ShotOne:
I don't think Wino has said anything that's contrary to what you say. In fact, I would say your statement is not totally correct. A European freight airline would not be able to distribute from a US hub to other US destinations. However, they would be able to distribute to other Canadian destinations (which is in North America) if they choose to. The former is Cabotage, while the latter is fifth freedom traffic. The sticking point here is Cabotage is defined by "arbitrary" political boundaries. In terms of operational aspects, flying between, say, Boston and Chicago, is no different from flying between, say, Paris to Rome, or Tokyo to Seoul. If US airlines are allowed to fly between Tokyo to Seoul, why couldn't foreign airlines fly between Boston and Chicago. Then again, one has to ask the question: can a foreign airline operate an economically viable operation between US cities like Boston and Chicago. Perhaps, codesharing is a more effective means. And perhaps that's why Delta has almost abandoned all its fifth freedom rights out of Frankfurt which Delta got when they bought Pan Am's trans-Atlantic operation.