Empty Leg Index

As a snapshot, not a series. Every figure on this page describes the empty legs listed on the UpLeg board at the moment the page was rendered, and the page is rebuilt on every visit from the legs on the board at that moment. Two readers loading it an hour apart can see different numbers, and both are right for their timestamp. That is why the As of line sits under the headline figures, and why a citation needs it.

What counts. A leg is on the board when an FAA-certificated Part 135 operator has published it as an empty leg on its own listing, it departs from or arrives in the United States, it has a real airport at each end and a departure date, and its departure is still ahead: a leg leaves the board about a day before it flies (two days for an international leg), once it can no longer be arranged. A leg with one foreign end lists; a leg between two foreign airports does not. Full charters are not on the board (UpLeg quotes those by hand), and neither are per-seat or membership products. The scraper re-reads every operator's listings every 30 minutes, so the board is updated at least that often, and a leg the operator has withdrawn leaves the board at the next read of that operator's listings.

What the price figures leave out. A leg the operator posted without a price carries a UpLeg estimate on the board, shown as a range and marked as an estimate. Those legs are in every count on this page (legs on the board, routes, airports, cities, the cabin mix) and in none of the price figures. This is important because the Index counts only operator-listed prices, so an estimate never moves a median: the cabin medians describe what operators are asking, not what UpLeg thinks a leg is worth. Right now 25% of the board carries the operator's own price.

Why medians. A median is the middle value: half the listed legs in a cabin ask less, half ask more. It is used everywhere here instead of an average because empty leg prices are skewed. The same aircraft can be listed for a fraction of its rate on a short hop and near its full charter rate on a long one, so an average would move significantly with a single unusual leg while the typical leg stayed where it was. A cabin appears in the price table only once at least five operator-listed prices back it; with fewer, one listing would be the median, and one listing is a quote, not a market.

How to compare cabins. Reading the median with its count is essential. A cabin with sixty priced legs describes a market; a cabin with six describes six asking prices. The medians are prices for whole flights, not hourly rates, so a cabin whose legs run long on a given day reads expensive against a cabin whose legs are short; for hourly rates by class, see the cabin classes guide. An empty leg is priced to move rather than by the class rate, which is why a heavy jet leg on a short route can list below a light jet charter the same day.

How to compare routes and cities. Routes are directional metro pairs: Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Las Vegas to Los Angeles are two rows, because an empty leg flies one way. A metro is the group of airports that serve a city, so Van Nuys (VNY), Burbank (BUR) and Los Angeles International (LAX) all count as Los Angeles, and Teterboro (TEB) and Westchester County (HPN) count as New York. The city table counts a leg once for each end it touches; the airport table counts departures by the field itself, which is why the reliever airports lead it. A route with many legs is one where aircraft reposition often, usually between a business hub and a leisure destination; it is not a promise that a leg will be listed on your dates. Each row links to the live page for that route or city, which shows what is posted now and takes a free alert for what is not.

Caveats. The Index counts listings, not aircraft: the same repositioning flight offered on two boards is two legs here. It cannot say how long a leg stayed listed or whether it sold, and it keeps no history, so a figure you need for a date has to be saved with its stamp; that stamp is essential to any citation. Discount figures on the guides are measured against UpLeg's own full-charter estimate and say so. Nothing here is a forecast.

What the Index does not show. Operator names: a public listing on UpLeg does not name the operator, and neither does the Index; the operator is named before you pay. Final prices: an operator-listed price is what the operator asked when it posted the leg, and the total you agree to is the one confirmed for your booking. Discounts: the guides state a leg's saving against a full charter, measured against UpLeg's own full-charter estimate and labelled as such, and the Index itself prints no discount. Seats: every price here is for the whole aircraft, never a seat, because an empty leg is sold whole.

How do you use the Index?

1. Step 1. Find your route or city. Pick the route in the routes table or the city in the cities table; the link opens its live page with every leg posted now and a free alert for the ones not posted yet. Every city and route is listed at flyupleg.com/empty-legs.
2. Step 2. Set an expectation, not a price. Read the cabin median with its count to learn what operators typically ask for that cabin. For a specific leg, the board shows its estimated total, and the operator confirms one final price before you agree to anything.
3. Step 3. Cite with the stamp. Quote a figure with the As of time and a link to flyupleg.com/empty-leg-index. For the underlying rows or a figure this page does not show, email [email protected].