Back in your college days, you might have referred to a friend with an unlimited beer intake as having an “empty leg.” By that same token, some of us know that a Deadhead is a fan of the Grateful Dead rock band. However, both terms have different meanings in the world of private aircraft.
An empty leg refers to a repositioning flight for an aircraft that has dropped off a customer at Point A and needs to pick up another client at Point B, flying “empty” between those points. Alternatively, it may be that the client plans to stay at the destination for a week or two, and the charter company can’t leave the aircraft and crew waiting, so they bring them home empty. Deadheading is what pilots call flying without passengers or cargo.
Either way, empty legs are a great way to save on jet charters. As Ryan Gucwa, founder and president of Odyssey Airways in Tampa, says, “It’s a way to get 100% of the luxury at 50% (or less) of the price.”
For example, let’s say you and several friends want to fly from Tampa to meet a yacht at Eleuthera in the Bahamas (or enjoy the chic Cove Resort there). Flying first-class commercial entails flying to Miami (with a 20-hour layover) and then a business class seat to Eleuthera, arriving long hours after departing Tampa for a total of $767 each.
Odyssey has an empty leg going to Eleuthera, non-stop while you savor better-than-first-class luxury at 350 mph for the 500 miles. You do the math. The price is $7,600, but you can take eight friends with you for that same price. Simple math: you bumped the cost for each uber-luxe seat to $950, but you get there in a couple of hours in pampered luxury. Easy choice!
With a little flexibility, you can probably find an empty leg back, too. Shea Gibbs of Elite Air, a private jet supplier in Tampa, notes that there are other savings to be had, such as “near match.” You may want to fly out of (or return to) Tampa, but an empty leg might return you to St. Petersburg or another nearby airport. Gibbs also points out that, “charter customers might not know that empty leg routing need not match the empty leg itinerary exactly. If a client sees an empty leg headed in their general direction, it’s worth their time to reach out and see what we can do for them.”
Both Gucwa and Gibbs point out a basic rule of empty legs: “Be flexible with your dates and routes, which often pop up at the last minute.” They also underline common sense: to get the best price, fill the aircraft.
Popular destinations from Tampa include the Bahamas, Key West, and northern states. Right now, I’m looking at some tempting empty-leg destinations: the Hamptons, California, New York and Montana.
One thing I can tell you for certain: once you’ve flown private, you’ll never be able to fly commercial again!
Chris Caswell is an award-winning writer and the former editor of several yachting magazines. He has appeared on Oprah as a boating lifestyle expert and hosted the Marine Voyager series on the Speed Channel.
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