An empty leg occurs when a private jet must reposition to its next departure point without passengers — for example, when an aircraft delivers a client from Paris to Ibiza and must return to Paris before the next booking. The operator must fly the sector regardless; selling it at a substantial discount generates revenue that would otherwise be lost entirely. Empty legs typically price at 30-50% of the normal charter rate and, in some cases, 60-75% below. Understanding how to access, identify, and book empty legs transforms the economics of private jet travel for flexible clients.
How Empty Legs Are Created
Every private jet booking generates one or two positioning flights: an aircraft flies empty to collect a client (ferry to departure), and often flies empty after delivering them (ferry from arrival). In a fleet of 20 aircraft operating across Europe, this generates 30-50 empty positioning sectors per week, each available at a significant discount. The discount reflects the operator's cost recovery logic: an empty ferry costs fuel, crew, and landing fees regardless; any revenue above marginal fuel cost is preferable to none.
Empty legs are more common and more accessible during high-demand periods — Mediterranean summer (July-August), ski season (December-March), major events (Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes, Art Basel) — because these periods generate high volumes of one-way bookings. This creates an apparent paradox: empty legs are most available precisely when regular charter rates are highest, making the price differential even more significant.
Where to Find Empty Legs
Empty legs are available through four primary channels: (1) direct relationship with charter operators (the earliest and most comprehensive access, typically reserved for established clients); (2) broker platforms with dedicated empty leg listings (Air Charter Service, Chapman Freeborn, Victor); (3) dedicated empty leg marketplaces (PrivateFly, JetFinder, Stratajet); and (4) social media — some operators publicise same-day or next-day empty legs on Instagram and Telegram channels.
FFGR Jets publishes its available empty legs on the dedicated /empty-legs page, updated daily. For established clients with registered preferences (preferred routes, minimum aircraft category, group size), FFGR Jets sends WhatsApp notifications when a matching empty leg becomes available — typically 24-72 hours before departure.
The Art of Building Your Trip Around an Empty Leg
The primary constraint of empty leg travel is inflexibility: the routing is fixed (A to B, not B to A), the departure time may have a 2-3 hour window but not more, and cancellation or rescheduling is common if the paid booking on the connected leg changes. The experienced empty leg traveller treats the empty leg as an outbound or inbound sector and books the connecting surface transport, accommodation, and activities with appropriate flexibility.
Practical strategy: identify the empty legs available on your preferred routes (e.g. Nice–London, Geneva–Paris, Ibiza–Amsterdam) and build a calendar of known travel dates around the available slots. A client who travels London–Mediterranean 8 times per year and maintains an active relationship with FFGR Jets can typically capture 2-4 empty leg opportunities annually, generating savings of €20,000-€60,000 per year against standard charter rates.
Empty Leg Etiquette and Practical Considerations
Empty legs are sold on the assumption that the client is flexible on departure time (typically a 2-hour window), accepts that the flight may be cancelled or rescheduled with short notice if the paid booking changes, and understands that catering and on-board services may be limited relative to a full charter booking (empty legs are typically not catered to the same standard as a properly prepared charter departure).
Group size flexibility is essential: an empty leg on a midsize jet priced for 6 passengers at €4,500 represents extraordinary value for a group of 4-6, but poor value for a solo traveller who would do better on a commercial first class ticket. FFGR Jets recommends empty legs to clients as part of an annual flight planning consultation — mapping the client's typical travel calendar against predicted empty leg availability to maximise the capture rate.
Browse Available Empty Legs
Or by email: contact@ffgrjets.com
