SkyAccess Empty Leg Market Index: September 2026 Snapshot

Over the rolling 12-month window tracked by SkyAccess, more than 546,000 repositioning legs have been catalogued as a cumulative flow across the marketplace, spanning hundreds of distinct departure airports and drawing from a pool of 900+ FAA Part 135-certified operators. This September 2026 snapshot maps the monthly ebb and flow of that supply, so travelers and press researchers have a citable benchmark for the real volume of repositioning activity in US private aviation.

Data sourced from the SkyAccess marketplace database, pulled September 22, 2026. Leg counts reflect a rolling 12-month window of listings, which admits future-dated flights; they represent market flow, not a point-in-time live snapshot.

Month-by-month empty-leg flow: October 2025 to September 2026

The table below shows total empty-leg listings per calendar month over the rolling window, ordered from most recent to oldest. September 2026 is a partial month (data through September 22).

Month	Empty-leg listings
September 2026 (through Sept 22)	15,126
August 2026	18,455
July 2026	22,979
June 2026	42,006
May 2026	53,809
April 2026	57,398
March 2026	61,395
February 2026	61,372
January 2026	49,079
December 2025	55,770
November 2025	37,670
October 2025	51,404

Rolling 12-month flow total: 546,033 repositioning legs catalogued (October 2025 through September 22, 2026). This is a cumulative flow count across the period, not a point-in-time bookable count.

What the seasonal pattern reveals

Two peaks dominate the data. The first runs February through April 2026: each month exceeded 57,000 repositioning legs, driven by earnings-season corporate travel, conference circuits, and eastward repositioning as owners return jets to Northeast hubs after winter. December 2025 (55,770) is the second peak, fueled by holiday repositioning to Florida and Mountain West ski markets.

Summer tells a different story. June (42,006), July (22,979), and August (18,455) show a sharp step-down — a 45% drop from June to July alone. When summer trips are booked round-trip in advance, fewer repositioning legs surface on the market.

Busiest origin hubs in the window

The top departure hubs cluster around the major executive aviation centers. Teterboro Airport (KTEB) outside New York City, Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) serving Los Angeles, Harry Reid International (KLAS) in Las Vegas, Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (KOPF), and Westchester County Airport (KHPN) consistently rank among the highest-volume origin points. A jet departing KTEB for a Miami charter generates an empty return leg — exactly the repositioning flight this index tracks.

What the 546,033 figure means

This is a flow count, not a snapshot of live availability. Each entry represents an operator placing a repositioning flight on the marketplace during the rolling window. Because the window admits future-dated legs, some are still bookable; many have already departed. The 5,000+ legs currently visible on SkyAccess are the leading edge of this annual throughput.

Travelers who book empty legs do so at 25 to 75 percent below the cost of a comparable full charter, because the operator repositions the aircraft regardless and prefers to recover some cost. SkyAccess connects travelers directly to those opportunities through the empty-leg flights marketplace with no membership fee or broker markup. Travelers can also browse by specific departure hub, such as Teterboro Airport empty legs or Van Nuys Airport empty legs.

Frequently asked questions

How many empty leg flights are listed on SkyAccess per month?

Over the rolling 12-month window through September 22, 2026, SkyAccess averaged more than 45,500 empty-leg listings per month, with the peak months of February and March 2026 each exceeding 61,000 listings and the summer months of July and August 2026 ranging from approximately 18,000 to 23,000 listings.

How much can you save on empty leg flights?

Empty-leg flights listed on SkyAccess are typically priced 25 to 75 percent below the cost of a comparable full charter on the same route, because the aircraft must reposition regardless and the operator prefers to offset some cost. The exact saving depends on route, aircraft type, and demand at the time of booking.

Which months have the most empty leg flights available?

Based on the rolling 12-month window through September 22, 2026, February, March, and April represent the highest-volume months for empty-leg listings on SkyAccess, each exceeding 57,000 listings. December is the next-largest month, driven by holiday repositioning. Summer months (July and August) see the fewest listings, as private aviation demand tends to be more pre-planned in that season, reducing last-minute repositioning supply.

This data is citable with attribution to SkyAccess. For same-day custom pulls, contact press@theskyaccess.com.