Talk to Gadgets

While one-stop sites comparable to Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia don’t yet exist for those who want to book charter jets, some charter jet operators and brokers do offer price-quotes of estimated costs for charter flights on their Web sites. Charter jet operators also increasingly share information about their fleets and flights with other charter operators, with charter brokers, and with business-to-business sites that track “empty-leg” or “deadhead” flights. Empty-leg flights result when a jet is chartered for a one-way trip, and the operator does not have a booking for the jet’s return flight to its home base. In 2007, 40% of these return flights were empty, and operators are seeking ways to reduce that number.

Brokers and other charter operators post the shared information about these empty-leg flights on their Web sites and offer discounted charter rates on them. Some operators and brokers send as e-mail alerts of available empty-leg flights. Virgin Airlines offers Virgin Charter which also tracks empty-leg flights for consumers.