Fifth freedom flights are an excellent way to try business and first class ‘on the cheap’. These are flights operated by an airline between two cities outside of its home country.
South-American airline LATAM operates an interesting daily flight between Madrid and Frankfurt. It’s flown by a Boeing 787 featuring fully-flat business class seats.
One of the benefits of following Tricks of the Trade on Facebook and Twitter is that we occasionally post deals there that don’t make the main site. About six weeks ago, I highlighted that this route was bookable for about £100.
However, there’s currently an even better deal available that allows you to try this flight for just £60.
The cheapest prices I found were on Skyscanner which knocked another couple of pounds off Google Flights pricing:
At the time of writing, availability was wide open in September 2019 and then February, March and April 2020.
EDIT: 4th July 2019 – The best availability now seems to be April and May 2020.
One-way flights starting in Frankfurt rather than Madrid are also available but are approximately £80. Alternatively, you can book a return journey for about £140 (netting 80 Tier Points).
Pick up some Avios too
The BA Avios and Tier Point calculator shows that you would earn 1,104 Avios each-way on this route.
Verdict
Articles on fifth freedom flights are always popular with Tricks of the Trade readers and if you’ve always been tempted to give one a try this is a pretty cheap way of doing so. You can easily position to/from Madrid and Frankfurt using Avios and Reward Flight Saver.
I put together six other interesting fifth freedom routes in this article, including cheap ways to try First Class on Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.
Book this deal via Skyscanner
HT: @_HRphotography