Having earned the reputation for being the industry’s preferred private jet charter specialist, we fly VIPs all across the world every day on state-of-the-art private jets. We know how to maximise opportunities for both our clients and our suppliers, which is why we keep a very close watch on ‘empty leg’ flights.

Empty legs are flights that are due to operate without any passengers. These are one way flights, where the aircraft and crew need to reposition to a particular base or another destination for the next flight. From a business perspective, the flight is already going, so if there’s someone that needs to travel to the destination, it makes sense for a number of reasons that they travel on the empty leg.

There are many benefits for a client travelling on an empty leg. If a client can be flexible with their travel plans, they could reduce the cost of a regular private jet charter by up to 75%. Before COVID, clients were even able to make an offer on an empty leg flight, but operators are getting tighter on prices now.

For the Smart team, empty legs to Nice and Ibiza are mostly always available and are very popular. There are also often empty legs to Dubai, New York City and Los Angeles, which are always sought after by Smart clients. 

James Gregory, Head of VIP Charters, said: “Empty legs are an opportunity for the supplier to make some additional profit, and for the client to save money – it’s a win-win! I have a WhatsApp community where each week I advise my clients of any empty leg availability. It’s a controlled group where only I can post the available empty legs, but everyone in the group can contact me directly. It works very well”.

Join our empty leg WhatsApp community for weekly empty leg flight alerts or send James an email to check immediate availability – james.gregory@smart-aviation.co.uk.

Smart Aviation was founded in 2005 by Managing Director Mark Hawkins, an established sports charter specialist with over 30 years’ experience in senior operational roles within the travel and aviation industry, including managing sports charters at Excel Airways. Over the last 18 years, Mark has led Smart Aviation to become the leaders in global sports chartering. Mark is still very active in sports chartering, frequently providing air travel for global sports teams to key sporting fixtures including Champions League and Premier League football matches, as well as to ice-hockey, boxing, basketball, golf, motorsport and cricket tournaments.

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– Our operational support team is on-hand 24/7, 365 days a year, to deal with the unexpected and keep you flying – for total peace of mind.Call or email us today – sales@smart-aviation.co.uk / + 44 1293 551244