Some aviation terms might sound like a different language, even for experienced air travelers. Empty legs flight is a common term in private aviation and refers to the return or the repositioning trip of an already chartered flight. Empty Legs is often called a ferry, dead leg, or empty sector flight.

It comes in two versions:

1. Imagine a private jet flight booked from Barcelona to Moscow while the jet is currently positioned in Istanbul. The empty plain needs to get to Barcelona, which is that repositioned empty leg flight.
2. On the other hand, let’s say that someone booked a one-way private flight from Belgrade to Vienna. The private jet will need to get back to Belgrade-return empty leg flight. 

The Principle Behind

Empty Legs was primarily created as a discounted opportunity to travel by private jet while utilizing its spare capacity.

Although renting out a private jet is a costly practice, present for more than a hundred years, trends and society’s development made this concept available for a bigger part of the community.

Most legit private air companies consider this mentioned displacement of time and money unethical, forming discounted private jet trips.

These low-cost flights are a unique opportunity to experience true luxury at reasonably economical prices that can sometimes even challenge commercial flights. 

Pros and Cons of Empty Legs Flight

Like everything, booking an empty leg flight comes with many benefits and a couple of flaws.

One of the main benefits includes savings of up to 75% on standard private jet charter flights. Some companies even offer negotiable price trips making the whole thing quite flexible. Besides the money-saving aspect, booking an empty legs flight is ideal for last-minute decisions and flight opportunities.

Aviation has come a long way as similar experiences were once available only for wealthy individuals and V.I.P.s.

Hiring a private jet is still a pleasurable experience with a combination of a couple of benefits, including privacy, catering, WI-Fi, flat-screen T.V., and many other conveniences.

Like everything, scheduling an empty legs flight has a couple of downsides. There is no flexibility regarding departure time as it is quite restrictive. Empty leg flights offer set departure time you’ll have no influence of. Sometimes, if the client changes his mind, you can do nothing as the company will move your schedule too.

As said before, these flights are much cheaper than standard chartered private jet trips. However, users reported a couple of situations where they additionally had to adapt to their pre scheduled commercial flight, subsequently resulting in higher prices. Mechanical issues can often cause similar problems producing unexpected costs. 

If you by any chance decide to cancel the trip, you’ll have to pay the full price.

Keep in mind that all of the mentioned difficulties can be avoided by picking the right company with a stable policy or hiring a broker.

Accessibility

Logically, empty legs are much more accessible than regular commercial flights, especially when it comes to boarding troubles and landing.

Flying with regular air companies requires you to go thru a specific process with a lot of waiting, delegation and baggage check-in.

Chartering an empty leg will grant you a private airport that deals with passengers separately. Passport and security checks last a second allowing you to enjoy a full-on, stress-free, comfortable and reliable experience. On some occasions, you can even enter the aircraft directly.

How Much Do Empty Legs Flights Cost?

Since booking an empty leg flight is beneficial for both sides, you can often find individual trips cheaper than standard commercial flights.

Most discounts go from 50-75 % of the full price, while the exact cost will depend on the operator and the route mentioned earlier. Some operators are known to offer abnormally low prices at the last minute if they failed in selling the ticket, so try to keep up.

Productivity and Flexibility

If you are looking for a comfortable, luxurious and reliable travelling experience, think of booking an Empty Legs flight once in a while, particularly for those of you trying to save time while being highly productive.

Flexibility is another accentuated principle as the right timing will save you a lot of money and allow you to organize your time in a better manner.

Business travelers and corporate groups are accounted for as the most frequent users regarding the subject.

Summary

All in all, chartering an empty leg flight is highly beneficial, especially if you happen to have good timing and pick a certified company, such as Eagle Express. 

Besides the aforementioned luxury and comfort, booking an empty legs flight will save you a lot of worries while providing a unique, and high-end experience. Those of you considering booking should try to charter the empty legs flight as late as possible since the price is gradually deteriorating each minute.

Keep in mind that there are numerous private jet companies out there; hence try to inform yourself right and check out all available options, or even hire a licensed broker to help.