Empty legs occur when an air freight aircraft flies empty from one destination to another in order to reposition for its next booked flight. This can happen for a number of reasons, such as when:
- A customer books a one-way charter flight.
- An aircraft needs to be moved to a different location for maintenance or repair.
- An aircraft is being delivered to a new customer.
Air freight companies offer empty leg flights to customers at a discounted rate, typically 20-50% off the cost of a regular charter flight. This is because air freight companies are still able to generate some revenue from empty leg flights, while also reducing the cost of repositioning their aircraft.