Empty Leg Market Report
Memorial Day filled the calendar. Light jets got cheap.
May posted 14,198 new empty legs — slightly above April's 13,946. Volumes built every week, peaking the week of May 18 at 3,939 new listings as operators staged the fleet for Memorial Day. Light jet asking prices dropped 17% month-over-month. The Indy 500 weekend echoed the Masters pattern from April: race weekend was actually quieter than a normal week.
- 14,198 new empty legs tracked across 129 active operators in May
- 2,927 active legs heading into June, with $11,427 average asking price
- Week of May 18 was the peak: 3,939 new listings as operators positioned for the holiday weekend
- Light jet averages dropped 17%: ~$8,100 in April to ~$6,700 in May, a real value window for groups under 6
- Indy 500 race weekend (May 22-26): 39 new legs touched Indy-area airports vs 74 in the baseline week of May 4-10
Why light jets got cheap
Light jet supply ran ahead of demand. Operators posted 2,156 new light jet legs in May, and pricing pressure showed up across the smaller cabins:
- Light Jet average: ~$8,100 in April → ~$6,700 in May (-17%)
- Midsize average: ~$14,100 in April → ~$13,300 in May (-6%)
- Very Light Jet average: ~$1,600 in April → ~$1,400 in May (-12%)
- Heavy and super-mid held firm: $16,700 and $13,700 respectively, both essentially flat
The Indy 500 followed the Masters playbook
260 empty legs touched Indianapolis-area airports across all of May. The race weekend itself was quieter than a normal week — same fleet-absorption dynamic we documented in April's Masters report:
- Race weekend (Fri May 22 - Tue May 26): 39 new legs touching KIND, KEYE, KHFY, KMQJ, KTYQ and neighbors
- Baseline week (May 4-10): 74 new legs to/from the same airports
- Pre-race staging peaked May 18-19: 17 new legs each day, the highest daily count of the month for the region
- Top inbound origins: Fort Wayne (6), St Louis (4), Dulles (4), Pittsburgh (4) — regional drives wouldn't make sense for a Sunday morning race
After the race: a Florida exodus
The post-race outbound pattern was clean. Indy → Boca Raton put up 8 legs. Indy → Naples added 4. Marathon (the Keys) caught 3, West Palm 3. Eighteen empty legs out of Indianapolis to Florida vacation airports inside a week. Racing on Sunday, sand on Monday. The other big outbound lanes were Nashville (8) and El Paso (9).
For the flexible traveler
- Light jets are the value cabin right now. 548 active legs heading into June at ~$6,700 average. In some markets that's within $1,000 of turboprop pricing for the same trip.
- Stage to a hub the week before a long weekend. May 18 posted 3,939 new listings versus 2,744 the week of May 4. Operators want bodies in seats before holidays.
- Aspen-Vegas is summer's hidden inventory. 8 legs from KASE→KLAS posted in May as ski-season aircraft repositioned out of Pitkin County. Pattern usually runs late May through July.
- Cross-border to Canada is opening up. Calgary (34) and Toronto (22) in the active top 10. Teterboro→Toronto put up 6 legs, an emerging summer lane.
What to watch in June
- Tri-state summer share season starts: Teterboro and Westchester (KHPN) combined for 137 active legs heading into June. Nantucket, the Cape, and the Hamptons traffic should start showing up in the data.
- South Florida wind-down: Opa-Locka and Fort Lauderdale Executive still post 64 active legs combined, but snowbird repositioning is essentially finished. Northbound deals should keep getting cheaper through June.
- Mountain West summer ramp: Boeing Field (KBFI) → Ravalli County, MT posted 6 legs each way in May. Bozeman and Jackson Hole patterns build through July as fly-fishing and ranch season hits stride.
- Watch the light jet floor: May's $6,700 average is the lowest light jet average we've recorded. Demand usually firms with June graduations and start of summer travel — if you've been waiting, the window may not last.
Busiest corridors
- Vegas / LA basin: 102 from Vegas, 87 from Van Nuys. KLAS→KVNY (13 legs) and KVNY→KLAS (9 legs) put up 22 listings two-way — still the deepest corridor in the country.
- Teterboro / NYC metro: 95 from KTEB plus 42 from Westchester (KHPN). KLGA→KCHO (LaGuardia to Charlottesville) held at 9 legs, the same UVA-area pattern that ran through April.
- DC-NY shuttle: Teterboro↔Dulles posted 15 legs across both directions, with KTEB→KIAD (8) edging KIAD→KTEB (7). The surprise corridor of the month.
- Scottsdale and Carlsbad: Scottsdale (45) and Carlsbad/Palomar (38) consistent year-round, both feeding LA traffic. KCRQ specifically continues to punch above its weight given the small operator base there.
- Western Canada: Calgary (34) and Toronto (22) hold top-10 ranks. Calgary↔Kelowna (7 legs each way) tied to BC summer resort repositioning.
- Plains positioning continues: Lincoln, NE (40) and Omaha (27) in the top 10 again. The KEAR↔KLNK (Kearney-Lincoln) shuttle runs 7 legs each direction.
What empty legs cost right now
| Category | Avg Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Very Light Jet | ~$1,400 | 4-5 seats, routes under 600nm |
| Turboprop | ~$4,000 | 6-9 seats, regional routes |
| Light Jet | ~$6,700 | 5-7 seats, coast-to-coast capable |
| Midsize | ~$13,300 | 7-9 seats, transcontinental range |
| Super Midsize | ~$13,700 | Stand-up cabin, 8-10 seats |
| Heavy | ~$16,700 | 10-16 seats, intercontinental |
| Ultra Long Range | ~$25,300 | 12-19 seats, nonstop transatlantic |
Category breakdown
Midsize remained the workhorse — 769 active legs, 26% of the entire market. Light jet supply held steady at 548, but with prices down 17% the value math has shifted. Heavy supply (535) stayed comparable to April despite less price movement. The big repositioning markets — turboprop, VLJ, ultra-long-range — all sit in the long tail and follow different demand drivers.
Updated every 2 hours from hundreds of operators.