Fractional Ownership
Fractional jet ownership programs sell shares of an aircraft to multiple owners, who each get an annual flight allowance and pay a monthly management fee. Programs like NetJets, Flexjet, and PlaneSense compete with empty legs by trading higher predictability for higher cost.
Also known as: fractional jet, fractional program, fractional share, netjets fractional
Fractional ownership emerged in the 1980s (NetJets, founded 1986) to give buyers the on-demand availability of private jet ownership without the capital cost of owning a whole aircraft. A typical 1/16 share buys ~50 hours of flight time per year on a specific aircraft category, with the program operator handling crewing, maintenance, and scheduling.
Fractional programs and empty-leg marketplaces serve different customer needs. Fractional optimizes for predictability — guaranteed callout window, consistent aircraft quality, transparent per-hour pricing. Empty legs optimize for price — 25–80% off retail when the operator's positioning need matches the customer's route.
Some fractional programs operate under Part 91K — a Part 91 subset specifically for fractional ownership — which has its own crew, currency, and operational control requirements distinct from Part 135. Other fractionals (especially smaller ones) use Part 135 certificates. The regulatory framing changes some pricing and tax treatment but doesn't change the customer-facing product materially.
Most fractional programs include some empty-leg allocation as a member perk, often at a small additional discount over the program's per-hour rate. Cardholders should compare a fractional empty-leg quote against an open marketplace quote on the same route before assuming the fractional rate is the best.
Frequently asked questions
- Is fractional ownership cheaper than empty legs?
- No. Fractional ownership prices in the program operator's overhead, guaranteed-callout cost, and capital cost of the aircraft share. Empty legs are typically 25–80% off retail charter — significantly below fractional per-hour rates for occasional users. Fractional makes sense above ~50 hours/year with a guaranteed-callout need.
Related terms
- Jet Card
A jet card is a prepaid private jet program where members buy a fixed number of flight hours at a locked-in hourly rate and aircraft category. Empty-leg marketplaces and jet cards are competing products: cards trade liquidity for price certainty.
- 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.
- Part 91 (Private Operations)
Part 91 of the FAA regulations governs non-commercial flight operations — private owners flying their own aircraft, corporate flight departments flying company aircraft, recreational pilots. Aircraft on Part 91 cannot be chartered for hire; doing so anyway is illegal "gray" charter.
- Part 135 Operator
A Part 135 operator is an FAA-certificated company authorized to fly paying passengers on private (non-scheduled) charter aircraft under 14 CFR Part 135. Every legitimate private jet charter flown in the United States — including every empty leg — is operated under a Part 135 certificate; operators based elsewhere fly under the equivalent authority in their own jurisdiction.
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