One-Way Charter
A one-way charter is a private jet booking that flies in only one direction. Empty legs are the most common form, but operators also quote on-demand one-way charters at retail pricing when no positioning inventory matches the customer's date and route.
Also known as: one way charter, one-way private jet, single-leg charter
Most retail private jet charters are quoted as round trips because the operator has to get the aircraft back to its base or its next booking. A one-way charter is the alternative: the customer pays only for the leg they're flying, and the operator either has a positioning need that matches the route (in which case the segment is an empty leg) or accepts the booking as a standalone one-way and prices in the return positioning cost.
Empty-leg one-ways are the cheapest one-way product on the market — typically 25–80% off retail — because the positioning cost is already absorbed by the originating booking. On-demand one-ways, where the operator has no matching positioning need, are priced closer to retail: the operator still has to fly the empty return leg, just without an empty-leg buyer to share the cost with.
The practical guidance: if your dates and route are flexible, search empty-leg inventory first. The savings are biggest when the marketplace can match your trip to a positioning need an operator already has. If your dates and route are fixed, expect on-demand one-way pricing to land 15–40% above a comparable round-trip on the same aircraft.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a one-way charter cheaper than a round trip?
- Only if it's an empty leg or maps to an operator's repositioning need. A standalone one-way charter is usually 15–40% more expensive than the equivalent round trip, because the operator has to price in the empty positioning leg without an empty-leg buyer to offset it.
- Can any private jet route be booked one-way?
- Yes, but pricing depends on whether your route lines up with an operator's positioning need. Heavily trafficked corridors (Northeast ↔ Florida, LA ↔ Vegas, NYC ↔ South Florida) have the densest empty-leg supply and the deepest one-way discounts.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Charter Broker
A charter broker is an intermediary who arranges private jet flights between customers and certificated charter operators — Part 135 operators in the U.S., or the equivalent abroad — without operating any aircraft themselves. Brokers earn a margin on the operator's quote; marketplaces like SkyAccess remove that intermediary by surfacing operator inventory directly.
Looking for live empty leg inventory?
SkyAccess indexes live empty leg flights from 800+ certified charter operators across 5,000+ airports. Search by route, date, and aircraft category — most travelers find empty legs 25–75% below retail charter.
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