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In a business jet, at a bargain price

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You can save up to 60 percent with "Empty Legs" business aviation offers. Provided you are flexible enough. Empty legs are a great opportunity for passengers to save money. With an empty leg, a necessary transfer flight of a General Aviation aircraft, i.e. a private jet, both sides benefit. The passenger, because he saves 40 or 60 percent of the airfare, and the charter company, because it generates revenue on a flight that would otherwise only generate costs.

Empty legs arise because there are too many small aircraft operators in European business aviation. They are ultimately a waste product. When passengers book such a flight, they lose a large part of the flexibility and independence that is otherwise one of the main advantages of using a business jet. Nevertheless, numerous providers are being creative in order to market these individual flights better. For example, there are special apps for calculating such a bargain. "Empty leg flights can be up to 50 percent cheaper, depending on the circumstances. The advantage: it's cheaper, of course. But it's only ever one way, the destinations are usually predetermined and the flight times are not flexible enough. But for some people it's still useful," emphasizes Christy Fendell, Marketing Manager Europe at ExecuJet Europe AG in Zurich.

Empty legs make it harder for aircraft operators to earn money. "Eurocontrol estimates that around 40 percent of all business jet flights in Europe are empty legs," explains Christoph Kohler, Managing Director of WINGX Advance GmbH. The company specializes in market research and strategic consulting in business aviation. "This is not only problematic because of airspace capacity, but of course also for environmental reasons." In a big city without a cab center, cab drivers have to drive all over the place to serve the next customer. "If, on the other hand, there is a large fleet, then there is a high probability that a cab will be where it is needed. It's no different with business aviation," says Kohler. Interesting detail: "Large business jets for long-haul routes, such as a Global Express, are quicker to market than smaller ones," says Rolf Seewald, operator of a Cessna business jet.

Nevertheless, the aviation crisis is not stopping at business aviation and the current overcapacities cannot be sustained in the long term. "I expect that there will be a long overdue consolidation in the coming years, in which the issue of empty legs will be resolved as a result of larger fleets. But ultimately, all customers would benefit because flying by business jet would then become cheaper for everyone," analyzes Kohler.

Kurt Hofmann

(August 2012)

In a business jet, at a bargain price

Kurt Hofmann

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