As we posted last November, “Empty Legs” are un-booked, non-occupied flights that signify a burden to the private aviation industry but an opportunity for deal-seeking charter customers. Sometimes referred to as “deadhead”, “ferry” or “backhaul” flights, these potential money losers can actually reap huge profits to charter providers. That is, if they are sold.

According to Greg Johnson, CEO of OneSky Jets, an astounding 40% of the 2700 charter flights in this country are left empty each day. That’s over 1,000 flights that could be filled with passengers who prefer a Learjet to the chaos of the commercial flying experience.

The difficulty for charter providers is matching these paid-for empty jets with prospective customer requirements and visa versa. What typically happens is a group of passengers takes a flight to New York from Los Angeles, then stays a week while the plane must re-position back to its hub in L.A. This creates a last-minute, one-way, un-occupied flight across the country. Charter operators are willing to offer significant discounts through their broker networks for these flights.

Below are sample figures provided by OneSky Jets for Feb 15, 2007:

• Flights Sampled: 25
• Average Cost of Typical Charter: $23,379
• Average Cost of Empty Leg: $18,450
• Average Savings per Flight: $4930
• Average Discount (): 19

Compared with same data provided by OneSky Jets for Dec 7, 2006:

• Flights Sampled: 23
• Average Cost of Typical Charter: $31,474
• Average Cost of Empty Leg: $20,516
• Average Savings per Flight: $10,958
• Average Discount (): 34

The biggest savings we found was for a 13-person Embraer Legacy (EM-135BJ) from Miami to Las Vegas, which would normally be $60,282, for $27,100. That is a discount of over $33,000, or 55%.

We have found that the most availability and best discounts are offered in non-holiday time periods on longer flights to major metro areas.

There are plenty of resources for finding empty legs online. Others to try:

• Sentient Jet Membership
• Delta AirElite
• Jets.com
• AirBrokers.net
• Charter Hub
• Atlantic Aviation Flight Services