Empty Legs

Empty leg flights and private jet charter deals

An empty leg is a charter flight that an aircraft has to fly without passengers, usually to get home after dropping a client off one way or to reach the start of its next booking. Operators and brokers sell these positioning flights at a discount rather than fly them empty. They suit travellers with flexible dates, one-way trips and last-minute plans.

The trade-off is certainty. The route and time are fixed by the original booking, and the flight can be moved or cancelled if that booking changes, so have a backup plan. The operator's safety standards still matter: check the operating carrier's AOC and, where available, ARGUS or Wyvern audit ratings, just as for a full-price charter.

Empty leg providers in the directory

We list 34 companies that publish or broker empty legs, most in the United States (10), the United Kingdom (5) and Canada (4), with others in Germany and Austria.

• Empty Leg: discounted private jet flights on empty return journeys.
• Fly Victor: online platform for booking private jet charters.
• Flyxo: platform for booking private jets.
• Clay Lacy Aviation: empty leg services on its private flights.
• Air Partner: global aviation services group.
• Air Charter Service: private jet charter.

Empty legs come from the same fleets as private jet charter companies. Regular flyers who need guaranteed availability often choose a private jet card instead, and helicopter services can cover the last stretch. Read how to find cheap empty leg charter flights or browse our searchable index of empty leg flights.