An empty leg (sometimes referred to as a dead head, a ferry or a blackhaul flight) is a charter flight where, for various reasons, the aircraft is flying empty. Sophisticated travelers take advantage of these empty legs and reap tremendous savings along the way. In some cases, you could save up to 70% of the charter flight’s original cost. The charter companies offer these discounts in order to cut costs because empty leg flights pull down the bottom line by incurring fuel charges and other expenses. With 1,000 flights flying empty each day, finding an empty leg charter flight should be relatively easy!
Empty leg jet rentals are most frequent between Florida and New York, and the best time to find deals is on a Monday. Similarly, the volume of daily flights spikes around the traditional holiday peak travel times. When your travel is last minute–within four days or so–the likelihood of finding an empty leg is increased. While it is certainly possible to find empty legs further out from your date of travel, you run the risk of flight plan changes, cancelations and delays. When it comes to empty-legging, flexibility is the key to a satisfying charter flight experience.
If you are a spontaneous traveler, with good flexibility on travel times and dates, a good way to find empty legs is to gather a list of RSS feeds from the many sites that broker these deals. By checking several sites each day, you can ensure that you find the very best value for your money. Be aware that the discounts you receive for these flights will vary each time you book one–so do not expect to save 70% every time.
Speaking of expectations, it is important to realize the difference between a “contingent” empty leg and a “definite” empty leg. These terms mean exactly what they say–a contingent empty leg is subject to cancelation if the originating charter passengers change their plans for any reason. Conversely, a definite empty leg is guaranteed. When a definite empty leg is booked, the flight will take place regardless of the originating charter passengers’ plans. However, these definite empty legs may not be as readily available as the contingent empty legs. Therefore, when making your decision, weigh the pros and cons of each type of empty leg booking and be prepared to stay flexible.
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