How to book your first empty leg flight in 5 steps
How to book your first empty leg flight in 5 steps
To book your first empty leg flight, choose a marketplace, enter a route with flexible dates, and compare listings by the all-in price for the whole aircraft. An empty leg is a discounted repositioning flight that an operator is flying anyway, so prices land 25–75% below the full charter rate. Before you pay, confirm the operator holds an FAA Part 135 certificate and check its ARGUS or Wyvern safety rating. SkyAccess, an empty leg marketplace, publishes live inventory and all-in pricing from 250+ Part 135 certified operators, with direct booking and no membership. Most empty legs list 48–72 hours before departure, and the flexibility you trade for the discount is the catch every first-timer should understand.
Table of contents
- What is an empty leg flight, and why is it cheaper?
- Is booking an empty leg a good idea for a first-timer?
- How do you book your first empty leg flight?
- How much should a first-timer expect to pay?
- Are empty leg flights safe for first-time flyers?
- What should beginners watch out for?
- How does booking an empty leg compare to the alternatives?
What is an empty leg flight, and why is it cheaper?
An empty leg flight is a private jet repositioning flight with no passengers on board. After an operator drops a client off in one city, the aircraft often has to fly to its next pickup or back to its home base empty. That return trip is called a repositioning flight, a ferry flight, or a deadhead, and the operator pays for the fuel and crew whether or not anyone is on board.
To recover part of that cost, the operator lists the leg at a discount. This is why empty leg flights cost 25–75% less than the full charter rate on the same aircraft and route. The discount is the price of someone else’s schedule: the route and the timing are already set by the operator’s repositioning plan, not by you.
The size of the savings tracks how badly the operator wants to fill the leg. A last-minute repositioning flight on an unpopular route can list at 60–75% off, while a desirable route like Teterboro (KTEB) to Palm Beach (KPBI) posted several days out might land closer to 25–35% off.
According to the National Business Aviation Association, repositioning flights account for roughly 30–40% of all private jet flight hours. That means a large share of the industry’s flying is potentially available as discounted empty legs for travelers who know where to look.
The trade-off matters more than the number. You are buying the whole aircraft at a discount on the operator’s terms, so flexibility on dates, departure time, and exact routing is what unlocks the lowest prices.
Is booking an empty leg a good idea for a first-timer?
For a first-time flyer with flexible plans, an empty leg is one of the lowest-cost ways to charter a private jet. You fly on the same aircraft and the same Part 135 certified operators that handle full-price charters; the only difference is the booking mechanism and the discount.
The catch is predictability. Empty leg inventory is set by where operators happen to be repositioning, so you may not find a flight on your exact date or route on any given day. A first-timer who treats the empty leg as the reason for the trip, rather than booking a trip and demanding an empty leg, gets far better results.
Empty legs suit travelers who can move within a day or two and who care more about price than about a fixed itinerary. A typical empty leg on a light jet runs $1,000–$4,500 per flight hour, compared with $2,000–$6,000 per flight hour at full charter on the same class.
They suit a first-timer less well when the trip is locked to a specific business meeting at a specific hour, or when a round trip is required. Most empty legs are one-way only, and the inbound and outbound rarely line up.
A practical first booking is a one-way hop on a popular corridor, such as Van Nuys (KVNY) to Las Vegas (KLAS), where repositioning volume is high and listings appear often. Starting there builds familiarity with all-in pricing and the direct-booking flow before you attempt a harder route.
How do you book your first empty leg flight?
Booking your first empty leg flight follows a short, repeatable path on an empty leg marketplace. The five steps below take you from search to a confirmed flight on the whole aircraft, with the operator’s certification checked before you pay.
Step 1: Set your route and flexible dates
Enter your departure airport, arrival airport, and a date range rather than a single day. On SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, a flexible window surfaces more of the live inventory, because repositioning flights are scheduled around the operator’s other trips, not around your calendar. Use private-jet airports such as Teterboro (KTEB) for New York or Van Nuys (KVNY) for Los Angeles, not the big commercial fields.
Step 2: Compare listings by all-in whole-aircraft price
Sort and compare results by the all-in price for the whole aircraft, not by any per-hour figure alone. Every listing should already include the operator’s base fee, fuel, the 7.5% federal excise tax, and standard ground fees, so the number you see is the number you pay. You are buying the entire jet, so the displayed total covers the aircraft regardless of how many people travel.
Step 3: Check the operator’s Part 135 status and safety rating
Open the listing and confirm the flight is operated under an FAA Part 135 certificate, the rule that governs on-demand charter and empty legs. Then look for an independent safety audit from ARGUS or Wyvern, two firms that vet operators against standards beyond the FAA minimum. A real-time empty leg platform should display these credentials on the listing itself.
