Private jets fly empty all the time, to collect passengers or to return to base. Those flights are sold as empty legs, often well below the normal charter price. This guide explains how they work from Dubai, what they cost on popular routes, and how to find one in a single WhatsApp message.

I have worked as a charter broker for 15 years. Everything here comes from empty legs I have found, booked and, once or twice, lost for clients.

The short answer

• What it is: a private jet flight with no passengers on board, sold at a discount because the aircraft is flying anyway.
• What it costs from Dubai: from about USD 7,000 to Riyadh, USD 25,000 to the Maldives and USD 40,000 to London.
• How to find one: ask Orion on WhatsApp (+1 909 870 0001). It tells you if an empty leg is available, the aircraft and the operator.

What is an empty leg flight?

An aircraft is always parked somewhere, either at its home base or at a temporary location. It either picks up passengers where it is parked, or it flies somewhere else to pick them up. The flight it makes to collect passengers is what most people call an empty leg.

The industry term for an aircraft flying to collect passengers is a positioning flight. The flight back to base after dropping them off is a repositioning flight. Both are also called ferry flights.

Why do empty legs exist?

It may seem like a silly question, but ferry flights happen all the time. An aircraft might fly empty to pick up its owner, their family or their friends. It might fly to a maintenance facility, or fly so its crew can complete training and stay legal. Not all of these count as empty legs.

An empty leg exists to be sold, and it exists because of a connecting commercial charter. An aircraft flying empty to maintenance may not legally be sold because of maintenance restrictions. The same applies to crew training flights. They fly empty, but they are not available to buy.

Why empty legs are getting harder to find

Empty legs are slowly disappearing, at least in the way most people imagine them.

More and more operators now sell their positioning flights as one-way flights instead. Say an operator sells a Dubai to London charter. It may also put London to Dubai, the sector the aircraft has to fly anyway, on sale as a one-way flight rather than let it fly empty. That sector is no longer an empty leg. It is a one-way flight, sold as a product in its own right.

Some operators have built their whole model around this. Operators such as Air X, VistaJet and Luminair aim to sell as many one-way flights as possible. The more one-ways they sell, the fewer empty legs are left over.

Today, true empty legs are more common on aircraft flown for their owners, or on aircraft under management, than on aircraft bought purely to be chartered out. So when you look for an empty leg, ask about one-way flights on the same route as well.

How much does an empty leg from Dubai cost?

An empty leg only works when it matches your trip in two ways: the direction of travel and the time of travel. If an aircraft is flying from Dubai to London to collect passengers, the empty leg is Dubai to London on that specific day.

So how much does a private jet cost on an empty leg? The price depends on the aircraft type, and the larger the aircraft, the more it costs. It also depends on how far your request sits from the empty leg’s origin and destination. These are indicative empty leg prices from Dubai that we have seen on popular routes (October 2026):

Prices are indicative, not quotes. They depend on the aircraft, the date and how closely your trip matches the empty leg. For a live price, ask Orion on WhatsApp.

Why your route changes the price

An empty leg is cheapest when your trip matches it exactly. The further your request sits from the original route, the more the operator has to fly, and the more it costs. These three examples show how that works.

Empty leg flights from Dubai to London (Global 6000). Flying Dubai Al Maktoum to London Luton exactly as planned costs USD 40,000–60,000. A Doha pickup is on the path: the aircraft hops to Doha empty, then flies you to Luton, for USD 45,000–65,000. A Cairo pickup is a small deviation and is possible, at about USD 40,000–50,000, as long as the permits for Egypt are in place.

Empty leg flights from Dubai to New Delhi (Gulfstream G650). Dubai to Delhi costs USD 20,000–25,000. Dropping you in Mumbai or Pune on the way is on the path at a similar price, because the aircraft continues empty to Delhi. A Mumbai to Delhi request does not work: it is a domestic Indian sector for a foreign-registered aircraft, which runs into cabotage rules.

Empty leg flights from London to New York (Challenger 605). Farnborough to Teterboro costs USD 40,000–55,000. Paris Le Bourget to Teterboro is on the path at USD 45,000–50,000. Paris to Chicago keeps the same direction of travel, at USD 50,000–60,000. Farnborough to Toronto is not possible, because of permits.

How to find empty leg flights from Dubai

Empty legs appear and disappear quickly, because they depend on other people’s trips. Most are listed in operators’ own systems or shared between brokers, so there is no single public list. The fastest way to check is to ask Orion.

Orion is Tribe’s aviation AI. You chat with it on WhatsApp like you would with a broker. Ask about an empty leg in plain words and it tells you whether one is available, the aircraft, and who operates it. Operators and brokers can also post their own empty legs to Orion.

1. Open WhatsApp and message Orion at +1 909 870 0001, scan the QR code below, or use this link.
2. Ask about your trip with the route and dates, for example: “Any empty legs from Dubai to London next week?”, “I need Dubai to the Maldives for four people on Friday. Is there an empty leg?” or “Show me empty legs into Dubai this month.”
3. Check what Orion finds: whether an empty leg is available, the aircraft and the operator flying it.

Scan to ask Orion on WhatsAppOr tap here on your phone. +1 909 870 0001

Ask Orion for empty legs on WhatsApp: live empty legs, the aircraft and the operator, in one message. Orion also checks permits, risk and weather. Open WhatsApp.

The pitfalls of an empty leg

Empty legs are a good way to get a discounted private jet flight, but they are not suitable for every occasion. Most of the pitfalls come from one fact: you are buying a seat on someone else’s schedule.

