Empty leg flights in the USA, by city and route
As of
These pages are for people with flexible dates on a route they already know, and for anyone comparing what flies where. Each one lists the empty legs live on the UpLeg board for that city, route, airport, state or time window, and every leg on them can be requested.
Popular routes
Busiest first. Every route has a page for each direction.
By airport
Legs at all 57 airports right now, busiest first.
By airport pair
Legs on 31 of these 35 pairs right now. Every pair has a page for each direction.
By time
Counted from the live board, in each flight's own local time.
By state
Busiest first. A leg counts for the state at either end.
Private jet empty legs, explained
What is an empty leg?
An empty leg is a private jet flight that has to happen anyway, with nobody on board, because the aircraft is repositioning after one charter or before the next. Operators sell that flight for the whole aircraft at a fraction of the charter price, on the aircraft's own route and dates.
When an operator flies a customer from A to B, the aircraft usually has to fly back empty, or reposition for its next job. Operators sell those flights rather than fly them empty. The route and the date belong to the aircraft's schedule, and the price is a fraction of a normal charter for the same aircraft, same crew, same operator.
Why does an empty leg cost less?
An empty cabin earns the operator nothing, and the fuel, the crew and the landing fees are spent either way, so the leg is priced to move. Listed empty legs run up to 75% below retail charter pricing. The saving is real because the flight is real; the trade-off is that you fit the jet's plan rather than the other way round.
Do I get the whole aircraft or a seat?
Every empty leg on UpLeg is priced for the whole aircraft. The price is the cabin, however many of you fly, up to the seats the aircraft has. UpLeg does not sell seats on a shared flight, and no leg here is a per-person fare.
How do dates and times work?
A listing shows a day, a range of days, or a day with a time the operator fixed. A date with no clock means the operator has not fixed the departure yet, and you settle it with them when you request. A range means any day in it. Legs appear anywhere from weeks to a day ahead and can be withdrawn when the operator's plans change, until the operator confirms yours.
Which airports count as nearby?
Private jets use hundreds of airports airlines do not. A leg out of Van Nuys or Burbank is a Los Angeles flight to the person booking it, which is why each city page gathers every field in its metro and why a search on the board can widen to nearby airports. Driving forty minutes to a different field is often the difference between a leg that fits and one that does not.
What are cabin classes?
Legs are grouped by cabin: turboprop, light jet, midsize, super midsize, heavy and ultra long range. Smaller cabins fly shorter routes and cost less per hour; larger ones seat more, fly farther and cost more. The board filters by cabin, and the cabin guide explains what each one seats and how far it flies.
Private jet cabin classes explainedWhat is an estimated total?
An estimated total is UpLeg's estimate, shown as a range and marked as an estimate, for an empty leg the operator posted without a price. Every booking gets one final price for the whole aircraft before you agree to anything.
Where the operator published a price, the board shows a range around it; where it did not, the range comes from UpLeg's own model and is marked as an estimate. When you request a leg we confirm one final price with the operator and send it to you before you agree to anything.
How does a request work?
Pick a leg, add your name, email and mobile number, and click Request. No account is needed. You get a reference straight away. We take the request to the operator, confirm availability and the total, you agree to a short set of terms, and you pay once, to the operator or to UpLeg as your quote says. Asking costs nothing: no deposit, no membership, no card on file.
How to book a private jet, start to finishWho flies me?
A Part 135 operator is an air carrier the FAA has certificated under 14 CFR Part 135 to fly on-demand charter with its own aircraft, pilots and maintenance program. Every empty leg and charter on UpLeg is flown by one.
The operator is named to you before you pay. UpLeg is an air charter broker under 14 CFR Part 295: we arrange the flight, the operator flies it and is responsible for the aircraft, the crew and the insurance.
According to the FAA, selling flights on a private aircraft without a Part 135 certificate is illegal charter. UpLeg builds its operator list from the FAA's own list of Part 135 certificate holders and checks the aircraft's tail number against it before you are introduced.
How we vet operatorsSources: 14 CFR Part 135 (eCFR), 14 CFR Part 295 (eCFR), FAA list of Part 135 certificate holders
What if nothing fits?
Set a free alert for your route and dates and we email you when a leg posts. Trip Finder shows legs from nearby airports and days, and sends the ones you pick to us together, a request for each. Or, for fixed dates or a round trip, ask for a charter quote: one total for the whole aircraft, on your schedule.
Find close matches in Trip FinderWhy a page per city
Empty legs are scattered across operator websites and back-channel emails, and they expire fast. Each city page gathers the legs touching one place, departing and arriving, so you can see what is flying before you decide to be flexible about dates. Every leg links to its full listing, and every city has a free alert.
67 US markets are covered. If yours is missing, search it on the flights board, which knows every airport in the catalog.
For the market as a whole, the Empty Leg Index shows how many legs are posted right now, the busiest routes and airports, and the median operator-listed price by cabin.
How to use these pages
| Empty legs live | 2,544 |
|---|---|
| Cities with a leg right now | 67 of 67 |
| City pages | 67, one per US metro, busiest first |
| Route pages | 748, one per direction of 374 routes, 72 of them listed below |
| Where | Every leg departs from or arrives in the United States |
| Updated | Every 30 minutes |
| Prices | Operator-listed, or an estimated total marked as an estimate |
Every figure is counted from the board at the moment this page loaded, and the board is updated every 30 minutes. This is important because legs post and expire through the day, so a number quoted from this page carries its time.
