Dead Leg
A dead leg is a private jet flight segment with no paying passengers — the aircraft is repositioning to or from a paid booking. Operators sell dead legs at 25–80% off retail to recover the trip's fixed costs.
Also known as: deadleg, dead-leg flight, dead leg charter
Dead leg is the operations-side name for an empty leg flight. The two terms are interchangeable from the customer's perspective; the difference is just dialect. Charter dispatchers and pilots tend to say "dead leg" or "deadhead" in the cockpit and on the manifest; marketplaces use "empty leg" because it's the search term customers actually type into Google.
Mechanically, a dead leg is the segment that pairs with a paid charter. If an operator quotes a one-way Teterboro → Palm Beach trip, the aircraft has to get to Teterboro from its base (the inbound dead leg) and then get back to base or its next booking from Palm Beach (the outbound dead leg). Either or both of those positioning segments can be sold as a customer-facing empty leg.
Because dead-leg pricing is driven by what the operator would otherwise lose flying empty, the published price floor is closer to fuel + crew duty cost than to a retail charter quote. That's why same-aircraft, same-route empty-leg pricing can land 60–80% below the operator's own on-demand charter rate on the same calendar day.
The same booking terms apply: dead legs are flown under the operator's own air carrier certificate — Part 135 in the U.S., or the equivalent authority abroad — with the same crew, the same maintenance, and the same safety oversight as a paid charter. The discount reflects schedule constraints, not a different operating standard.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a dead leg the same as an empty leg?
- Yes. "Dead leg" and "empty leg" refer to the same product: a private jet positioning flight with no paying passengers, sold at a discount. Dead leg is the term operators and dispatchers use internally; empty leg is the customer-facing search term.
- Why are dead legs so much cheaper than charters?
- The operator has to fly the leg anyway to reposition the aircraft. The crew, fuel, landing fees, and aircraft hours are already committed. Anything the operator can recover by selling the seats is contribution margin against an otherwise sunk cost.
- Can I book a one-way dead leg?
- Yes — that's the entire product. Dead legs are one-way by definition; the routing is dictated by the originating booking, not the customer.
Related terms
- Empty Leg Flight
An empty leg flight is a one-way private jet flight sold at a discount because the aircraft has to fly without passengers to its next paid booking. Empty legs are typically priced 25–80% below retail charter, with the discount widening as the departure window narrows.
- Deadhead Flight
A deadhead flight is a non-revenue positioning flight where the aircraft (and often the crew) flies without paying passengers to be in position for the next paid booking. Operators sell deadhead seats as empty legs at 25–80% off retail.
- Ferry Flight
A ferry flight is a non-revenue private aircraft flight used to move the airplane between bases, to maintenance, or to a delivery destination. Customer-facing ferry flights are typically sold as empty legs at 25–80% off retail.
- Repositioning Flight
A repositioning flight is a non-revenue flight that moves a private aircraft from one airport to another to be in position for its next paid booking. When opened for sale to passengers, it becomes an empty leg priced 25–80% below retail charter.
Sources
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