Empty Leg Flights: The Truth Behind the 75% Off Headlines
Every few months an article does the rounds promising private jets “for the price of easyJet” via empty legs. The comments fill up with people asking where to sign, and then most of them never book one. Here’s why — and how to be one of the people who actually does.
What an empty leg actually is
When someone charters a jet from London to Ibiza, that aircraft usually needs to come home. If nobody books the return, it flies back empty — crew on board, fuel burning, revenue zero. Operators would rather sell that seat-less flight for something than nothing, so they list it at a steep discount. That’s an empty leg.
The discount is genuine. We’ve seen a Legacy 650 London–Nice go for less than the price of a light jet. The catch is everything else.
The three catches
Catch one: the schedule is not yours. The empty leg exists because of someone else’s trip. If they move their departure by three hours, your flight moves too. If they cancel entirely, your flight evaporates — usually with a refund, but a refund doesn’t get you to a wedding in Mallorca.
Catch two: it goes where it goes. Empty legs are point-to-point. You can’t reroute one from Cannes to Nice because that’s where the aircraft needs to be. (Actually, sometimes you can nudge them slightly for a fee — it never hurts to ask — but the route is fundamentally fixed.)
Catch three: they appear late. Most empty legs are listed 24–72 hours before departure, because that’s when the operator gives up hope of selling a full-price return charter. Planning a holiday around one is like planning a picnic around a meteor shower.
Who empty legs are actually for
They’re brilliant if you fit one of these profiles:
- The flexible traveller. You’d like a weekend somewhere warm, you don’t much mind where, and you can leave Thursday or Friday. Empty legs were invented for you.
- The frequent-route flyer. You do London–Geneva twice a month anyway. Popular routes generate empty legs constantly, so sooner or later one lands on your dates. The Geneva route corridor is particularly rich in them during ski season.
- The one-way traveller. Relocating, heading out for a long stay, or happy to fly home commercial? One-way is exactly what an empty leg is.
They’re a poor fit if you have a fixed meeting, a cruise departure, or anyone in the party who reacts badly to plans changing at 9pm the night before.
How to actually catch one
Some practical advice, in rough order of usefulness:
- Tell a broker your intentions, loosely. “We’re two couples, we’d take Nice, Cannes, Ibiza or Palma, any weekend in June” is a brief a broker can actually work with. When something matching pops up, you get a call before it’s ever listed publicly.
- Watch the school holidays. The Friday exodus to the Med creates a wave of empty returns on Saturday and Sunday. Ski season does the same for Geneva and Chambéry in reverse.
- Be ready to say yes fast. Empty legs are sold first-come. If you need four days and a committee to decide, someone else is drinking your Champagne at FL410.
- Have a backup plan. Book refundable commercial flights or simply accept the trip might not happen. Treat the empty leg as an upgrade to a plan, not the plan itself.
What you’ll realistically save
Discounts typically run 40–75% off the equivalent charter price. On a light jet London–Nice, that might mean £3,500 instead of £8,000. You still pay handling, catering if you want it, and VAT where applicable — the discount applies to the flight, not the extras.
One thing that surprises people: the experience on board is identical. Same aircraft, same crew, same FBO lounge, same absence of queues. The aircraft doesn’t know it’s discounted.
The honest summary
Empty legs are the closest thing private aviation has to a genuine bargain, and the trade is simple: money for certainty. If your dates can bend, you can fly heavy metal for light-jet money. If they can’t, pay full price and read our cost breakdown to make sure you’re paying the right full price.