Airport, crowds, long lines, waiting, delays – you hate that, right? Yeah, me to! What if I told you, all of that can be avoided, if you fly private jet? Fly private jet – I don’t have Kim Kardashian’s bank account balance, how the hell do you want me to pay – you probably think that right now. But what if I told you, flying private, although still quite costly, does not necessary have to be more expensive than flying business class on a regular airline? Whaat? Yes, you hear that right! All you need is a little bit of time and a lot of research skills but it is perfectly possible. What you need to look for is co called “empty leg flight”.
What is an Empty Leg flight?
An empty leg is when a private jet flies it’s user to their destination and needs to come back to base without passengers. It’s also called “repositioning flight”. Generally, empty leg happens when a plane needs to come back from a maintenance activities to it’s homebase or needs to fly to pick up passengers or was booked for a one way flight. Those flights are expensive, so it’s often better to find some passengers and cover the cost of the flight (or at least cover the flight costs partially), then write off the full cost of the flight. As I said – all you need is time and research. Maybe one more thing – you have to be flexible with your travel dates and you have to focus on popular destinations. Where typically a lot of private jets are regularly flying to (for example NYC to LAX is one of those routes that give you high chance of finding a bargain). You can get them for a discount between 30 and 70%! Sometimes you won’t get a meal or alcoholic drinks, sometimes you have to hire then entire flight, sometimes you pay for a seat. Regardless of the setup, it’s definitely an option worth exploring. Especially that flying private is an experience on it’s own!
How to search for empty leg flight?
Google is your friend here, just type in “empty legs” and enjoy the hunt. The downside is, with most of those websites, you will have to register before you can actually see the quote. That’s somewhat annoying but on the other hand, if you can fly in peace and quiet, without queues and waiting, in exchange for email address – I was happy to do that. Let’s have a look at couple of companies offering those services and what bargains we can get (at the time of writing which is on the 28th July 2022):
What are the best companies offering empty leg flights
Flapper www.flyflapper.com
They are a company with HQ in Belo Horizone, Brazil. They are your choice if you’re looking for empty legs in South America. A quick search through their website, looking at shared option (so you buy a seat on a plane) we can get:
- A flight from Sao Paolo, Aeroporto de Congonhas, to Rio, Aeroporto Santos Dumont for only 390 USD, about the same if you booked regular airline with a short notice.
- A flight from Buenos Aires – San Fernando International to Cataratas del Iguazú International for 1150 USD. Ok, a bit more expensive than economy seat but of want a ticket in business, it’s pretty much the same but without all the hustle of a regular airport security.
Victor www.flyvictor.com/en-gb/
They have offices in Washington DC, London UK, Munich Germany and Nice France. They cover pretty extensive network and a quick search on their website today shows us:
- A flight from Paris Le Bourget Airport to Milan Malpensa, for 8 people, for only 5910 Euro. Almost 6000 euro sounds like a lot of money but this is for 8 passengers so if you travel with family or friends, it gives you a price of 739 EUR. Same as the price of flight in business or sometimes even in economy when in high season and booking with short notice
- A flight from London to Amsterdam with 6 passengers on board for under 4k EUR however I was not able to confirm the quote with reasonable timeframe. Nevertheless whether it’s 4k or 3.8k, divided by 6 that’s till a reasonable price!
Globeair www.fly.globeair.com
They allow you to make a booking as a guest so you don’t need to create an account. A quick search show me that you can book:
- A flight from Linz Airport, Austria to Milan Linate for 1390 EUR. Again – a price of ticket in business class for unparalleled level of comfort.
Search for your empty leg flight today!
Those are just 3 options for empty legs. There’s much more available – like Jettly or Exxaero, so next time you’ll be planning shopping in Milan or a day at the beach in Nice, or maybe an epic casino night in Monaco – why not do it in style! As you can see, you don’t have to be a billionaire, neither you need to charter the entire plane, to travel in style and in comfort. And the best part is, empty legs are available on routes popular amongst travelers since the same routes are popular for business flights and leisure flights for the rich and famous. Remember – as per data form 2018 there are 21 979 (as per Bart International Fleet report) private jets worldwide so there’s plenty of empty legs availability too! Even better news is that not many people is aware of the empty leg opportunities therefore, if you spend some time, and some research skills, you can really get a fantastic offer, for a price of a regular flight, minus the waiting, the crowds, the annoying security procedures and narrow, uncomfortable plane seats.
Hope I encouraged you to play a detective and go on a hunt for the best opportunities to fly with private jet for a price of a regular ticket! Enjoy! And if you try, please let me know your experience! I am very curious to see and tell our readers about your experience! And if you’re looking for inspiration for your next Europe in November trip, read my article about the 4 week trip across Europe.
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Aga says
Thank you!