One common misconception about private jet travel is that it’s exclusively for the rich and famous. Thanks to technological innovations and changing market dynamics, the accessibility of charter flights is only growing.
The cost of a private flight is influenced by several factors, including the type and size of the aircraft, flight distance and duration, availability, demand, and additional amenities or add-ons. If you can be flexible with your requirements, more opportunities for cheap private flights open up to you.
Take Advantage of Empty Leg Flights
Empty leg flights occur when an aircraft has to be repositioned (i.e., moved from Point A to Point B), or when an aircraft is returning to its home base after completing a trip. Operators offer these legs at deeply discounted rates because they would otherwise be wasting passenger capacity (and thus not making any money on the flight).
The trick with empty legs is that your flexibility is limited. You have to travel on the day the empty leg will occur, to and from the cities on each end of the leg. So if you have specific travel needs, finding an empty leg that works can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
To make matters worse, most empty leg search tools aren’t very effective. Often, they’ll give you a list of flights that are relatively near your departure and destination. These nearby flights can sometimes be rerouted, but doing so increases the price (which offsets the empty leg discount).
Still, there are thousands of empty legs available every week. So if your plans have a day or two of flexibility, scoring an empty leg at up to 75% off market rate is not impossible.
Check out our detailed guide on how to find empty legs to learn how to find and book these ultra-cheap private flights.
Explore Semi-Private Options
Semi-private charter flights offer a middle option between commercial travel and a private jet. You have all the conveniences and amenities of a chartered flight — such as speedy check-in, flexible luggage requirements and access to smaller airports — but you share the available seats with a few other passengers.
Splitting the flight among the maximum number of people can represent a significant cost savings over chartering the whole plane for just a few passengers.
Coordinating these flights can be difficult for the layman, but there are platforms and companies that can facilitate shared charters. For instance, JSX offers public charter flights to many destinations that are not serviced by major airlines. Their jets offer 30 seats, so flights aren’t as crowded as commercial ones, but the prices are in hundreds (rather than thousands) of dollars.
Another company, Blade, allows you to reserve two seats for $3,750 each on a preferred route, and the company will sell the rest of the seats on the plane.
Use Membership or Subscription Services
Frequent private fliers can save significant money by joining a membership or subscription service.
Subscription models generally require a fixed annual or monthly cost, but the price of charter flights are reduced, often all the way down to wholesale. Usually, different tiers of membership offer a set number of flight hours per month, with top tiers boasting unlimited flight hours.
AvSky’s charter membership program features a low upfront cost and gives members access to over 12,000 aircraft. Members pay the wholesale price of the flights plus a small 10% management fee without any limits on flight hours, destinations or jet categories.
Unlike jet cards, where you’re locked into a fixed pricing structure that includes a set profit margin, AvSky’s membership allows you to save more the more you fly. You’ll also get access to empty-leg flights from over 4,000 operators worldwide.
Check out our list of the best types of private jet memberships to learn more about the various options.
Utilize a Broker to Find the Best Deals
A reputable charter broker has access to hundreds or thousands of empty leg flights per day, and can help you find the best deal based on your departure, destination, number of passengers and other factors.
And if your broker can’t find a suitable empty leg, they can identify the most cost-effective plane for your particular itinerary. Since sourcing a plane that’s too big or too far from your point of departure can add thousands to the cost of your flights, the savings you get by booking the ideal aircraft can more than offset whatever commission you end up paying to the broker.
Next Steps
Flying privately tends to be more expensive than flying commercially, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t savings to be had. With the right tools and approach, you can have the luxurious experience of flying in a private jet without breaking the bank.
Knowing where to look for cheap private flights (i.e., empty legs, semi-private flights, promotions, or savings through a broker) is the key to getting an affordable price on your next trip.
So before you slog through long security lines or your next commercial flight gets canceled, explore your chartered flight options. The opportunities to fly private aren’t just for the fabulously wealthy anymore. You can elevate your travel experience without overspending.
