a weird, low-demand route). Is it historical? Approved, but not operating?
Sorry about that. My information is way out of date.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2016/02/15/air-canada-dropping-new-york-jfk-its-route-map/80419482/
Please treat my example as a way to better to illustrate the definition.