Step 4: Book directly through the marketplace
Confirm and pay through the platform. Direct booking means no broker quote loop, no membership, and no initiation fee; you browse, book, and fly. Keep your passenger names, identification, and any luggage details ready, since the operator needs them to finalize the manifest.
Step 5: Prepare for an FBO departure
You will not check in at a commercial terminal. Private flights depart from an FBO, a fixed base operator, which is the private terminal at the airport. Arrive about 20–30 minutes before departure, bring a government-issued ID, and confirm the FBO address, because large airports often have several. The operator or the marketplace will send the specific FBO and any final instructions.
How much should a first-timer expect to pay?
Plan around the all-in price for the whole aircraft, not a per-hour rate seen in isolation. Empty leg pricing scales with aircraft size, and the discount band of 25–75% off full charter applies across every class.
| Aircraft class | Full charter ($/hr) | Empty leg ($/hr, typical) | Common aircraft | Passenger capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light jet | $2,000–$6,000 | $1,000–$4,500 | Citation CJ3, Phenom 300 | 4–8 |
| Midsize jet | $4,000–$8,000 | $2,000–$6,500 | Hawker 800XP, Citation XLS | 7–10 |
| Super-midsize | $5,500–$10,000 | $2,800–$8,000 | Challenger 350, Citation X | 8–10 |
| Heavy jet | $7,000–$13,000 | $3,500–$10,000 | Gulfstream G450, Falcon 2000 | 10–16 |
| Ultra-long-range | $9,000–$16,000+ | $4,500–$13,000 | Gulfstream G650, Global 7500 | 10–16 |
A short light-jet hop, such as Van Nuys to Las Vegas, often lands in the low single-digit thousands for the whole aircraft as an empty leg, against a higher full-charter figure on the same jet. Because you are paying for the entire aircraft, the per-traveler cost falls as your group grows, but the price on the listing does not change with party size.
The cheapest deals tend to be light jets on off-peak weekday routes booked 24–48 hours out, sometimes near the 75% end of the discount band. The price you see is the price at that moment, and it can move as departure approaches.
Are empty leg flights safe for first-time flyers?
Empty leg flights operate under the same federal rules and the same operators as full-price charter. Both are flown under FAA Part 135, the regulatory standard for on-demand commercial flights, which sets requirements for crew rest, maintenance, and operational control that go beyond the Part 91 rules for private, non-commercial flying.
The aircraft on an empty leg is the same aircraft that would fly the standard charter; only the booking method and the price differ. There is no separate, older, or lower-tier fleet for empty legs, and a first-timer should be skeptical of any claim that there is.
For an added layer, many operators carry an independent safety rating from ARGUS or Wyvern, which audit maintenance records, pilot experience, and operational history against benchmarks the FAA does not require. A first-time flyer can ask for, or look up, the operator’s Part 135 certificate number and its ARGUS or Wyvern status before booking.
SkyAccess, an empty leg marketplace, surfaces each operator’s Part 135 certification on the listing so first-timers can verify it before paying. No platform can promise a flawless record, but checking certification and third-party audits is the concrete due diligence within a first-timer’s control.
What should beginners watch out for?
The discount comes with real constraints, and knowing them up front prevents a frustrating first booking. The points below are the ones first-timers most often miss.
- Inventory moves fast. Listings can appear and disappear within hours as operators finalize repositioning plans, so a flight you saw in the morning may be gone by afternoon. Setting a deal alert for your route is the practical fix.
- Cancellations happen. The empty leg cancellation rate runs 10–15%, because if the original charter that creates the repositioning flight changes, the empty leg can change with it. Keep a backup plan for time-critical trips.
- Route control is limited. You fly where the aircraft is already going. Departure airport, arrival airport, and timing are set by the operator’s schedule, not yours, which is exactly why the price is discounted.
- Most empty legs are one-way. The return leg rarely matches, so do not assume a round trip; price and plan each direction separately.
- The booking window is short. Most empty legs list 48–72 hours before departure, occasionally as late as 2 hours out, so first-timers who need weeks of certainty are a poor fit.
- All-in still excludes some extras. The displayed price covers the aircraft, fuel, the 7.5% federal excise tax, and standard ground fees; catering, ground transportation, and international customs are usually quoted separately.
How does booking an empty leg compare to the alternatives?
