[FreedomCalls]

Like I said, it's a modified route. The aircraft have to always be within a certain distance of a contingency airfield in case of emergency. The routes do not go too far north. The can go north of Iceland and Greenland as long as they don't go so far that they can't reach the airports there if needed. There are no commercial routes that cross over the North Pole. The Moscow-LA route stays farther south than it would if it followed a great circle route.

[ccmay]

There are no commercial routes that cross over the North Pole.

Au contraire. Finnair has been flying the polar route to Tokyo since 1983. Since 2001 there are four new FAA-approved polar routes over Russia that now see considerable use on flights between the Eastern US and East, Central and South Asia. The route called Polar 2 goes directly over the North Pole.

Read POLAR ROUTES OFFER NEW OPPORTUNITIES from Boeing for more information.

-ccm