How do you find an empty leg flight from New York?

You do not find an empty leg the way you find an airline seat. There is no timetable to search weeks ahead, because the flight does not exist until someone else books a trip that leaves an aircraft in the wrong place. You find empty legs by watching the lists they appear on, and you book one by being ready to fly on the operator’s day.

Lombardi Jet Services is a broker and publishes its own daily list at /empty-legs/, so part of this page describes our own business and our own data. Why the discount exists, and how a deadhead is priced, is covered in one-way charters and empty legs. This page is about the search, the timing and the catches.

The short version

• Empty legs are listed in three places. Operators’ own lists, brokers’ lists, and the marketplaces where operators publish positioning flights for brokers to sell.
• The notice is days, not weeks. One analysis of 19,807 listings put the median at 7 days before departure; on this office’s list of November 5, 2026, 19 of 22 legs had to fly that same day.
• The “50 to 75% off” figure has no published source. It is repeated across broker sites without data; Charter Jet One’s own figure is “up to 75%”.
• The leg depends on someone else’s trip. If that trip moves, the leg moves; if it is canceled, the leg goes too.
• It is still a Part 135 charter. The operator, the broker disclosures under 14 CFR 295.24 and the refund rule in 295.26 are the same as for any charter.

Where are empty legs listed?

On three kinds of list: the operator’s, a broker’s, and a marketplace that operators publish to. The same leg can appear on all three at once.

1. Operators’ own lists. An operator knows its positioning flights first and can post them on its website or in an email.
2. Brokers’ lists. A broker collects legs from operators and republishes them. This office’s list at /empty-legs/ is one, updated most weekdays.
3. Marketplaces. Operators’ scheduling software can push a positioning flight straight to a broker marketplace. The FL3XX knowledge base, for example, describes setting a positioning flight’s Avinode equivalent to “Empty Leg Availability”, with a price, so that brokers can see and sell it.

Because the same aircraft can appear on several lists, compare listings by operator, aircraft type and date, not by the website showing them.

How much notice does an empty leg come with?

Usually a week or less. The leg cannot appear until the paid trip that creates it is booked.

The only listing-level data we found is an analysis by The Flying Engineer of 19,807 empty legs published by 79 operators between July 31 and October 18, 2026. It found:

• a median of 7 days between listing and departure;
• 52.6% listed 7 days or less before departure;
• 13.5% listed on the day of the flight.

Many broker pages say most legs appear 24 to 72 hours before departure. The pages we read give no data for that window. Treat it as a description, not a measurement.

This office’s own list is shorter-notice still. Of the 22 legs on it on November 5, 2026, 20 were first available that day and 19 had to fly that day. The latest closing date was November 8, three days out. That list is one source on one day, so it leans toward legs that fly soon; the larger dataset is the better guide to a typical week.

Why is an empty leg cheaper, and by how much?

Because the operator is flying the leg anyway, and selling it recovers part of a cost the operator would otherwise carry. The arithmetic of the deadhead is in one-way charters and empty legs.

How much cheaper is not published anywhere we could find. Sites repeat “50 to 75%” without a source: Acejet’s East Hampton page says legs are “typically 50-75% off normal charter rates” and cites no data for it. Charter Jet One, Lombardi Jet Services’ parent company, says empty legs “can often be found at a discount of up to 75% off the cost of a custom private jet rental.” That is its own figure, and “up to” sets a ceiling, not an average.

This office does not publish an average discount, because its list shows the empty-leg price and not the full charter price for the same aircraft and day. Two facts about price are firm:

• The price is for the whole aircraft. Charter Jet One states its empty-leg prices are “for the entire jet”.
• Tax is usually extra. All 22 legs on this office’s list were priced “plus tax and fees”.

What is the catch?

The leg exists only because of someone else’s paid trip, so it follows that trip. If the client moves their date, the leg moves. If they cancel, the operator may have no reason to fly the leg at all.

The Flying Engineer’s data shows how fast listings change: 23.9% were taken down within 24 hours and 46.5% were removed before their departure date. Its authors note that a removal can mean the leg was booked, rerouted or canceled; the data cannot say which. Charter Jet One’s own page tells buyers to “always have a backup option in case your flight is canceled.”

Three consequences follow:

1. You do not choose the time. The aircraft has to reach its next paid job.
2. There is no return. You book the way home separately.
3. International legs are less flexible. This office’s route notes for Nassau, Cancún and Los Cabos all say the operator’s permits and the customs arrangements have to match the day.

