I still remember the first time I heard about empty legs. It was 2019, and I was chatting with a Citation XLS captain at London Luton after covering a delivery flight. He mentioned casually that his next sector — Luton back to Geneva — was going out empty because his client only needed the inbound leg. “We do this three, four times a week,” he said. “The plane flies either way. Might as well have someone in the back.”
That conversation stuck with me. Over the following years, as I built The Flying Engineer and spent more time around charter operators, I realised just how common these repositioning flights are — and how few travellers actually know they can book them. So let me break it down properly: what empty legs are, how much they actually cost, where the risks lie, and how to find the best deals without getting burned.
Key Facts
- Roughly 40% of all business aviation flights in Europe operate as empty repositioning legs (EBAA industry data)
- Empty leg flights typically cost 30–75% less than equivalent standard charter rates
- Cancellation risk is real — if the primary booking changes, your empty leg can disappear with little notice
- Best deals appear 12 to 48 hours before departure, though some list 2–3 weeks ahead
- Popular platforms include Victor, XO, VistaJet, Jettly, and GlobeAir
What Exactly Is an Empty Leg?
An empty leg — also called a deadhead flight, ferry flight, or repositioning sector — happens whenever a private jet is booked for a one-way trip. The aircraft still has to return to its home base or fly to another airport to pick up its next client. That return flight happens regardless. The plane burns fuel, the crew logs hours, and the operator absorbs the cost.
Rather than flying completely empty, operators list these sectors at heavy discounts. You get the exact same aircraft, the same crew, the same FBO experience, and the same white-glove service as a full-price charter passenger. The only difference is that you are flying on someone else’s schedule, not yours.
To put this in perspective: if roughly 40% of European business aviation flights operate empty — a figure that tracks with data published by the European Business Aviation Association — then on any given day there are thousands of private jets crossing the continent with no passengers aboard. That represents enormous latent capacity.
How Much Can You Actually Save?
The discount depends on the route, aircraft category, timing, and how badly the operator wants to offset costs. Based on current market rates in 2026, here is what the numbers look like:
| Route | Standard Charter | Empty Leg Price | Typical Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| London → Nice | €8,000–€12,000 | €3,000–€5,000 | 50–65% |
| London → Geneva | €6,000–€9,000 | €2,500–€4,500 | 50–60% |
| Paris → London | €4,500–€7,000 | €1,800–€3,500 | 50–60% |
| New York → Miami | $12,000–$15,000 | $4,000–$7,000 | 50–65% |
| Dubai → Riyadh | $9,000–$14,000 | $3,500–$6,000 | 55–60% |
| Los Angeles → Las Vegas | $6,000–$8,000 | $2,000–$3,500 | 55–65% |
Some operators, particularly those running very light jets on short European hops, have listed empty legs for as little as €990 for the entire aircraft. At that level, you are paying less per seat than a last-minute business class fare on a commercial airline — for a private cabin, no queues, and a 15-minute check-in at a private terminal.
Where to Find Empty Leg Flights
The market has matured considerably over the past few years. In the early days, you had to know a broker or be on an operator’s mailing list. Now there are dedicated platforms that aggregate inventory from dozens of operators and update in real time.
Marketplace Platforms
Victor (Fly Victor) — One of the more established international platforms. Strong coverage across Europe and the Middle East, with a broker-supported booking experience. I have seen them consistently list transatlantic empty legs that other platforms miss.
XO (Vista Global) — The app built by Vista Global (VistaJet’s parent company). Offers both guaranteed empty leg pricing and the ability to crowdsource seats on shared flights. Good for US domestic routes especially.
Jettly — App-first platform with a membership tier that gives you priority access to new listings before they go public. Particularly active on North American and European routes.
GlobeAir — Specialises in very light jet operations across Europe using their Citation Mustang fleet. Their empty legs are often the cheapest you will find for short European sectors.
Operator-Direct Listings
VistaJet — Lists available empty sectors through their membership portal. Known for strong transatlantic coverage and long-range legs on their Global 7500 fleet.
Monarch Air Group — US-focused broker with a dedicated empty legs page updated daily.
BLADE — Originally a helicopter platform, now lists fixed-wing empty legs particularly around the US East Coast and seasonal routes to the Hamptons, Aspen, and Miami.
How Pricing Works on Platforms
- Some platforms display fixed prices — what you see is what you pay
- Others show “starting from” prices where the final cost depends on passenger count and luggage
- Platforms without displayed prices (broker-mediated) sometimes offer lower rates because they cut out aggregator commission
- Push notifications are your best friend — set up alerts for your preferred routes and be ready to book within hours
The Risks You Need to Understand
I would not write about empty legs without being upfront about the downsides. This is not a guaranteed travel solution, and I have seen enough frustrated travellers to know that expectations need to be realistic.
