Empty Leg Market Report

April delivered 13,946 new empty legs — slightly below March's 14,700, but with a story in the middle of the month: supply quietly dropped during the Masters.

• 13,946 new empty legs tracked across 127 active operators in April
• 3,075 active legs heading into May, with $12,326 average asking price
• Masters week was the lowest week of the month: 2,882 new listings (Apr 6-12) vs 3,000-3,400 in surrounding weeks
• Counterintuitive but logical: operators with paid Masters charters had fewer empty legs to sell — repositioning got bundled into paid trips
• Recovery into late April: 3,406 new legs in the Apr 20 week as spring travel resumed

Augusta saw thousands of private flights during the Masters, but the empty leg market got tighter, not looser. Here is the dynamic:

• Paid charters absorb the fleet: When operators sell a Masters round-trip, the return leg is no longer "empty" — it is paid for by the same client
• Last-minute pulls: Operators with available aircraft pulled empty leg listings to keep capacity flexible for high-margin Masters quotes
• Augusta-specific traffic doesn't reposition cleanly: Aircraft that flew clients into KAGS often waited at Augusta or repositioned to nearby fields without offering the leg publicly

• Vegas-LA is the deepest corridor in the country. 110 empty legs from Vegas, 97 from Van Nuys, with KLAS→KVNY (21) and KVNY→KLAS (15) as the two most-listed routes in April.
• NYC-Charlottesville is a quiet steady producer. 8 legs each direction (KLGA-KCHO and back) — likely UVA-area travel, runs nearly every week.
• Florida-Bahamas is opening up. Fort Lauderdale (KFXE) → Nassau (MYNN) showed 7 listings as winter snowbird traffic shifted to spring island runs.
• Plains repositioning is reliable. Lincoln, NE (62) and Omaha (37) are not glamorous, but operators based there post empty legs with regularity.

• Spring travel ramp: Late April already showed 3,400+ weekly new listings. May is historically one of the busiest months for empty leg supply as snowbird repositioning ends and summer prep begins.
• Memorial Day weekend: Demand typically spikes Thu-Sat, then operators drop prices on returning empty legs Sun-Mon. Flexible travelers can get steep discounts on the back half of the long weekend.
• Watch the European routes: Heavy and ultra-long-range categories had fewer priced listings in April (67 and 5 respectively). Summer transatlantic season usually expands inventory.

• Vegas / LA basin: 110 from Vegas, 97 from Van Nuys. The two-way Vegas-LA corridor produced 36 listed legs in April alone — the deepest one-way market in North America.
• Teterboro / NYC metro: 98 empty legs in April. KIAD-KTEB (Washington-Teterboro) showed 7 legs, joining the LGA-Charlottesville pattern as a regular Northeast lane.
• South Florida: Fort Lauderdale Executive (51) and Opa-Locka (40) combined for 91 active listings. Spring shoulder season dropped FXE volume from March's 63, but Bahamas runs picked up.
• Texas triangle: El Paso (35), Houston (31), Dallas (28), San Antonio (25). Dallas-Austin and Dallas-Houston each posted 6 listings — short-hop business travel.
• Pacific Northwest mountain runs: Boeing Field (KBFI) → Hamilton, MT (KHRF) showed 7 legs, with 6 the other way. Bitterroot Valley spring fishing/skiing traffic.
• Western Canada: Calgary (33) and Toronto (27) both held top-10 ranks. Kelowna→Calgary (6 legs) tied to BC ski/resort repositioning.

Midsize jets dominated April supply — 895 active legs, nearly a third of the entire market. The category is the workhorse of US private aviation: 7-9 seats, transcontinental range, lower operating cost than super-mid or heavy. When operators have one to reposition, they list it. For buyers, midsize is the most liquid market with the most price competition.