How much do empty leg flights cost?

What do empty legs cost today, by cabin?

The table is read from the live board each time this page is requested, so it is never last month's snapshot, and the timestamp beside it says exactly when. Only legs whose operator published a price count toward a median. Where UpLeg estimated the price instead, that leg is left out, and a cabin appears only once it has enough listed legs for a fair median. Every figure is a total for the whole aircraft, not a seat: four people on a light jet from Van Nuys to Las Vegas pay the same total as one.

A median is the middle leg, not the cheapest one: half the listed legs in that cabin ask less than the figure and half ask more. That makes it a fair picture of a typical leg and a poor guide to any single one. On any given day the spread is wide. A short hop on a light jet posted for tomorrow can sit far under its cabin's median, and a coast-to-coast heavy jet leg from Los Angeles to New York far above it. This is important because a median quoted as if it were a price would mislead you in both directions.

What moves the price?

Five things decide where a leg lands against its cabin's median. None of them is a secret, and the first two do most of the work.

The cabin classes guide explains what each class is and what it is for. The board re-reads every operator's listings every half hour, so a change in any of the five shows up quickly, and a leg that was expensive on Monday can be significantly cheaper by Thursday if it is still unsold.

Is the estimated total the final price?

No. Every price on the board is shown as an estimated total: a range around the operator's published price where there is one, and around UpLeg's own estimate where there is not. The range is there because a published figure is a starting point, not a contract. The total for your date, your passenger count and your airports is confirmed with the operator after you request.

That confirmation comes to you as one final price for the whole aircraft, fees and taxes included, before you agree to anything. Nothing is added after you say yes. If the final price is not what you hoped, you say no and that is the end of it; asking costs nothing. It is essential to wait for that figure before you plan around a leg: an estimate can be off in either direction, and the operator's confirmed price can land above or below it. The FAQ covers the other questions people ask at this point.

How does an empty leg compare with a charter?

The comparison that matters is with a charter of the same aircraft, because that is the alternative. A charter is priced by the hour. The rates below are the typical 2026 US retail hourly rates by cabin, aircraft only, researched by UpLeg from public rate cards as of 2026.

A charter total is the hours your trip takes multiplied by the rate, plus crew, positioning, fees and taxes, quoted as one total. Two hours on a midsize jet is about $9,800 for the aircraft alone, and the quote turns that into one number by adding the rest. New York to Miami on a super midsize jet is about two hours and a quarter in the air, so the aircraft alone starts around $16,200 before the quote adds positioning and the airport charges at Teterboro Airport and Opa-locka.

Set an empty leg against that and the saving is plain. The same midsize jet repositioning on the same route can list at up to 75% below its retail charter price, because the operator's alternative is flying it empty. The charter cost guide works through the hourly maths on three real routes, Los Angeles to Las Vegas, New York to Miami and Dallas to Houston, and the guide on empty leg versus charter says which to ask for.

Who pays what?

You pay for the flight once, to the operator or to UpLeg, as your quote says. The money side of a booking is four steps, and the order is essential: nothing is paid until the second step is done.

1. Step 1. You request a leg. That costs nothing and commits you to nothing; the price on the board is an estimate.
2. Step 2. The operator confirms one final price for the whole aircraft, fees and taxes included, and the quote names who it is payable to: the operator or UpLeg, never both.
3. Step 3. You agree to that total on your booking page and pay once, to whoever the quote names, under the cancellation policy the quote states.
4. Step 4. Nothing is added afterwards. UpLeg is compensated for arranging the booking, and that compensation is included in the total you agreed to; we confirm it on request.

That last sentence is a legal duty, not a courtesy. UpLeg is an air charter broker under 14 CFR Part 295, the Department of Transportation (DOT) rule for brokers, and according to section 295.24 a broker must disclose on request the total cost of the air transportation paid to or through it, fees and taxes included, and any fees collected by third parties. The flight itself is flown by an operator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certificated under Part 135, and that operator is named to you before you pay.

Asking costs nothing. There is no deposit to request a leg, no membership and no card on file. If the operator cannot confirm the leg, or the final price is not for you, nothing is owed.

Where do the numbers come from?

The medians above are the same read as the Empty Leg Index, UpLeg's live page of US empty leg data: how many legs are posted right now, the busiest routes and airports, and the median operator-listed price by cabin. Both are recomputed from the board on every visit, and both leave UpLeg's estimates out of every median price, so a modelled number can never pass as an operator's.

If you cite a figure from this page or from the Index, cite it with the timestamp shown next to it. The board changes every half hour, and a median quoted without its date is a number nobody can check. The hourly rates are different in kind: they are UpLeg's own research from public rate cards, dated as of 2026, and they move with the market rather than with the board.

How can you pay less?

The price of a leg is the operator's; which leg you choose is yours. Four habits find the cheaper ones, in the order that pays off most.

1. Step 1. Let the dates move. The cheapest legs are the ones flying on the aircraft's schedule, not yours. A trip that can slide by a day or two has several legs to choose from where a fixed date has one.
2. Step 2. Widen the airports. A city has more than one airport private jets use, and a leg from the one across town can cost a fraction of a leg from the one you had in mind: Van Nuys or Burbank for Los Angeles, Teterboro or White Plains for New York, Opa-locka or Fort Lauderdale for Miami. Every major US city has its own page listing legs from all of its airports, departing and arriving.
3. Step 3. Set a free flight alert for your route and dates. It emails you when a matching leg posts, which is often the moment a good price is there to be had.
4. Step 4. Ask for one that is not listed. Trip Finder takes the route, how far you would travel to a nearby airport and your dates, shows the close matches, and sends your trip to us to look for a leg that never went on anyone's website. If none fits, we quote a charter for the same trip, so you still have a number.

For what an empty leg is in the first place, and why it can be priced this way at all, start with what an empty leg flight is.