Can you book a single seat on an empty leg?

An empty leg flight is a private jet flight with no passengers booked on it, flown to reposition the aircraft, either back to base after a one-way charter or onward to collect its next client. Because the aircraft must make the journey anyway, operators sell it at a discount, typically 25–75% below the standard charter price for the same route.

Most empty legs are sold as the whole aircraft. A single traveller can book one, and pays for every seat. Per-seat sales exist, mainly in the United States, and they are a different product under different rules, sold by different companies. This page explains who sells seats, what the rules are, and how to decide between a seat and the aircraft.

Can you book a single seat on an empty leg?

Sometimes, but only through companies set up to sell seats to the public; a broker arranging a whole-aircraft charter cannot split it into seats sold to strangers.

Empty Leg Exclusive lists whole-aircraft empty legs. It is a broker, it does not operate aircraft, and it arranges each flight with a licensed operator for one client or group. If you travel alone, the price on the listing is your price for the aircraft. Per-seat products come from membership platforms and public charter operators that contract aircraft first and then fill the seats, which is a different legal and commercial arrangement.

Who sells seats on empty legs?

Seats are sold mainly by membership platforms in the United States, and mainly on shared flights that they organise rather than on raw empty legs.

• XO lets customers “find individual seats on existing shared flights on our website or in the app and book instantly”, and states that a shared flight created by a member “is only confirmed when the minimum required number of seats are filled” (XO, 2026). When XO opened selected empty legs to non-members in August 2019, it sold them by the seat, with published examples between $510 and $695 per seat and some legs reserved for members (Private Jet Card Comparisons, 2019). Those prices are historical examples, not current offers.
• Public charter operators sell seats on flights they have contracted from a Part 135 carrier under a filed prospectus. Their flights follow a published pattern rather than a one-off repositioning, so they are shared flights rather than empty legs in the strict sense.
• Whole-aircraft brokers and operators, including Empty Leg Exclusive, sell the aircraft. A group that fills it shares the cost among themselves, which is the only way to get a per-seat price on most empty legs.

What rules apply to per-seat sales in the United States?

Selling individual seats to the public requires a public charter operator authorised by the Department of Transportation under 14 CFR Part 380, using a Part 135 direct air carrier to fly the aircraft.

NATA explains that a public charter is arranged by an indirect air carrier that contracts the aircraft and that “individual seats on the flight may then be resold to the public by the Public Charter Operator in accordance with the DOT approved charter prospectus”; passengers receive a contract for transportation and their funds are held securely (NATA, 2026). Under 14 CFR 380.34 the operator must provide security of at least the charter price, or a security agreement of at least $10,000 per flight capped at $200,000, and participant payments go into a designated bank account that releases the charter price to the carrier no earlier than 60 days before departure (14 CFR 380.34).

The aircraft rules matter too. Cranky Flier explains that scheduled service on aircraft with more than 9 seats must be flown under Part 121, but “charters on aircraft with up to 30 seats can still fly under Part 135 rules”, which is the structure companies such as JSX use to sell seats on 30-seat aircraft flown by a Part 135 operator (Cranky Flier, 2023). The practical test for a buyer is simple: if a company offers a seat on a private flight and cannot name both the public charter operator and the direct air carrier, do not pay.

What about the United Kingdom and Europe?

In the United Kingdom and the EU, per-seat sales on private aircraft are rarer, and the company flying you must hold an Air Operator Certificate and an operating licence regardless of how the seats are sold.

The UK CAA states that any UK-established company that wishes to carry passengers for commercial air transport “must, by law, first obtain an Air Operator Certificate”, and that flights “may be run as scheduled services, or as ad hoc charter, and an operating licence is required” (UK CAA, 2026). The CAA publishes a list of AOC holders that any passenger can check. Seat-only products in Europe tend to be shuttle services on set routes rather than empty legs; a solo traveller looking at a European empty leg should expect to buy the aircraft.

Whole aircraft or a seat: which is better?

The whole aircraft is better for groups, privacy and choice of route; a seat is better for one or two people on a route where a seat product exists.

