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 to 75% below a comparable full charter.
Also known as: ferrying, ferry leg, ferry charter, aircraft ferry
Ferry flight is a broader term than empty leg or dead leg. In its strictest sense, a ferry flight is any non-revenue repositioning flight: moving the aircraft from its base to a paid trip's departure airport, returning it to base, delivering a newly purchased aircraft from the factory to its new home base, or flying an out-of-service aircraft to a maintenance facility.
Customers usually encounter ferry flights as the empty-leg version: an operator's positioning segment that's been opened for sale because the operator would otherwise fly it empty. The economics are identical to a standard empty leg — the published price floor reflects positioning costs the operator has already committed to.
Ferry flights tied to maintenance or aircraft delivery are not generally available as empty legs. A flight inbound to a maintenance facility may be operated under a special airworthiness condition with no passengers allowed, and a factory-delivery ferry is typically operated by the manufacturer's own crew before the aircraft is even on a Part 135 certificate.
If a ferry flight is being advertised on a marketplace, it's been authorized for paying passengers by the certificate holder. The booking flow on a reputable marketplace will surface the ferry-vs-empty-leg distinction implicitly through the cancellation and reroute terms.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the difference between a ferry flight and an empty leg?
- Ferry flight is the operations term for any non-revenue repositioning flight, including maintenance moves and factory deliveries. Empty leg is the customer-facing subset: ferry flights opened for sale to passengers at a discount.
- Can you book a maintenance ferry flight?
- Usually no. A ferry flight inbound to or outbound from a maintenance facility may be operated under a special airworthiness flight permit that doesn't permit revenue passengers. Reputable marketplaces won't list one for sale.
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 to 75% below a comparable full charter, with the discount widening as the departure window narrows.
- 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 to 75% below a comparable full charter to recover the trip's fixed costs.
- 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 deadheads as empty legs at 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter.
- 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 to 75% below a comparable full charter.
Sources
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SkyAccess indexes 5,000+ live empty leg flights from 900+ certified charter operators. Search by route, date, and aircraft category; empty legs typically run 25 to 75% below a comparable full charter.
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