Charter guides
Empty leg flights: how they work and when they save money.
A charter that ends away from the aircraft's base leaves a flight home with nobody on it. Operators would rather sell that flight for less than fly it empty. The discount is real, and so are the conditions that come with it.
The short answer
What is an empty leg flight?
An empty leg is a charter aircraft flying without passengers to reach its next job or to get home after one, sold to travellers at a discount instead of flying empty. Brokers and operators mostly advertise them at up to about 75% less than a one-way charter on the same aircraft. The catch is that the operator picks the route and the time, and the flight can move or vanish if the paying trip behind it changes.
Side by side
What do you give up for the discount?
Control, mostly. A charter goes where you want, when you want. An empty leg goes where the aircraft was going anyway.
| Question | Empty leg | On-demand charter |
|---|---|---|
| Who picks the route? | The operator. It goes where the aircraft has to go next. | You. |
| Who picks the time? | The operator, inside a window it sets. | You. |
| How far ahead can you book? | Usually weeks, often only days. Most appear close to departure. | As far ahead as you like. |
| Can it be cancelled? | Yes. If the paid trip it depends on moves, the empty leg moves or goes. | Only on the terms in your contract. |
| One way or round trip? | One way. The way back is a separate booking. | Either. |
| What does it cost? | Advertised at up to about 75% less than a one-way charter on the same aircraft. | The full rate, positioning included. |
| Is it taxed? | Yes, the same 7.5% federal excise tax. Listed prices often leave it out. | Yes, the same 7.5%. |
Why would a jet fly empty at all?
Because charter aircraft live at a base and the trips do not. Someone books New York to Miami one way, and the aircraft then has to get home. That customer is usually paying for the flight back already, so anything the operator earns by selling it is extra. The same happens in reverse when an aircraft flies out to collect a group somewhere else.
How much cheaper is it really?
Published figures run from 25% to 90% off, and most brokers settle on "up to 75%". Two things shrink that in practice. The discount is measured against a one-way charter, which already includes paying for the empty flight home, so against a round trip the saving is smaller. And listed prices often leave out the 7.5% federal excise tax, which a sold empty leg pays like any other charter.
Who should book one?
Someone flying one way, with a day or two of give in the date, who can live with a cancellation. If the empty leg goes, you need another way to travel, so it suits a ski weekend better than a closing meeting. If the date cannot move, book a charter and treat any empty leg that turns up as a bonus.
How do you find one?
Most appear a few weeks out, and many only days before the flight, so the trick is to be watching when they are posted. Brokers and operators publish lists, and several apps send alerts by departure airport. Or send us the route and the dates you could fly. We check for empty legs alongside a standard quote, so you see both prices.
HAVE A BACKUP PLAN
An empty leg exists because someone else paid for a trip. If that trip moves, yours moves with it, and the operator owes the paying customer first.
What does the full charter cost?
The number an empty leg is discounted from: hourly rates by aircraft size, and a one-way trip added up.
Private jet charter cost →Compare both on your route
Tell us where and when, and how flexible the date is. We send the charter price and any empty leg that fits.
Get a charter quote →Sources
Gathered in October 2026. Market prices and fee estimates are other people's published figures, not our quotes. Federal tax and fee rates are the government's own.
- Mercury Jets, Empty Leg FlightsUpdated October 8, 2026The discount against a one-way charter, how operators control timing, and that listed prices exclude tax.
- VOMOS, Private Jet Charter CostJuly 27, 2026A discount range of 25% to 75%.
- Upgraded Points, How to use empty legs to fly private for cheapUpdated April 16, 2026A discount range of 50% to 90%, the highest published, and that empty legs are sold one way.
- Paramount Business Jets, Private Jet Rental CostUpdated August 2026The definition of an empty leg as a repositioning flight.
- US Code, 26 U.S.C. 4261, tax on transportation of persons by airCurrentWhy a sold empty leg carries the 7.5% tax like any other charter.
Private jet charter
Know the route and the date?
Send them and we'll come back with aircraft and a price. Or call the desk, which is staffed around the clock.
Airplane Handling is an air charter broker. We are not a direct air carrier and do not have operational control of any aircraft. Every charter flight we arrange is operated by a properly licensed direct air carrier, which holds operational control of the flight.