News
Fifth Got Zero
March 1st 2019
Singapore-Seoul traffic rights won’t be expanded because South Korea is unwilling to grant more fifth freedom rights. Read More »
Singapore and South Korea generally have liberalised air service agreements across Asia but the exception is with each other. The two nations have agreed to new traffic rights for Singapore-Busan, but could not reach an agreement for Singapore-Seoul due to fifth freedom rights.
Against the wishes of Korean Air, Asiana and much of the South Korean Korean aviation establishment, Seoul Incheon airport has lobbied its government to allocate greater fifth freedom rights so Incheon can increase transfer traffic. There are many debates about the value of fifth freedom transfer traffic and if it enhances hub connectivity.
Although it was not the intent, curtailing fifth freedoms may help Korean start-up, Air Premia. Should it be approved, Air Premia will fly long-haul on the markets that otherwise may have seen a fifth freedom service.
Singapore wanted fifth freedom rights from Seoul while South Korea was interested in third and fourth freedom traffic rights. As Singapore’s only major airline, Singapore Airlines uses most of the unit-based entitlements to operate four daily flights from Singapore to Seoul. But South Korea’s allocation must be split between Asiana Airlines and Korean Air, so each operates two daily flights. They would like to operate more third and fourth freedom flights whereas SIA appears content with four.
Requesting fifth freedom rights may appear odd since SIA has discontinued its only fifth freedom flight from Seoul, which flew to Los Angeles (previously San Francisco). The service was terminated when SIA resumed non-stop flights to the U.S. While some people begin to picture a future SIA without fifth freedom flights, there also appears to be a view that it would be a benefit to keep traffic rigths in the back pocket.
Singapore’s fifth freedom allocation from Seoul provides for a daily 777-300ER service. SIA wanted to up-gauge to the A380, but the unit-based allocation did not provide for a daily superjumbo service.
