How to book an empty leg flight

Private aircraft rarely finish one trip where the next one starts. After an operator drops passengers off, the aircraft often flies back to base or on to its next pickup with nobody on board. That repositioning flight is the empty leg.

The operator would rather sell that flight than fly it empty, so it offers it at a price it chooses. The schedule, aircraft and price are the operator's. Jettura is an air charter broker: we do not operate aircraft or set the price. Our own proprietary algorithm finds legs and matches them to what you are looking for, and a person on our team confirms the details with the operator.

A leg exists only once the operator's main trip is booked, so legs can appear at short notice and their times follow that trip. Flexibility is what makes them work.

1. Decide how flexible you are. Work out how far you can move your date and which nearby airports you would use at each end. An exact match on your date is uncommon; a day either side, or the next airport over, widens the choice.
2. Search the board. Browse empty legs by route, date and passengers, or start from a city: Miami, New York or London. Each leg shows the aircraft type, route, date and an estimated price for the whole aircraft, or "Request price" when the operator has not published one.
3. Set an alert. If nothing fits today, set a route alert and we tell you when a leg appears on your route. Include nearby airports so you see more.
4. Ask for the real price. On a leg you like, press "Confirm price & availability", or request the flight if there is no leg. This is free, and it is not a booking or a hold. A person on our team checks the price and availability with the operator and sends you the confirmed price. Board prices are estimates until then.
5. Check the confirmed price. It gives the operator's price, the currency, what is included and excluded, and how long the price holds. Make sure the date, times, airports and aircraft type work for you.
6. Request to book and pay the fee. Press "Request to book", accept the Terms of Service and pay Jettura's flat USD 999 fee by card on one page. You have a limited window to finish; after it, the request expires and you are not charged. Before you pay anything, we confirm the operator holds a valid AOC for the aircraft flying you.
7. Meet the operator and pay it directly. Once your payment is confirmed, we introduce you to the operator by name with its contact details. You agree the booking with the operator and pay the operator directly. The operator's own terms, including its cancellation charges, govern the flight.

No markup: the operator's price is what you pay the operator. Jettura's flat USD 999 fee is separate, paid once by card, and only if you book. Searching, alerts and requests are free.

An illustration, not a quote: if the operator confirms USD 14,000 for the whole aircraft, you pay USD 14,000 to the operator and USD 999 to Jettura, USD 14,999 in all. How empty-leg prices work explains what an operator's price includes, and what a private jet charter costs gives the regular price to compare it with.

The operator's main trip comes first. If that trip moves or is canceled, the empty leg can change time, change airport or be canceled. That is the trade-off for the lower price.

If the operator cannot honor the price we confirmed, your fee comes back as a 12-month credit under the Terms of Service. Once you have booked with the operator, the operator's terms apply. Read what happens if an empty leg is canceled before planning anything that cannot move.

• Hold off on fixed plans. Do not book non-refundable hotels, events or onward flights around an empty leg until your booking with the operator is firm.
• Keep a fallback for must-arrive trips. A refundable or flexible airline ticket covers you if the leg moves.
• Ask for a charter at the same time. Request the flight and our team looks for both an empty leg and a charter. Empty leg vs charter sets out the trade-offs.
• Consider a shared flight. If you are open to sharing one whole-aircraft charter with one other party, see shared flights.

An operator, not Jettura, flies the aircraft and holds operational control of it. Its name is shared with you once you have paid the fee. To run your own checks on any offer, read how to check a private flight offer is legitimate.