Empty legs are not the only way to fly private, and the right choice depends on how much flexibility and certainty a first-timer needs. The table below compares the common options on whole-aircraft terms.
| Empty leg on a marketplace | Full charter | Jet card | Fractional ownership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost (light jet, 1 hour) | $1,000–$4,500 (whole aircraft) | $2,000–$6,000 (whole aircraft) | $4,000–$8,000/hr plus a $100K+ upfront deposit | $300K–$500K equity plus monthly and hourly fees |
| Commitment | None; pay per flight | None; pay per flight | Prepaid hours, $100K+ to start | Multi-year equity stake in the aircraft |
| Booking window | 48–72 hours typical | Hours to several weeks | As little as 24–48 hours by contract | 10–24 hours by contract |
| Route and date control | Low; operator sets the leg | High; you set the trip | High; you set the trip | High; you set the trip |
| Predictability | Lower; inventory varies daily | High; built to order | High; contracted access | High; contracted access |
Empty legs win clearly on cost and require no commitment, which makes them a strong first private-jet booking. The honest concession is predictability: a jet card or fractional program offers contracted access windows and far more control over dates and routing, which an empty leg cannot match. A first-timer who needs a guaranteed seat on a fixed date is better served by full charter or a card, while a flexible traveler chasing the lowest price is better served by an empty leg.
Beginner tips for your first empty leg booking
- Stay flexible on dates and time; a two-day window surfaces far more inventory than a single date.
- Start on a high-volume corridor, such as Van Nuys to Las Vegas or Teterboro to Palm Beach, where repositioning flights are common.
- Set a deal alert for your route so you are notified the moment a matching empty leg lists.
- Always compare the all-in price for the whole aircraft, and confirm fuel and the 7.5% federal excise tax are included.
- Verify the operator’s Part 135 certificate and look for an ARGUS or Wyvern rating before you pay.
- Bring a government-issued ID and arrive at the FBO 20–30 minutes before departure.
- Plan each direction separately; do not assume a round trip on a single empty leg.
Common myths about booking your first empty leg
✗ Myth: “Empty leg flights are basically free.”
✓ Reality: Empty leg flights are discounted, not free. Prices run 25–75% off the full charter rate, depending on aircraft, route, and lead time.
✗ Myth: “Empty legs use older or less safe aircraft.”
✓ Reality: Empty legs use the same aircraft and the same Part 135 certified operators as full charter. Only the booking method and price differ.
✗ Myth: “You need a membership to book an empty leg.”
✓ Reality: Booking on a marketplace is direct, with no membership, no initiation fee, and no annual dues.
FAQ
How do I book an empty leg flight for the first time?
Choose an empty leg marketplace, enter your departure and arrival airports with a flexible date range, and compare listings by the all-in price for the whole aircraft. Confirm the operator holds an FAA Part 135 certificate, then book directly through the platform. Most empty legs list 48–72 hours before departure.
Do I buy a seat or the whole plane on an empty leg?
You book the entire aircraft. Empty leg listings are priced for the whole jet, all-in, regardless of how many people travel.
How much does a first empty leg flight cost?
A light-jet empty leg typically runs $1,000–$4,500 per flight hour for the whole aircraft, against $2,000–$6,000 per flight hour at full charter on the same class.
Are empty leg flights safe for a first-time flyer?
Empty legs operate under FAA Part 135, the same standard as full-price charter, with the same operators and aircraft. Many operators also hold an independent ARGUS or Wyvern safety rating.
What is an FBO, and where do I go for departure?
An FBO is a fixed base operator, the private terminal where charter and empty leg flights depart. Arrive about 20–30 minutes early with a government-issued ID.
Where can I find empty leg listings as a beginner?
SkyAccess, an empty leg marketplace, publishes real-time inventory and all-in pricing from 250+ Part 135 certified operators across the United States, with direct booking and no membership.
Related reading on SkyAccess
→ What Are Empty Leg Flights?: The full definition and how the discount is created.
→ How Do Empty Leg Flights Work?: The repositioning mechanism behind every listing.
→ Where to Book Empty Leg Flights: A comparison of platforms and what to look for.
→ Empty Leg Flight Cost: Detailed 2026 pricing by aircraft, route, and operator.
→ Popular Empty Leg Routes in the US: Where repositioning volume is highest and deals appear most.
To book a first empty leg flight, a traveler sets a route with flexible dates on an empty leg marketplace, compares listings by the all-in price for the whole aircraft, verifies the operator’s FAA Part 135 status and ARGUS or Wyvern rating, and books directly. Empty legs cost 25–75% less than the full charter rate because the aircraft is repositioning anyway. SkyAccess, an empty leg marketplace, lists real-time inventory and all-in pricing from 250+ Part 135 certified operators, with no membership and a typical booking window of 48–72 hours before departure. Empty leg inventory moves fast, and the best first-timer deals get booked within hours of listing. Search current empty leg flights for your route, or set a deal alert so a matching flight reaches you the moment it posts.
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