Empty Leg Directions: Where Repositioning Flights Appear

What this page is, and what it is not

These are the directions on which aircraft most often fly back empty, with the normal charter price of each for reference. This is not a list of aircraft standing available today. Tell us your direction and dates, and we watch for a real one.

We say this plainly because the alternative is worse. A list of invented flights with invented dates brings people who call about an aircraft that was never there, and that is a poor way to meet a client.

Why empty legs exist at all

An aircraft is chartered one way far more often than people assume. Someone flies to Nice on Friday and stays; the aircraft cannot stay with them, because it is booked from London on Monday. That return flight has to happen with or without passengers — and an operator would rather sell it cheaply than fly it empty.

That is the whole mechanism. It also explains the two things people find frustrating about empty legs: the direction is set by someone else’s trip, and so is the date. What you get in return is a price that a scheduled charter cannot match.

Where they appear most often in our regions

Not every route produces them at the same rate. The pattern follows the traffic: aircraft carry people to the coast and the mountains at the start of a weekend or a season, and have to come back.

Prices above are the normal full charter for that direction, one way, whole aircraft — the reference point. A repositioning leg, when one appears, is priced well below it; how far below depends on how badly the operator needs to fill it and how soon it departs. Nobody, ourselves included, can promise a specific discount in advance, and we will not print one.

When an empty leg suits you, and when it does not

• Suits: you are flexible by a day or two, you are flying one way, your party fits the aircraft that happens to be repositioning, and you can decide quickly — these flights are usually resolved within hours.
• Does not suit: you need a specific date, a return on a specific day, or a particular cabin. In that case a normal charter costs more and is worth more; the published prices for every route we cover are on the charter prices page.

How to actually get one

Tell us the direction and the window of dates you could accept — the wider the window, the better the odds. We hold the request and come back when something matching appears. There is no charge for waiting and no obligation when we call.

If you need to depart at short notice regardless of price, that is a different question and it is answered on the short-notice page.

Questions we get about empty legs

What is an empty leg?

A flight an aircraft has to make without passengers — usually returning to base or going to collect the next client. Sold below the normal price because the operator would otherwise fly it empty.

How much cheaper is it?

Substantially, but the figure is not fixed: it depends on the operator, the aircraft and how close to departure it is. We quote the actual number when we have an actual flight.

Can I choose the date?

No — that is the trade. The date and direction come from someone else’s trip. You choose whether the one we find works for you.

Do you have any available right now?

Tell us the direction and dates and we will answer honestly, including when the answer is no. We would rather say that than show you a list of flights that are not there.

Tell us the direction and your window of dates

The wider your window, the better the odds. We hold the request and come back when a real repositioning flight appears — no charge for waiting, no obligation when we call.

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Popular routes

Questions we are asked about leasing

These are the questions that bring people to this page. The answers are the same ones we give on the telephone.