Empty Legs Charter Flights

What is An Empty Leg Charter Flights?

In recent years, travellers have been looking for many options for relatively affordable flights with a private operator, which is at odds with the exorbitant costs of owning an aircraft. Shared ownership, jet cards, membership programmes and even new airlines, which seem to be blurring the line between commercial and private, are all at your disposal. However, there is another option to get a seat on a business class aircraft, sometimes at extremely low prices, empty leg.

Given the high operating costs, private charter companies would like to avoid this problem and may wait until the last minute to ensure that no one wants to book this route due to circumstances.

And, of course, these routes aren't flexible without a great way to predict availability at your nearest airport. However, some sites allow you to set up an alert if a flight suddenly appears at your nearest location with an empty transfer.

How Much Can Money One Save?

Many operators, if there are no other options, will allow you to view empty flights with or without an additional "non-membership" fee.

Other companies, such as TriStar Charters & Concierge, allow anyone to view a list of expected empty flights a few weeks in advance, specifying the route and aircraft they plan to use. Although you'll need to create an account to find out about empty leg prices and book, you can find deals ranging from 50% off to a staggering 90% off.

The cheapest right now is a jump from Linz, Austria to Munich, Germany for €1590; compared to Skyscanner's quick last-minute search for a business class ticket on this route, the private fare is about €500 more expensive. But the commercial route stops in Frankfurt (adding significant time), and instead you get the whole plane to yourself (or a small group, making it even more affordable), as well as the long list of benefits and luxuries that come with a private flight.

As mentioned, prices are usually quoted for the entire aircraft, but with other operators or for example, you can pay per seat, making it even cheaper, sometimes under $1,000 per non-member, depending on the itinerary. On the other hand, some membership programmes (which admittedly cost thousands of dollars a year) may offer free empty flights departing within 24 hours.

Disadvantages of Empty Legs Flights

While this can be one of the cheapest (albeit most spontaneous) ways for the typical passenger to experience much of what the private side of the industry has to offer, there are a few caveats to be wary of.

Whilst typically a charter flight provides some flexibility in case you are late, booking an empty flight means that you are respecting the operator's time and cannot be late. However, you can still arrive just 15 minutes before your flight and not have to worry. Also, while private flights usually entail completely personalised meals, an empty flight is likely to have basic snacks, if anything at all.

Finally, the operator reserves the right to cancel an empty leg at the last minute, and they are not responsible for finding another flight; you need to be sure there is a backup just in case.