Empty leg flights: private jet travel for less
Savvy flyers are travelling the country in ultimate luxury, using a little known trick to charter private jets for a fraction of the usual price.
It’s the flight hack for those on a beer budget who want a taste of the Champagne lifestyle.
Private jets, a mode of transport traditionally limited to billionaires, pop stars and royalty, are being chartered by shrewd flyers taking advantage of empty leg flights.
The routes, which are usually empty if a jet has dropped or is en route to collect full-fare paying passengers at their chosen destination, are often made available for charter at discounts of up to ninety per cent.
And while $3000-$5000 one way from Sydney to the Gold Coast might still seem pricey, if you can fill the jet with fellow travellers and split the cost, you could end up paying about the same price as a business class seat on a commercial airline.
“There’s definitely a lot of interest in these legs,” says FlightCharter.com.au team manager Cian Voets.
The company, which charters business and private aircraft to locations around Australia and internationally, has accrued a database of travellers interested in booking empty leg flights when they are made available. The team also fields a lot of inquiries through the company’s Instagram account, which they use to advertise available empty leg trips.
Corporate executives who commute for business and groups celebrating special occasions are among the more usual travellers booking empty leg flights, explains Voets.
The growing popularity of this mode of affordable private jet travel has led to the launch of companies such as Empty Jets Australia, which focuses on connecting potential passengers with empty leg bookings.
A browse on the company’s website shows a list of domestic and international flights currently on offer, with prices ranging from $7000-$12000 for exclusive use.
If you’re looking to travel from Auckland to Melbourne on Monday July 31, you can relax in the plush leather recliner chair of a luxury Hawker 850XP for $10500; 85 per cent cheaper than the going rate of $85000. Bring five friends and the price per person drops to $1750.
There’s also a short flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney on a 13-seat Falcon 900C on August 9 for $6990. If all seats are allocated, this equates to about $537 per person. Comparatively, a full fare, one way business class seat on a Qantas flight travelling the same route that day could cost between $700-$900.
Empty legs offer many of the same luxury perks and privileges afforded to full-fare charter bookings.
Book one of FlightCharter.com.au’s plusher jet options, for example, which may have up to 14 seats, and passengers will be treated to personalised catering, French Champagne and a dedicated stewardess.
“When you’re travelling business class on a domestic level, essentially you’re paying for extra leg room,” says Voets. “But if you’re chartering domestically, the experience is more comparable to long haul business class. You have the plush seating, leg room, lie-flat seats, a customisable menu, and you might have one stewardess serving 16 people rather than 100; it’s a higher level of customer service.”
The downside, however, is a lack of flexibility. Essentially, empty leg passengers are at the mercy of the jet’s full fare-paying clientele.
Perhaps the biggest difference between chartered and commercial air travel, however, is the level of discretion and speed of boarding offered by the former.
“It’s very luxurious and very discreet,” Voets explains. “It’s also very convenient, because you don’t have to tear through airports, put your baggage through clearance and worry about that drama.”
“You rock up at a private charter terminal … you go to a private lounge area and then you take off.”