Apsley Travel · Bespoke Luxury Travel
An empty leg is a repositioning private jet flight an operator has to fly with no passengers — the aircraft is going anyway, so the seat cost is heavily discounted. Realistic savings against the full charter rate are 25–75%. The trade-off is fixed date, fixed route and fixed departure time: you take what the schedule offers. Empty legs make outstanding sense for travellers with flexible windows and no sense for anyone who needs a guaranteed departure.
An empty leg is a repositioning private jet flight an operator has to fly with no passengers — the aircraft is going anyway, so the seat cost is discounted. Realistic savings are 25–75% off the full charter rate, in exchange for accepting a fixed date, fixed route and fixed departure time.
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Realistic savings are 25–75% off the full charter rate for the same aircraft on the same route. The average across empty legs Apsley books is around 45%. Anything advertised at 90% off is either a bait price or a leg that no longer exists.
Rarely, and only by hours, not days. The empty leg exists because the operator is repositioning the aircraft on a specific date to a specific airport. Route changes are essentially never possible; date shifts of 24–48 hours occasionally are, at additional cost.
Yes — the aircraft is fully crewed and catered. Standard catering (light meal, drinks) is included. Bespoke catering (Michelin pick-up, specific champagnes) can be added at cost. Ground handling at both ends is included.
Once you've paid and the charter contract is signed, the leg is confirmed. Before that, empty legs can vanish — if the operator's paying client cancels, the reposition often disappears. Apsley only quotes legs confirmed with the operator within 24 hours.
Identical safety standards to a full charter — same aircraft, same crew, same operator regulation. Apsley only sources from Wyvern or ARGUS-rated operators with matching insurance and crew currency.
Empty legs typically appear 2–14 days before departure. Some transatlantic ULR legs appear further out (3–4 weeks). Set a watch with Apsley for your corridor and dates and we'll flag matches as they appear.