What should an empty-leg listing tell you?

The operator, the aircraft, the window and what happens if it is canceled. A sold empty leg is a flight for compensation, so the operator flies it under its certificate like any other charter: 14 CFR 135.1(a)(1) applies Part 135 to the on-demand operations of each certificate holder. A broker may not arrange a flight with a carrier that lacks the FAA’s safety authority, under 14 CFR 295.20.

Before you pay, the listing or the broker should give you:

1. The operator’s name. 14 CFR 295.24(a)(1) requires a broker to disclose, before contracting, “the corporate name of the direct air carrier” in operational control. Part 91 versus Part 135 explains how to check it.
2. The aircraft type and seats. Misrepresenting the type of aircraft is a deceptive practice under 295.50(b)(2).
3. The window. The first and last date, and whether the departure time is fixed or the operator’s.
4. The all-in price. 295.24(a)(4) entitles you on request to “the total cost of the air transportation”, taxes and fees included.
5. What happens if the paid trip moves or is canceled. Whether you get a refund only, a credit or another aircraft. 295.26 requires the refund; anything more is the contract.
6. Confirmation from the operator. 295.50(b)(8) makes it deceptive to represent a flight or time as arranged “without a binding commitment” from the carrier. How to spot a charter scam covers legs that were never confirmed.

Under 295.23(a), a broker’s advertisements, web pages included, must also say that it is a broker and not the carrier in operational control.

How do you improve the odds of an empty leg from New York?

By widening the dates, the airports and the direction you will accept. Use this checklist:

1. Free up a day either side. That turns one possible date into three.
2. Accept every New York airport. Most of this office’s trips leave Teterboro, Westchester or Farmingdale, and a leg goes where the operator’s next job is. A Westchester-only request misses a Teterboro leg.
3. Accept every airport at the far end. South Florida has several: on this office’s list of November 5, 2026, legs were going into Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Executive and Opa-locka. Which Florida airport to use compares them. For the Hamptons, accept Gabreski as well as East Hampton: the listings one broker reported on October 19, 2026, recorded in this office’s East Hampton route guide, were Westchester to Gabreski.
4. Fly the direction aircraft are coming back empty. This office’s route notes, which are broker experience rather than published statistics, describe these flows:
   • Florida: aircraft go south ahead of the winter season, so legs run north out of Palm Beach in winter after families are dropped off, and the other way in spring.
   • The Hamptons: aircraft fly out full on Friday and back to New York empty, the reverse on Sunday. Demand peaks on Thursday afternoon, Friday, Sunday afternoon and Monday morning from May to September.
   • Nantucket: the same Friday and Sunday pattern in summer.
   • Aspen: aircraft drop families just before Christmas and often fly home empty, then return empty to collect them in early January.
5. Be able to commit the same day. On this office’s list, 19 of 22 legs had to fly on the day of the list.
6. Have the backup ready. Hold a one-way charter quote or an airline ticket you can use if the leg moves.
7. Give a broker your standing routes. A request that names your usual airports and dates can be matched to a leg as it is posted.

What does this office’s list show?

Mostly flights nowhere near New York. The figures below are this office’s list as of November 5, 2026, computed from the legs on it that day.

Measure	This office’s list as of November 5, 2026
Legs listed	22
Touching the New York area	3 (14%), all arriving at Teterboro, none leaving New York
Touching the Northeast region	5 (23%)
Most common regions touched	West 11, Southeast 7, Midwest 6, Mountain 4
First available on the day of the list	20 of 22
Had to fly on the day of the list	19 of 22
One-day window	17 of 22
Crossing an international border	3 (two to Canada, one from the Bahamas)
Aircraft	18 types, 7 to 14 seats

A leg counts in a region if it starts or ends there; most touch two. The list shows only legs that carry a price, and each day’s list replaces the last, so one day is a snapshot and not a trend. On that day, three legs touched New York, all of them inbound to Teterboro and all due to fly by November 6.

What Jake does

Jake arranges flights with Part 135 certificate holders rated ARGUS Gold or Platinum, confirmed before quoting, names the operator and the aircraft in the quote, and deals with the certificate holder.

If your dates can move, say so in the request and the empty-leg options go next to the dedicated aircraft. Today’s legs are on our empty legs page, which is updated most weekdays.