How fast do empty leg jets fly? 60.7% are on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster
- ✓ 60.7% of distinct empty leg listings were on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster.
- ✓ 90.3% were on aircraft that cruise at 400 miles per hour or faster.
- ✓ 9.7% were on aircraft that cruise under 400 miles per hour.
- ✓ No single operator supplied more than 24.7% of the legs in any band.
- ✓ Every figure is a share of distinct listings shown to customers of SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, and no total is quoted.
How fast do empty leg jets fly? On SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, 60.7% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 were on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster, and 90.3% at 400 miles per hour or faster. 29.6% cruise at 400 to 499 miles per hour and 9.7% under 400 miles per hour. All figures are shares of distinct empty leg listings shown to customers of the marketplace, so they measure supply, the repositioning flights operators list for sale, and not passenger numbers or bookings.
This is a cruise-speed analysis, not a route ranking. For the busiest routes, see the Empty Leg Index for November 2026, which ranks corridors every month.
Contents
- How fast do empty leg jets fly?
- Why are most empty legs on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster?
- What do these speed shares measure?
- What does cruising speed mean for a search?
- How were these figures calculated?
- What do people get wrong about how fast empty legs fly?
- Where can you go deeper on empty leg data?
- Frequently asked questions
How fast do empty leg jets fly?
Mostly fast: 60.7% of distinct empty leg listings were on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster, and 90.3% at 400 miles per hour or faster. 29.6% cruise at 400 to 499 miles per hour and 9.7% under 400 miles per hour. The shares use the distinct legs whose aircraft model has a stored cruising speed; 0.3% of legs had none and are left out.
The table gives each band as a share of all distinct empty legs with a known cruising speed. The speed is stored per aircraft model, so the bands describe the aircraft on the board, not a given flight.
| Cruising speed of the listed aircraft | Share of listings |
|---|---|
| Under 400 miles per hour | 9.7% |
| 400 to 499 miles per hour | 29.6% |
| 500 miles per hour or faster | 60.7% |
Why are most empty legs on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster?
An empty leg is a repositioning flight: the aircraft flies back to its base or on to its next pickup, so the board carries whatever aircraft operators move between trips. Midsize and larger jets fly many of the longer charter trips, and each of those trips can leave a repositioning leg behind. Turboprops and the smallest jets cruise more slowly and fly more of the short regional hops. Ranked by share, the bands ran 500 miles per hour or faster, 400 to 499 miles per hour and under 400 miles per hour.
What do these speed shares measure?
Cruising speed here is the speed stored for each aircraft model, grouped in three bands: under 400 miles per hour, 400 to 499 miles per hour, and 500 miles per hour or faster. A share is the number of distinct empty legs on aircraft in that band divided by all distinct empty legs with a known cruising speed in the window. The figures say nothing about the speed flown on a given day. The figures also do not show how many legs were booked: a listing counts whether it sold or not. Each listing is the whole aircraft, offered by the operator that flies it under an FAA Part 135 certificate or its international equivalent, and the operator confirms every booking.
What does cruising speed mean for a search?
Compare the flight time, not only the aircraft. On a short leg the climb and descent take much of the trip, so a slower aircraft often lands only a little later; 60.7% of listings were on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster.
Ask the operator about the time en route. The operator confirms every booking and the planned flight time; 9.7% of listings were on aircraft that cruise under 400 miles per hour.
Check the board through the day. New legs are added to the board throughout the day and others are booked.
Price the whole aircraft. Empty legs are priced for the whole aircraft, not by the seat, and taxes and fees are shown at checkout. Prices are often 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter, a range sourced from Avinode marketplace data.
How were these figures calculated?
