Do most empty leg flights cross state lines? 72.9% of US legs do
- ✓ 72.9% of distinct US domestic empty leg listings crossed a state line.
- ✓ 31.4% flew to another of the four US Census regions.
- ✓ 27.1% stayed within one state.
- ✓ No single operator supplied more than 22.8% 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.
Do most empty leg flights cross state lines? On SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, 72.9% of distinct empty leg listings between two airports in the 50 states and Washington DC, with departures from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, crossed a state line. 31.4% flew to another of the four US Census regions, 41.5% to another state in the same region, and 27.1% stayed within one state. 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 state-line analysis, not a route ranking. For the busiest routes, see the Empty Leg Index for October 2026, which ranks corridors every month.
Contents
- Do most empty leg flights cross state lines?
- Why do most empty legs cross state lines?
- What do these state-line shares measure?
- What does a state line mean for a search?
- How were these figures calculated?
- What do people get wrong about empty legs and state lines?
- Where can you go deeper on empty leg data?
- Frequently asked questions
Do most empty leg flights cross state lines?
Most do: 72.9% of distinct empty leg listings between two airports in the 50 states and DC crossed a state line, and 27.1% stayed within one state. 41.5% flew to another state in the same region and 31.4% to another region altogether. The shares use the legs whose two airports both carry a state or DC code, which is almost every US domestic leg.
The table gives each band as a share of all distinct US domestic empty legs with a known state at both ends in the window. The regions are the four US Census regions: Northeast, Midwest, South and West.
| Where the leg goes | Share of US domestic listings |
|---|---|
| Within one state | 27.1% |
| To another state in the same region | 41.5% |
| To another region | 31.4% |
Why do most empty legs cross state lines?
An empty leg is a repositioning flight: the aircraft flies back to its base or on to its next pickup, so it covers the same ground as the trip before it. Charter trips often link cities in different states, and an aircraft based in one state often flies out to collect passengers in another, so the hop that follows crosses the same line. Ranked by share, legs flying to another state in the same region came first, then legs flying to another region, then legs staying within one state.
What do these state-line shares measure?
A leg crosses a state line when its departure and arrival airports carry different state codes. Washington DC counts as its own area, so a leg between DC and Virginia crosses one, and the regions are the four US Census regions, with DC in the South. A share is the number of distinct empty legs in that band divided by all distinct empty legs between two airports in the 50 states and DC with a known state at both ends. 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 a state line mean for a search?
Search beyond your own state. 72.9% of US domestic listings crossed a state line, so an airport just across the line may carry the leg you need.
Watch the next region too. 31.4% of listings flew to another of the four US Census regions, so a longer domestic trip still has legs to choose from.
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 October 31, 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 October 1, 2025 through September 30, 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. A leg is US domestic when both airports are in the 50 states or Washington DC; the state is the state code stored for each airport, DC counts as its own area, and the regions are the four US Census regions (Northeast, Midwest, South with DC, and West); almost every US domestic leg had a state code at both ends, and the few without one 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 22.8% 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 0.5 percentage points and no ranking changed. Counts reflect listings on the marketplace, not flights flown, bookings or passengers.
What do people get wrong about empty legs and state lines?
✗ Myth: “Most empty legs are short hops inside one state.”
✓ Reality: 72.9% of distinct US domestic empty leg listings with departures from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 crossed a state line, and 27.1% stayed within one state.
✗ Myth: “An empty leg stays in its home region.”
✓ Reality: 31.4% of distinct US domestic listings flew between two of the four US Census regions 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 October 2026: ranks the busiest corridors every month, the route view this post leaves out.
- private jet routes and destinations: lists the route pages for city pairs with empty legs.
- domestic versus international empty legs: covers what changes when a leg crosses a border.
- the private jet airport directory: lists departure airports and their empty leg pages.
- the live empty leg board: lists current departures, each one the whole aircraft at one listed price.
Frequently asked questions
Do most empty leg flights cross state lines in the US?
Most do: 72.9% of distinct empty leg listings between two airports in the 50 states and Washington DC from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 crossed a state line. 27.1% stayed within one state.
What share of empty legs fly to another part of the country?
Legs between two of the four US Census regions made up 31.4% of distinct US domestic listings. Another 41.5% crossed into a different state of the same region.
Does a flight between Washington DC and a state count as crossing a state line?
A leg between Washington DC and any of the 50 states counts as crossing a state line here. DC is treated as its own area and sits in the South region, as the US Census groups it.
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 October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, the twelve full months before this analysis. The read-only queries behind them ran on October 31, 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 0.5 percentage points and no ranking changed.
Where can I see which routes carry the most empty legs?
The Empty Leg Index for October 2026 ranks corridors every month and names the busiest routes. This post is a state-line analysis, not a route ranking.
Do most empty leg flights cross state lines? Of distinct empty leg listings between two airports in the 50 states and Washington DC from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, 72.9% crossed a state line and 27.1% stayed within one state. 31.4% flew to another of the four US Census regions. 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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