Question	Whole-aircraft empty leg	Seat on a shared or public charter flight
What is the price for?	The aircraft, whoever is on board	One seat
Who is in the cabin?	Your party only	Other buyers
When is the flight confirmed?	When the operator accepts the booking, subject to the original client’s plans	When the minimum number of seats is sold, and then subject to the carrier’s schedule
Which rules govern the seller?	The charter contract with the operator	In the US, 14 CFR Part 380, plus the carrier’s Part 135 certificate
Availability in the UK and EU	Common	Rare on empty legs
Route choice	Any route where an aircraft is repositioning	Only routes the platform serves

Does a solo traveller pay the whole price?

Yes. On a whole-aircraft empty leg the price is for the aircraft, and one passenger pays the same as a full cabin.

That is less strange than it sounds, because the discount is typically 25–75% below the standard charter price for the same route. For one person the sensible comparison is with the business-class or first-class airline fare on the same day, plus the time saved at each end. On a short European sector the two can be close; on a long route the airline is usually far cheaper. Empty Leg Exclusive will state the all-in aircraft price so that comparison can be made before booking.

What are the catches with a seat?

The catches are minimum fill, someone else’s timetable, membership terms, and shared space.

1. Minimum fill. A shared flight that does not sell enough seats does not go; XO’s terms make that explicit (XO, 2026).
2. Timetable. The departure time is set by the platform or the carrier, and on a true empty leg by the original client.
3. Membership. The lowest seat prices are often reserved for members, as Private Jet Card Comparisons noted of XO’s empty legs in 2019 (Private Jet Card Comparisons, 2019).
4. Baggage and cabin. A seat comes with a baggage allowance and a shared cabin, not exclusive use.

Empty Leg Exclusive is a broker and does not operate aircraft. It arranges whole-aircraft flights with licensed operators, FAA Part 135 certificate holders in the United States and Air Operator Certificate holders in the United Kingdom and the EU, and does not sell individual seats.

Frequently asked questions

Does Empty Leg Exclusive sell single seats?+

No. Empty Leg Exclusive lists whole-aircraft empty legs and arranges each flight with a licensed operator for one client or group. A solo traveller pays the aircraft price shown, typically 25–75% below the standard charter price. Per-seat products come from membership platforms and public charter operators, mainly in the United States.

Who is allowed to sell seats on private flights in the US?+

A public charter operator authorised by the Department of Transportation under 14 CFR Part 380, flying with a Part 135 direct air carrier. NATA explains that seats are resold under a DOT-approved prospectus, with passenger funds secured. If a seller cannot name both companies, do not pay.

Can I split an empty leg with strangers to share the cost?+

Not through a whole-aircraft broker, which contracts the aircraft for one party. Some US platforms, such as XO, organise shared flights where members buy seats and the flight is confirmed only when the minimum number of seats is sold. Sharing with people you know on a whole-aircraft booking is the usual route.

Are single seats on private jets available in the UK or Europe?+

Rarely on empty legs. Seat-only products in Europe tend to be shuttle services on set routes. Whoever flies you must hold an Air Operator Certificate and an operating licence, which the UK CAA lists publicly. A solo traveller looking at a European empty leg should expect to buy the aircraft.

Sources

1. NATA, Public Charter FAQs (accessed 2026-09-20)
2. Cornell Legal Information Institute, 14 CFR § 380.34 Security agreements and depository arrangements (accessed 2026-09-20)
3. Cranky Flier, Are JSX and SkyWest Charter Legal? The Fight Over Part 380 and Part 135 (22 August 2023) (accessed 2026-09-20)
4. XO, Frequently asked questions (accessed 2026-09-20)
5. Private Jet Card Comparisons, Vista Global’s XO is now offering empty legs to non-members (28 August 2019) (accessed 2026-09-20)
6. UK Civil Aviation Authority, Holders of air operator certificates (accessed 2026-09-20)

Last reviewed 20 September 2026 by Empty Leg Exclusive Editorial Team.