What Exactly Is An Empty Leg?
The primary difference between commercial and private flights is that commercial passenger aircraft fly on set routes and at set times, generally flying back and forth between two points, collecting and dropping off passengers accordingly. However, private aircraft operate differently. Since there is no fixed schedule, the aircraft is typically contracted to fly from one airport—often its home base—to a destination. However, it must eventually return to its home base, and this return journey is referred to as the "empty leg" or "empty sector."
Additionally, the aircraft may also be scheduled to pick up passengers from an airport that is not its home base. This type of flight is known as a "repositioning flight." Both empty legs and repositioning flights offer travellers the chance to fly at significantly discounted rates.
The Upside...
Private jet travel is increasingly recognised as an on-demand and bespoke travel solution, often booked at the last minute. As a result, operators are unlikely to find a client to fill the repositioning or empty leg portions of the aircraft's itinerary in advance. They are therefore happy to offer the flight at a steeply discounted rate in order to recover a portion of their costs.
The advantage for travellers is that these empty leg flights are highly cost-effective. In many cases, there's also the opportunity to negotiate additional perks, such as Wi-Fi access and premium catering. Additionally, as private jet travel is becoming so much more popular, there are significantly more of these empty leg flights becoming available to the flexible buyer.
The Downside...
If you can be flexible with dates and times this will very much help with securing a discounted aircraft. However, the downside is that they are usually booked within a few days of departure so not beneficial to a client that has a set schedule.
Most importantly, an empty leg is also conditional upon the primary flight actually flying; if the primary passenger cancels, then the empty leg will not fly and the contract is cancelled. They are also usually just a one-way option so arrangements will need to be made for the rest of your itinerary.
The Best Solution...
Empty Legs can be a fantastic way to fly at close to commercial airline prices and can be curated to become part of an overall itinerary connecting with long distance commercial flights. It is becoming a popular solution to fly long sectors of a trip commercially and connect with private jet flights for the shorter legs.
As an example, a business traveller may fly commercial from London to New York, but then fly privately to Washington, Atlanta, Dallas and back, in order to save time and effort transiting through multiple commercial hubs. With access to thousands of aircraft globally, the best solution is to let us know your ideal route and approximate dates and let us keep an eye on the market for you. Simply email the team at charter@365aviation.com with your preferences and we’ll try to match your itinerary to the most cost-effective solution.
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