Fixed route and timing. You cannot negotiate the departure airport, arrival airport, or time. The aircraft is going from A to B at a specific hour because that is what the primary booking requires. Your schedule has to fit theirs, not the other way around.
Limited luggage and passengers. Some empty legs restrict passenger numbers or luggage weight, particularly on very light jets where payload is tight after fuel calculations.
No return leg. You are booking a one-way flight. Getting home is your problem. This makes empty legs best suited for one-way travel needs, or for situations where you can combine an empty leg with a commercial return.
Aircraft substitution. Occasionally, the operator may substitute a different aircraft than originally listed, particularly if the primary client’s aircraft is swapped for maintenance reasons.
How to Book Smart: Practical Advice
After years of covering this space and speaking with operators, brokers, and regular empty leg flyers, here is what I have learned works:
1. Always have a backup plan. Never rely solely on an empty leg for time-critical travel. Book a refundable commercial ticket as insurance. If the empty leg holds, cancel the airline ticket. If it falls through, you are still getting where you need to go.
2. Set alerts on multiple platforms. No single platform sees all available inventory. Operators list on different marketplaces, and some only advertise through their own channels. Cast a wide net.
3. Be aircraft-agnostic. If you fixate on flying a specific jet type, you will miss deals. A Phenom 300 and a Citation CJ3 will both get you from London to Nice in similar comfort. Flexibility on aircraft opens up far more options.
4. Move fast. The best-priced empty legs get snapped up within hours of listing. Have your passport details, passenger manifest, and payment method ready so you can confirm without delay.
5. Ask about the primary booking status. A good broker will tell you how firm the primary charter is. A confirmed, paid, multi-leg trip with a corporate client is far less likely to cancel than a tentative weekend booking from a leisure traveller.
6. Check the fine print on cancellation. Some operators offer partial refunds or rebooking credit if they cancel your empty leg. Others owe you nothing. Know which scenario you are in before you commit.
Best Routes for Empty Legs
Empty legs are most common on high-traffic one-way routes — corridors where there is strong demand in one direction but less in the other. Based on what I see listed regularly across European and Middle Eastern platforms:
Europe: London to/from Nice, Geneva, Ibiza (seasonal), Milan, Paris. Also strong on ski-season routes: Geneva to London, Chambéry to London, Innsbruck to Munich.
Middle East: Dubai to/from Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha. Also Dubai to European cities, particularly London and Geneva. Hajj season creates significant empty leg availability on Saudi domestic routes.
United States: New York to/from Miami, Los Angeles, Teterboro to Palm Beach. Also strong seasonal availability on routes to Aspen, Sun Valley, and the Hamptons.
The pattern is predictable: wherever wealthy travellers fly one-way in large numbers — whether for business, holidays, or events — repositioning flights pile up in the opposite direction.
Empty Legs vs. Other Ways to Fly Private for Less
Empty legs are not the only way to reduce your private aviation costs. Here is how they compare to the alternatives:
Jet cards and memberships give you guaranteed availability and fixed hourly rates, but require significant upfront capital (typically $100,000+) and lock you into a single operator. Better for frequent flyers who value reliability over savings. I cover these in detail in my jet card programs comparison.
Shared charter / seat-based booking platforms let multiple passengers split a single aircraft. Lower per-person cost, but you share the cabin with strangers and lose the privacy advantage of private aviation.
Empty legs sit in between: significant savings, full privacy, same service level — but with schedule inflexibility and cancellation risk as trade-offs. For travellers with flexible schedules who enjoy the thrill of a spontaneous deal, they are hard to beat.
For a broader look at private jet pricing, see my complete private jet costs guide, and if you want to understand all the affordable options available, I have written about the most affordable ways to charter a private jet.
The Bottom Line
Empty legs are one of the most accessible entry points into private aviation for people who are not ready — or willing — to pay full charter rates. The savings are genuine, the experience is identical to a full-price flight, and with today’s platforms making discovery easier than ever, the market is only growing.
But you need to go in with your eyes open. This is not a substitute for reliable scheduled travel. It is an opportunistic play for flexible travellers who can act fast, absorb the risk of cancellation, and keep a backup plan ready. If that describes you, set your alerts and start watching. The right deal will come — and when it does, you will know exactly how to grab it.
If you are looking for a reliable charter operator rather than chasing deals, take a look at my guide to the best private jet charter companies worldwide. And if you are completely new to flying private, my guide to finding the right charter broker is a good place to start.