Source: the database of SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, read-only queries run on November 8, 2026: one checking the mix of listing sources, one producing the figures, and one repeating them without the listing sources whose monthly volume changed sharply during the window. Window: departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026, the twelve full months before this analysis. Only listings shown to SkyAccess customers on the empty leg marketplace are counted. Each empty leg is counted once: listings that share origin airport, destination airport, departure time, tail number and aircraft model are one leg, and deleted, cancelled and internal-only listings are excluded. Cruising speed is the speed stored for the aircraft model of each listing, in the three bands above; 0.3% of legs in the window had no aircraft model or no stored cruising speed and are left out. Every figure is a share of distinct legs, and no total is quoted. Concentration check from the same query: in every band, no single operator supplied more than 24.7% of the legs. Recomputed without the listing sources whose monthly volume changed sharply during the window, no share in this post moved by more than 1.1 percentage points and no ranking changed. Counts reflect listings on the marketplace, not flights flown, bookings or passengers.
What do people get wrong about how fast empty legs fly?
✗ Myth: “Empty legs are only offered on small, slow aircraft.”
✓ Reality: 60.7% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 were on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster, and 90.3% at 400 miles per hour or faster.
✗ Myth: “Every empty leg is on a fast jet.”
✓ Reality: 9.7% of distinct listings were on aircraft that cruise under 400 miles per hour in the same window.
✗ Myth: “Empty legs are sold by the seat.”
✓ Reality: Every empty leg on SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, is the whole aircraft at one listed price; taxes and fees are shown at checkout, and prices are often 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter.
✗ Myth: “The marketplace flies the aircraft.”
✓ Reality: No. The marketplace lists the leg; the certified charter operator that flies the aircraft offers it and confirms every booking.
Where can you go deeper on empty leg data?
Each page below measures the same listing supply from another angle, with its own window and method.
- the Empty Leg Index for November 2026: ranks the busiest corridors every month, the route view this post leaves out.
- which aircraft types fly empty legs: breaks listings down by aircraft class, which sets cabin size and range.
- how long empty leg flights are: breaks listings down by listed flight time, the duration view of the same supply.
- the private jet charter aircraft directory: describes each aircraft type that appears on the board.
- the live empty leg board: lists current departures, each one the whole aircraft at one listed price.
Frequently asked questions
How fast do empty leg jets fly at cruise?
Mostly fast: 60.7% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 were on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster. 90.3% were on aircraft that cruise at 400 miles per hour or faster.
What share of empty legs are on aircraft that cruise under 400 miles per hour?
9.7% of distinct empty leg listings were on aircraft that cruise under 400 miles per hour. The other 90.3% were on faster aircraft.
How is cruising speed measured here?
Cruising speed is the speed stored for the aircraft model of each listing. Legs are grouped under 400 miles per hour, 400 to 499 miles per hour, and 500 miles per hour or faster.
What counts as one empty leg in these figures?
Each empty leg is counted once: listings that share origin airport, destination airport, departure time, tail number and aircraft model are one leg, and deleted, cancelled and internal-only listings are left out. Only listings shown to customers of SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, are counted.
Do these figures count bookings or passengers?
These figures do not count bookings or passengers. A listing counts whether it sold or not, so the figures describe supply, the repositioning flights operators list for sale, and not passenger numbers.
Is an empty leg priced by the seat?
Empty legs are not priced by the seat. Every empty leg on SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, is priced for the whole aircraft; taxes and fees are shown at checkout, and prices are often 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter.
Which period do these figures cover?
The figures cover departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026, the twelve full months before this analysis. The read-only queries behind them ran on November 8, 2026.
Did leaving out the listing sources that changed sharply move the figures?
The figures held when those sources were left out. Recomputed without the listing sources whose monthly volume changed sharply during the window, no share in this post moved by more than 1.1 percentage points and no ranking changed.
Where can I see which routes carry the most empty legs?
The Empty Leg Index for November 2026 ranks corridors every month and names the busiest routes. This post is a cruise-speed analysis, not a route ranking.
How fast do empty leg jets fly? Across distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026, 60.7% were on aircraft that cruise at 500 miles per hour or faster and 90.3% at 400 miles per hour or faster. 9.7% were on aircraft that cruise under 400 miles per hour. On SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, every listing is the whole aircraft, offered by the certified charter operator that flies it, and new legs are added throughout the day.
Browse current departures on the SkyAccess empty leg flights page.
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