Home · Guides · How empty legs work
Guide — Empty legs
How empty legs work
An empty leg is the sharpest value in private flying — and the least flexible product in it. Here is what an empty leg actually is, how booking one works, and the trade-offs to accept before you build a trip around one.
The idea
A flight that's already happening
When a chartered aircraft drops its passengers, it often still has to fly on — repositioning to its next job, or returning to base. That sector would be flown with nobody on board. Rather than fly it empty, the operator offers that one flight for sale, and our charter partner lists it.
Because the flight is happening anyway, it is priced to fill: our charter partner offers these at up to 75% off standard charter rates. You get the whole aircraft for that sector — the same private terminal, the same crew, the same cabin — at a fraction of a tailored charter's price.
The process
Booking an empty leg
Browse the live board
Listings and prices on our board are our charter partner's own published empty legs, refreshed from its live inventory.
Match route and date
Each listing is one aircraft, one route, one fixed date. If the sector lines up with your plans, it's a candidate.
Request the flight
Your request goes to our charter partner, who checks the aircraft's current schedule against your enquiry.
Availability is confirmed
Listings move as aircraft are re-tasked. The flight is yours once our charter partner confirms it in your quote — then you book as normal.
The board is on our home page, updated from our affiliate network's live inventory. You can also browse empty legs at our charter partner.
The honest part
The trade-offs
Fixed date
The aircraft is flying that sector on that day regardless. The date doesn't move to suit a changed plan — if your day slips, the flight doesn't.
Fixed route
Origin and destination are set by where the aircraft has to go. An empty leg serves the aircraft's schedule first; your trip has to fit it, not the other way round.
One sector, not a round trip
An empty leg is a single leg. Your return is a separate arrangement — another empty leg if one lines up, or a tailored charter.
Confirmed, not guaranteed
A listing is live inventory, not a promise. Availability and price are confirmed in your quote. Some listings show a firm price; others are price on application.
Fit
Who empty legs suit
A good fit
Flexible travellers whose route and date line up with a listing — a spontaneous trip where the flight becomes the plan, or a one-way hop you'd happily take at the listed date.
A poor fit
Fixed appointments with no slack, a party that must return together on a set day, or timing that simply cannot move. For those, a tailored charter — built around you — is the safer tool.
You'll continue to our charter partner to complete your enquiry. New to how quotes and payment work? Read what a quote includes.
Keep reading
More guides
Toronto private charter
Chartering from Pearson (YYZ) or Billy Bishop (YTZ): airports, planning and per-trip pricing.
What a quote includes
Estimate vs firm quote, what your tailored quote sets out, and who you actually pay.