Booking a Private Jet at Short Notice
What is the first thing that comes to mind when one hears "private jets"? Champagne, Caviar, celebrities, and Red carpets? Yes, it is true to some extent. I mean, for the longest time the private jet travel was reserved for the Rich and Famous. Private aircraft ownership was associated with 1% of the population and most of us didn't know anything but the airlines. Fast forward to the new century. The technology has churned up a whopping number if Millionaires and Billionaires throughout the Globe. That too, very young Millionaires and Billionaires.
Reviewed by Kevin Singh, Founder · Fact-checked against Icarus Jet charter and operations data · Last updated 12 September 2026
The guide
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The Airline Industry has changed dramatically due to the various threats the industry has faced. from the oil prices to pilots shortages to fee hikes and long TSA lines. This is where the jet charter industry gained its first advantage. It saved a monumental amount of time for its passengers. A flexibility that the airlines could not provide. Some of the Forbes list companies did the math and figured out that a private aircraft could shave off as much as 5 days a year and to their productivity for its executives. An aggregate of time saved by showing up at the door of the aircraft and also making direct flights instead of connections. High-speed wifi connections were no longer a luxury in the private jets, providing a private working environment for the passengers while on their way to a meeting.
The jet charter Industry has seen a dramatic rise in younger high net-worth individuals chartering jets. The newly rich are very money savvy and they have figured a way out to pay half or at times less than half for their private jet travel. Saving time and money is win-win. So let's see what we have learned from their travel habits.
Book an Empty-Leg flight
A private jet is always sold as a round trip. Solely because the airplane needs to return to its base after a drop-off. If one flies LA to NYC. They have to pay LA to NYC to LA. If the operator sold the trip as LA to NYC only, there are no guarantees that they will be able to find a paid trip back to its base in LA. And they can't hold the airplane and the crew on standby in NYC and pay the expense waiting for a charter back to LA. And this is why every Jet Charter is sold as a round trip. But what do the operators do once they have a round trip but the passengers are not coming back to its base? The operators call it an Empty -leg. It is already paid for. now it would be smart for the operator to sell this Empty-Leg in the market to anyone willing to fly back to the aircraft base or in the general direction of the aircraft base. Sometimes these empty-legs are discounted to 1/4 of the cost. Win-win? You bet.
Book a Transient
A transient airplane is an aircraft that is away from its base because it makes more financial sense for the operator to leave it away from home while it has already dropped off its passengers to their destination. A transient aircraft will be away for a limited time until it can find a suitable charter towards its base or to its base. They might not depart from your exact airport but they will depart from a nearby airport hence saving the repositioning cost. The discounts are very lucrative and transients are very willing to negotiate their charter rates. How do you find a Transient aircraft? Very simple and easy to do. Just click on our aircraft finder and you automatically find the best deals for your private jet charter travel.
Empty-leg and Transient aircraft are just as safe just highly cost-effective. At Icarus Jet we only use Argus and Wyvern audited and certified aircraft. Your safety is our number one priority and it is never compromised. We will take you Everywhere!
Icarus Jet Team
Our dedicated Aircraft support team is available to serve you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Kevin Singh
President
kevin.singh@icarusjet.com
Alleson Mark M. Daroy
Managing Director of Trip Support
mark@icarusjet.com
Sanoop
Vice President Charter Operations
sanoop@icarusjet.com
LET US TAKE YOU ON A PRIVATE JET CHARTER TRIP
Passenger safety and privacy are top priorities at Icarus Jet. Please call our analysts to book your private jet charter today.
Questions
Short notice questions the desk gets
How quickly can a private jet actually be arranged?
Most charters can be arranged in 24 to 48 hours, and shorter is sometimes possible. What shortens with the notice is the choice: fewer aircraft, less flexibility on departure time, and a greater chance the aircraft has to position in from somewhere else.
Are last-minute flights cheaper or more expensive?
Both, depending on what is already moving. If an aircraft is repositioning your way anyway, the price can be very good. If the market is tight and everything has to come to you, short notice costs more. It is availability rather than a policy that decides it.
What is an empty leg?
A repositioning flight sold at a discount because it was going to fly regardless. It exists because another client's trip created it, so it moves when their trip moves. That makes it genuinely cheaper and genuinely unreliable.
Should I plan a trip around an empty leg?
Only if your dates are flexible. Empty legs run on very narrow margins and someone else's schedule, and if the timings shift at the last minute you can be left buying the full round trip. Treat one as a bonus rather than a plan.
What information do you need to move fast?
Departure and arrival points, the date and the earliest and latest times that work, the number of passengers and a sense of luggage. That is enough to start looking. Passenger details follow once you have accepted an aircraft.
Does short notice affect which airports I can use?
Sometimes. Slots, customs staffing and handling all need arranging, and at a constrained field at short notice the answer may be a nearby airport instead. The desk will usually offer the alternative with the drive time rather than simply saying no.
Where this sits
The guides around this one
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Pricing a real trip?
Send the dates, the passengers and the stops. You get a named aircraft, itemised pricing, the operator checks done and a number you can hold us to.
Contact UsPrefer to talk? Call +1 888 277 7203 or email charter@icarusjet.com. The desk is staffed 24/7.