As of
- Step 1. Pick a city page or a route page. A city page gathers every leg departing or arriving its metro; a route page leads with one direction of a city pair and has a twin for the way back.
- Step 2. Read the live list. Soonest departure first. Every row is a leg on the board at the moment the page loaded, and every row opens the full listing.
- Step 3. Open a leg. The listing shows its aircraft, seats, date or departure window, and estimated total.
- Step 4. Request it. Add your name, email and mobile number and click Request. No account is needed, there is no deposit and no card on file, and you get a reference straight away.
- Step 5. Set an alert if nothing fits today. Set a free alert on the route and we email you when a leg posts.
What should I check before I request a leg?
Three checks are essential before you click Request, and each takes a minute on the listing.
- Step 1. Check the departure window. A date with no clock means the operator has not fixed the time yet; a range of days means any day in it. Make sure the whole window works for you, not only its first day.
- Step 2. Count heads and bags. The price is for the whole aircraft, up to the seats the listing shows. If your party or your luggage is bigger than the cabin, request a larger leg or ask for a charter quote.
- Step 3. Read the operator's cancellation policy. An operator can withdraw a leg if its plans change, until it confirms yours. Once it has, its own cancellation policy applies, and it is stated in your quote before you agree. What happens when an empty leg cancels
Ways to fly private and cabin classes compared
Empty leg, charter or jet card?
An empty leg fits flexible dates on a route the aircraft is already flying, a charter fits fixed dates, round trips and groups, and a jet card is prepaid hours, which UpLeg does not sell.
| Aspect | Empty leg | Private jet charter | Jet card |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | The whole aircraft on a flight it was making anyway | The whole aircraft for a trip built around you | Prepaid hours or dollars, drawn down per flight |
| Price | Up to 75% under retail charter; one final price before you book | Retail, quoted per trip; one final price before you book | Fixed hourly rates, paid in advance |
| Route and dates | Set by the aircraft's schedule | Yours | Yours, with the program's notice period |
| Commitment to ask | None: no deposit, no card on file | None: a quote is free | A prepaid balance, often on a term |
| Who flies you | An FAA-certificated Part 135 operator, named before you pay | An FAA-certificated Part 135 operator, named before you pay | The program's own or partner operators |
| Can it change | Yes: the operator can withdraw the leg if its schedule changes | Rarely: the trip is yours once confirmed | Rarely |
| Best for | Flexible dates on a common route, one direction | Fixed dates, round trips, groups, unusual routes | Frequent flyers who want a fixed rate |
| On UpLeg | The live board at flyupleg.com/flights | A free quote at flyupleg.com/charter | Not offered |
Which cabin class do I need?
Every leg on the board is grouped by cabin, and the cabin sets the seats, the range and the price band. The table gives the typical trip for each class and who it suits; the cabin classes guide has the aircraft and the rates behind it.
| Cabin class | Typical trip | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Turboprop | Up to about 2 hours | A few people on a short hop, small airports |
| Light jet | 2 to 3 hours | A small group inside a region |
| Midsize | 3 to 4 hours | A group that wants room to work or eat |
| Super midsize | 4 to 5 hours, coast to coast | A full team, a stand-up cabin |
| Heavy | 5 to 7 hours | A larger group, overnight flights |
| Ultra long range | 8 hours and more | Intercontinental trips without a stop |
Key terms
These terms mean the same thing on every UpLeg page and in every quote. On the board, listed means that the operator published the price itself, and estimated means that UpLeg computed the range and marked it as an estimate. Part 135 refers to the FAA rules an operator flies under, and Part 295 refers to the Department of Transportation rules UpLeg works under as an air charter broker. This is important because the operator, not UpLeg, flies the aircraft and holds operational control of every flight.
- Empty leg
- An empty leg is a private jet flight that has to happen anyway, with nobody on board, because the aircraft is repositioning after one charter or before the next. Operators sell that flight for the whole aircraft at a fraction of the charter price, on the aircraft's own route and dates. More on empty legs
- Estimated total
- An estimated total is UpLeg's estimate, shown as a range and marked as an estimate, for an empty leg the operator posted without a price. Every booking gets one final price for the whole aircraft before you agree to anything. More on estimated totals
- Operator-listed price
- An operator-listed price is the price the operator itself published for an empty leg. On the UpLeg board it is shown as listed; a leg without one carries an estimated total instead. More on operator-listed prices
- Flexible departure window
- A flexible departure window is a range of days on which an operator will fly a given empty leg, because the aircraft only needs to reach its next job by a deadline. The exact departure time is set with the operator when you book. More on flexible departure windows
- Air charter broker
- An air charter broker is a company that arranges flights on aircraft it does not operate, under 14 CFR Part 295. UpLeg is an air charter broker: every flight it arranges is flown by a Part 135 operator that is named before you pay and that holds operational control of the flight. More on air charter brokers
- Part 135 operator
- A Part 135 operator is an air carrier the FAA has certificated under 14 CFR Part 135 to fly on-demand charter with its own aircraft, pilots and maintenance program. Every empty leg and charter on UpLeg is flown by one. More on Part 135 operators
- Cabin class
- Cabin class is the size grouping of a private jet: turboprop, light jet, midsize, super midsize, heavy and ultra long range. It sets the seat count, the range and the price band, and it is the cabin filter on the UpLeg board. More on cabin classes
Terms as of