Frequently Asked Questions
Empty Legs
What is an empty leg flight?
An empty leg (also called a deadhead or ferry flight) occurs when a private jet needs to reposition — fly without passengers — between trips. Operators sell these flights at steep discounts, typically 25-75% below normal charter rates, rather than fly completely empty. An estimated 30-35% of private jet flights in the U.S. operate as repositioning flights.
Why are they so much cheaper?
The operator has already committed to the flight cost (fuel, crew, landing fees). Any revenue from selling the empty leg is pure recovery. This allows them to offer pricing that would be impossible for a standard charter.
How much do empty leg flights actually cost?
Prices vary widely by aircraft type and route. Light jets typically range from $5,000–$15,000 per leg, midsize jets from $10,000–$25,000, and heavy jets from $18,000–$40,000. The average savings compared to a standard charter on the same route is $10,000–$30,000.
Can the flight be cancelled or changed?
Yes. Empty legs depend on the original booking. If the primary trip is cancelled, delayed, or the route changes, the empty leg may be modified or cancelled. This is the inherent trade-off for the significant discount. We recommend flexible travel plans.
Are empty legs safe?
Empty legs use the same aircraft, pilots, safety certifications, and maintenance standards as full-price charters. There is no difference in safety — only in pricing.
Can I bring luggage?
Yes. You have the same luggage capacity as a regular charter on that aircraft. Check the aircraft specifications on the listing detail page for baggage capacity.
Can I change the departure time?
Generally no, since the schedule is dictated by the operator’s next commitment. Some operators allow flexibility of 1-2 hours. This would be negotiated directly with the operator when booking.
Can I bring pets?
Most private charter operators allow pets in cabin with no size restrictions, though policies vary by operator. This should be confirmed directly with the operator when booking.
How quickly do empty legs get booked?
The best deals can book within hours. Average time on market varies by corridor — our data shows Exceptional Value deals book in under 2 hours on average. Real-time SMS alerts give you the speed advantage needed to act first.
The Platform
How is this different from SkyAccess or other platforms?
They’re marketplaces — they make money when you book. We’re an intelligence platform — we make money when you renew. That means we’ll tell you to wait, downsize, or skip a deal if the data says so. No broker will ever do that. We aggregate from ALL sources and score every deal with confidence-backed market rates.
Where does your data come from?
We aggregate from partner data feeds, operator integrations, and aviation marketplaces — 17+ sources in total, refreshed every 30 minutes. Our scoring engine uses 150+ route pricing benchmarks, 82 aircraft profiles with verified hourly rates, and historical corridor data that improves automatically as more listings flow through the system.
What corridors do you cover?
150+ corridors across the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and Hawaii. Our deepest coverage is on high-traffic corridors like NYC↔Miami, LA↔Las Vegas, NYC↔Aspen, and more. Every corridor gets scored with confidence levels so you always know how reliable the market rate is.
What does the Market Rating mean?
Every listing is scored by our algorithm that compares the asking price to the estimated market rate for that specific aircraft type, route, and seasonal demand. Ratings range from Exceptional Value (60%+ below market) to Above Market. Each score includes a confidence level — ‘High confidence’ means the rate is based on 50+ historical listings, while ‘Estimated’ means it’s calculated from aircraft rates and distance.
What is confidence scoring?
Every market rate estimate carries a confidence score (0-100). High confidence means the rate is based on real historical data from your corridor. Low confidence means it’s estimated from aircraft hourly rates and distance. We never show ‘Exceptional Value’ on a low-confidence estimate — those get labeled ‘Potential Value’ until we have more data.
How do you make money?
Two ways: membership subscriptions and referral partnerships with operators. When you book through an operator link on our platform, we may receive a referral fee from the operator — this never increases your price. Our membership revenue means we’re incentivized to help you make the best decision, not just the most expensive one. We’ll tell you to wait, downsize, or skip a deal if the data says so.
What happens after I click an alert?
You’re taken to the listing detail page with full scoring, aircraft specs, operator safety ratings, and corridor intelligence. When you’re ready to book, you click through directly to the operator’s booking page.
How do route monitors work?
Set a departure city, region (like ‘Caribbean’ or ‘Mountain & Ski’), or specific airport. Add optional filters for price, aircraft category, deal score, and date range. When a matching empty leg appears, you receive an email alert. Pro members also get instant SMS alerts the moment the deal lands.
Can I plan multi-leg trips?
Yes. Our Trip Planner lets you chain 2-6 legs into a complete itinerary (e.g., NYC → Miami → Aspen → NYC). It searches for empty legs on every leg, shows charter cost comparison, and calculates per-person savings. You can save trips and set monitors for missing legs.
Can I filter by region?
Yes. Search by region like ‘Florida’, ‘Caribbean & Islands’, ‘Mountain & Ski’, ‘New York & Northeast’, and more. You can also set route monitors by region to get alerts on all flights to or from that area.
Do you cover international flights?
We cover Caribbean (Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Bermuda, Jamaica), Mexico (Cabo, Cancun), Canada (Toronto, Vancouver), and Hawaii. Full European coverage is planned.
Membership
What does the free tier include?
Everything except the AI Concierge and SMS alerts. Real-time listing feed, unlimited route monitors with email alerts, market ratings, Why This Rating, True Cost estimates, historical pricing, operator context, Round Trip Planner, Trip Analysis reports, portfolio tracking, and the full market intelligence stack — all free forever, no credit card.
Why upgrade to Pro ($29/mo or $290/yr)?
Two things that actually cost us money to run: unlimited chat with the AI Concierge (Claude-powered answers on any listing, operator, or corridor) and instant SMS alerts the second a deal matches your watchers. Pro members also get priority human booking assistance. One match saves $10,000–$30,000 — Concierge pays for itself on call one.
Is there a guarantee?
If your first ELI-sourced booking doesn’t save you more than your membership cost, we’ll refund your first 3 months. No questions asked.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings. You retain access through the end of your current billing period.
Is my payment information secure?
All payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your credit card number. Stripe is PCI DSS Level 1 certified — the highest level of payment security.
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