Do empty legs repeat on the same route? 81.1% of listings fly a route listed more than once
- ✓ 81.1% of distinct empty leg listings flew a route listed more than once in the window.
- ✓ 13.6% flew a route listed at least once every 7 days on average.
- ✓ 18.9% flew a route listed only once.
- ✓ No single operator supplied more than 19.2% 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 empty legs repeat on the same route? On SkyAccess, the empty leg marketplace, 81.1% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 flew a route, the same departure and arrival airport in that direction, that was listed more than once in the window. 13.6% flew a route listed at least once every 7 days on average, 35.3% one listed at least once every 30 days, and 18.9% a route listed only once. 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 route-frequency analysis, not a route ranking. For the busiest routes, see the Empty Leg Index for October 2026, which ranks corridors every month.
Contents
- Do empty legs repeat on the same route?
- Why do most empty legs fly a route that repeats?
- What do these route-repeat shares measure?
- What does a repeating route mean for a search?
- How were these figures calculated?
- What do people get wrong about empty leg routes?
- Where can you go deeper on empty leg data?
- Frequently asked questions
Do empty legs repeat on the same route?
Most do: 81.1% of distinct empty leg listings flew a route that was listed more than once in the 365 days of the window, and 18.9% flew a route listed only once. 13.6% flew a route listed at least once every 7 days on average, 21.7% a route listed at least once every 30 days but less often than every 7, and 45.8% a route listed again but less often than every 30 days.
The table gives each band as a share of all distinct empty legs in the window. The average spacing is the number of days in the window divided by the number of legs listed on the route.
| How often the route was listed | Share of listings |
|---|---|
| Listed once | 18.9% |
| Listed again but less than monthly | 45.8% |
| Listed monthly but less than weekly | 21.7% |
| Listed at least weekly | 13.6% |
Why do most empty legs fly a route that repeats?
An empty leg is a repositioning flight, so it follows the trip before it. When charter trips return to the same pairs of cities, the hops that follow them repeat too, and an aircraft based at one airport flies out and back along the same lines. A route listed only once follows a trip off those lines. Ranked by share, the bands ran listed again but less than monthly, listed monthly but less than weekly, listed once and listed at least weekly.
What do these route-repeat shares measure?
Each distinct empty leg is placed in a band by the number of distinct legs listed on its route during the window, so a route counts as listed at least once every 7 days when its legs, times 7, reach the number of days in the window. A share is the number of distinct empty legs in that band divided by all distinct empty legs in the window, so busy routes weigh in by their legs. 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 repeating route mean for a search?
Search a route you fly often more than once. 81.1% of listings flew a route listed more than once in the window, so a route with no leg today may carry one later.
Widen a one-off trip to nearby airports. 18.9% of listings flew a route listed only once, so for an unusual trip, nearby departure and arrival airports widen the search.
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 2, 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. A route is the pair of departure and arrival airports in that direction; each leg is banded by how many distinct legs its route carried in the 365 days of the window: once, again but less than once every 30 days on average, at least once every 30 days but less than once every 7, and at least once every 7 days; every leg falls in one band. 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 19.2% 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 0.1 percentage points and no ranking changed. Counts reflect listings on the marketplace, not flights flown, bookings or passengers.
What do people get wrong about empty leg routes?
✗ Myth: “Every empty leg is a one-off.”
✓ Reality: 81.1% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 flew a route listed more than once in the window, and 13.6% flew one listed at least once every 7 days on average.
✗ Myth: “An empty leg route always comes back.”
✓ Reality: 18.9% of distinct listings flew a route listed only once 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.
- when empty leg flights appear before departure: measures how far ahead legs are listed, which decides how early to search.
- the best day of the week for empty leg flights: shows how listings spread across the week, the companion timing view.
- the live empty leg board: lists current departures, each one the whole aircraft at one listed price.
Frequently asked questions
Do empty legs repeat on the same route often?
Most do: 81.1% of distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026 flew a route listed more than once in the window. 13.6% flew a route listed at least once every 7 days on average.
What share of empty legs fly a one-off route?
18.9% of distinct empty leg listings flew a route that was listed only once in the window. The rest flew routes that carried at least one other leg.
Does the leg back count as the same route?
A route here runs in one direction, so a leg from one airport to another and the leg back count as two routes. 35.3% of listings flew a route listed at least once every 30 days on average.
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 2, 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 0.1 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 route-frequency analysis, not a route ranking.
Do empty legs repeat on the same route? Across distinct empty leg listings with departures from November 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026, 81.1% flew a route listed more than once and 18.9% a route listed only once. 13.6% flew a route listed at least once every 7 days on average. 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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