Timing and certainty

Not suitable for trips weeks ahead. An empty leg depends on the original sector. If that sector changes or is cancelled, the empty leg may no longer exist. Closer to the date, often 24 to 48 hours before departure, it is far less likely to be cancelled.

The departure time is fixed for you. The operator sets the time around the paying charter, because the aircraft has to reach the pickup airport on schedule. If you are late, it may leave without you, and the time can move earlier or later at short notice.

The paying client comes first. Even after you have paid, the operator can cancel if the main charter changes. Most contracts promise only a refund, not a replacement flight, which can leave you finding an aircraft at elevated prices.

A real example: A BBJ empty leg cancelled last minute.

I once booked an empty leg for a Saudi royal client on a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) flying from the Middle East to London. As a normal charter, that flight would have cost about USD 260,000. The empty leg was USD 80,000, less than a third of the price. It was such a good deal that my client booked it without a second thought, a week before departure.

The night before the flight, the operator called me. The client who had booked the original trip had decided not to come back from Europe, so the original flight was cancelled, and our empty leg went with it.

My client knew this could happen. It is the risk you accept with an empty leg. But there was no plan B. Finding another BBJ at a day’s notice is next to impossible, and nothing like it was going to appear at a third of the normal price.

Crew duty limits. The crew is also flying the main charter, so their legal duty hours are tight. A delay on your side, or an extra stop like Doha, can push them over their limit and end the leg.

Routing and permissions

Cabotage. Some empty legs count as cabotage. A country’s aviation authority can stop aircraft that are not registered in that country from carrying passengers between two of its own airports.

Short-notice permits. Some countries need landing or overflight permits several working days in advance. India, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are common examples. A leg that appears 48 hours before departure may be too late to approve.

Slots, parking and curfews. Slots and parking at busy airports such as Luton, Farnborough, Teterboro and Le Bourget are booked for the original plan. A new airport or time needs new slots, which may not exist during major events, and some airports close at night.

Cost

One way only. An empty leg gets you there but not back. The return is usually booked separately at the full charter rate, which can cancel out the saving on a round trip.

Extra charges on top. Deviation and handling fees, catering, de-icing in winter, Wi-Fi, crew overnight costs and passenger taxes such as UK Air Passenger Duty can all be added. Ask whether the price is all-inclusive.

Payment terms favour the operator. You are often asked to pay 100% upfront on non-refundable terms, while the operator keeps the right to cancel.

The aircraft

Rare aircraft cannot be replaced. The rarer the aircraft, the bigger the risk. An empty leg on a VIP airliner like a BBJ, or on any type in very limited supply, can fall through with no replacement available at short notice, let alone at the same price. If the trip cannot move, have a backup plan, or only book sectors where you could live with losing them.

Aircraft substitution. The operator may swap in a different tail or even a different type, which changes the cabin, the range and how much luggage fits.

Payload and fuel stops. On a long sector with full passengers and bags, the aircraft may not carry enough fuel to fly nonstop. That can mean an unplanned technical stop, and oversized items like golf bags may not fit.

Pets and special requests. Some owners do not allow pets on board, and special catering or ground arrangements may not be possible at short notice.

Legitimacy

Illegal or grey charter. Some flights are advertised as empty legs when the seller cannot legally sell them, such as an owner’s private positioning flight or an operator flying outside its air operator certificate (AOC). Passengers on an illegal charter will not be covered by insurance.

Phantom listings. Some brokers advertise empty legs that no longer exist, or never did, to collect enquiries and then offer a full-price charter instead.

Before you book an empty leg, ask these questions:

• Is the empty leg tied to an owner flight, and how likely is it to cancel? 
• What happens if it cancels: how long in advance will we know? 
• If it falls through, could a similar aircraft replace it at short notice?
• Is the price all-inclusive of handling, taxes and deviation fees?
• Will permits be an issue for this flight? 
• Which operator flies it, and is this aircraft on its AOC?

Orion can tell you which operator flies an empty leg. Ask it on WhatsApp.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an empty leg flight?

An empty leg is a private jet flight that would otherwise fly without passengers, usually to pick up or drop off a paying charter. Operators sell the positioning/repositioning at a discount because the aircraft is flying anyway.

Is an empty leg the same as a one-way flight?

No. An empty leg is a positioning flight sold at a discount because the aircraft would otherwise fly empty. A one-way flight is sold by the operator as a product in its own right, often pricing the sector without a positioning flight. As more operators sell one-ways, true empty legs are becoming rarer and are most common on owner-flown or managed aircraft.

How much does an empty leg from Dubai cost?

Indicative ranges we have seen: Dubai to Riyadh USD 7,000–10,000, Dubai to Mumbai USD 13,000–17,000, Dubai to the Maldives USD 25,000–30,000 and Dubai to London USD 40,000–60,000. Prices depend on the aircraft, the route and how closely your trip matches the empty leg.

How do I find empty leg flights from Dubai?

Message Orion, Tribe’s aviation AI, on WhatsApp at +1 909 870 0001 and ask for empty legs on your route and dates. Orion tells you if an empty leg is available, the aircraft and the operator.

Can an empty leg be cancelled?

Yes. An empty leg depends on the paying charter it is tied to. If that trip moves or cancels, the empty leg can disappear, sometimes the night before departure. Booking 24 to 48 hours before departure is the most reliable window.