On 30th December, CNA reported that the Japanese government has granted Singapore Airlines the fifth freedom right between Tokyo and New York. Simply put, Singapore Airlines are allowed to pick and drop off passengers travelling just between Tokyo and New York.
Quoting from Kazuyoshi Akaba, the Japanese Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism,
“We sincerely hope that this will be a new milestone, or a new step in possible cooperation opportunties for Singapore and our Nippon Airways in codesharing flights and other areas.”
Current Singapore Airlines New York Flights
It would be interesting to see whether Singapore Airlines will exercise this right; the airline currently operates a direct Newark flight and a JFK flight via Frankfurt, on a daily basis. If Singapore Airlines were to fly to New York via Tokyo, what would be the fate for the JFK flight via Frankfurt?
Singapore to Newark operated by the A350
SIN – EWR SQ22
12:40 – 05:30
EWR – SIN SQ 21
09:45 – 17:15 (+1)
Singapore to JFK via Frankfurt operated by the A380
SIN – FRA SQ 26
23:55 – 06:20 (+1)
FRA – JFK SQ26
08:20 – 11:15
JFK – FRA SQ25
20:15 – 09:50 (+1)
FRA – SIN SQ 25
11:40 – 06:50 (+1)
Other Fifth Freedom Routes For Singapore Airlines
- Hong Kong – San Francisco – Hong Kong
- Manchester – Houston – Manchester
- Melbourne – Wellington – Melbourne
- Moscow – Stockholm – Moscow
- Tokyo – Los Angeles – Tokyo
If you want to catch the CNA interview on Singapore Airlines new fifth freedom right, here is the youtube video: