Empty Leg Flights: Unlocking Indonesia’s Private Jet Potential

The Emerging Reality of Private Aviation in Indonesia

In the post-pandemic era, Indonesia’s aviation industry has quietly entered a stage of structural renewal. While commercial airlines focus on rebuilding routes and passenger confidence, a parallel transformation is unfolding: the expansion of private-jet and on-demand charter services. Within this emerging market lies a unique and under-utilized economic lever — the Empty Leg Flight.

An Empty Leg Flight refers to a non-revenue positioning flight—the return or one-way segment flown empty to reposition an aircraft after a charter. Globally, operators have turned these idle segments into commercial opportunities by offering them to customers at discounted rates—typically 50 to 80 percent cheaper than standard charters.

For the first time, this practice is gaining traction in Indonesia. Licensed charter operators such as PT Jet Eksekutif Travya (AOC 135-069) and PT Elang Lintas Indonesia (AOC 135-052), supported by digital brokerage systems, have begun listing Empty Leg offers for routes such as Jakarta–Bali, Jakarta–Surabaya, and Jakarta–Labuan Bajo. What was once accessible only to top executives and officials is now within reach for entrepreneurs, expatriates, and luxury-tourism clients.

The Economics of Empty Legs

A private-jet charter operates point-to-point. When a jet is chartered from Jakarta to Bali, the aircraft and crew must later return to base or continue elsewhere—often empty. Traditionally, that ferry flight is a sunk cost.

Digitalisation and new navigation-fee incentives have changed this equation. By marketing these empty segments to time-flexible customers at 40–70 percent discounts, operators can recover part of the cost while expanding market reach. The result is a win-win: operators gain revenue and utilisation efficiency, customers enjoy private-jet comfort at near-business-class pricing, and the national airspace benefits from improved efficiency.

The Regulatory Grey Zone

The challenge lies in regulatory classification. In many countries, Empty Leg Flights exist between Part 135 commercial operations and Part 91 private flights.

Under Indonesia’s CASR Part 135, only certified AOC holders may conduct commercial charters. Positioning flights are normally non-revenue activities, logged as internal operations.

The core legal question is simple yet pivotal:

Can an operator sell an empty positioning leg?

Current Indonesian regulations allow Empty Leg offers only if:

1. The operator holds a valid Part 135 AOC, and
2. The flight is operated under the same safety, crew, and airworthiness standards as a regular charter.

Selling individual tickets is prohibited, but marketing the entire aircraft at a reduced rate is acceptable — provided transparency, proper documentation, and DGCA oversight are maintained.

Thus, Empty Leg Flights in Indonesia are not public ticket sales but charter opportunities on predetermined routes and times. They are offered through verified broker platforms such as Avinode or an operator’s own digital portal. The operator remains fully accountable for safety, crew licensing, and operational compliance.

Why Empty Legs Matter for Indonesia

Indonesia’s archipelagic geography makes regular airline schedules impractical for many business, tourism, and logistics routes. Private and charter aviation, supported by Empty Leg optimisation, can fill those gaps efficiently.

The model’s potential benefits include:

1. Democratising access to private aviation through lower charter costs.
2. Reducing operating expenses for small aircraft (King Air 350i, PC-12, Piper Seneca).
3. Expanding utilisation of under-served secondary routes.
4. Supporting sustainability by lowering carbon intensity per kilometre.

For policymakers, the rise of Empty Leg services complements AirNav Indonesia’s SE-AN-001/2025 circular, which grants a ≈ 50 percent navigation-fee reduction for light aircraft under 8.9 tons MTOW. This policy directly enhances the economics of repositioning flights, making them commercially viable.

The Customer Perspective: Affordable Exclusivity

For passengers, Empty Legs transform private aviation from a symbol of status into a practical mobility option.

A standard Jakarta–Bali charter on a King Air 350i costs around USD 10,000–12,000. An Empty Leg on the same route may cost USD 4,000–5,000. When shared among several travellers, that equals premium-class airline fares—yet with superior privacy, schedule flexibility, and direct terminal access.

This affordability creates a new market segment of aspirational private flyers: executives, entrepreneurs, and luxury-tourism clients who value efficiency as much as exclusivity.

Technology as the Catalyst

Global platforms such as PrivateFly, XO, and LunaJets have turned Empty Legs into a real-time marketplace. Users can view available routes, aircraft types, and instant pricing via apps.

Indonesia is following suit. Digital charter portals—like Jetset’s Smart Charter Portal—integrate live aircraft status, slot availability, automated pricing, and secure online payment.

These systems transform ad-hoc chartering into data-driven yield management, mirroring airline revenue models but tailored to business aviation.

The Business Mechanics Behind Empty Legs

Each Empty Leg is perishable inventory. It exists only because an outbound charter has been confirmed, and its parameters are fixed—origin, destination, aircraft, and time.

Operators employ yield-optimisation algorithms: when a main charter is confirmed, the software automatically lists the return leg online, adjusting price downward as departure nears. This encourages spontaneous bookings and maximises utilisation.

Worldwide, about 20 percent of empty legs are monetised. In Indonesia, conversion is still below 10 percent due to limited public awareness and digital exposure. With greater integration and marketing, that rate could double—adding substantial recurring revenue while cutting wasteful flight hours.

For charter companies operating mixed fleets, Empty Leg monetisation can boost aircraft-revenue utilisation by 15–18 percent and lower per-flight emissions correspondingly.

Public Opportunity and Market Integration

For the broader public, Empty Leg Flights introduce affordable exclusivity—an entirely new layer of mobility between commercial airlines and full private charter.

Typical listings include:

1. Jakarta – Bali (King Air 350i)
2. Surabaya – Jakarta (Piper Seneca)
3. Jakarta – Labuan Bajo (Citation series)

Prices generally range USD 3,000–6,000 per trip, roughly half standard charter rates.

This innovation benefits:

1. Small-business owners seeking flexible travel,
2. Luxury-tourism resorts linking packages with discounted flights,
3. Media and creative professionals covering remote destinations.

Partnership models—such as “Empty Leg Resort Packages”—already proven in Thailand and the Maldives, could thrive in Bali, Lombok, and eastern Indonesia.

Sustainability and Efficiency

An empty positioning flight burns hundreds of litres of Jet A-1 fuel without payload — an inefficiency conflicting with ICAO’s carbon-reduction targets.

Converting those flights into occupied charters cuts fuel waste and emissions up to 40 percent per kilometre.

By integrating carbon-tracking dashboards within digital booking systems, operators can provide measurable ESG data to clients. This aligns directly with the Indonesia Green Aviation Roadmap (2025–2035), enhancing both compliance and brand reputation.3

Institutional and Market Readiness

To maximise impact, three coordinated actions are needed:

With these alignments, Empty Leg Flights could expand to 5–7 percent of Indonesia’s private-flight movements by 2027, creating a new sub-sector of premium flexible mobility.

The Future Landscape: From Luxury to Smart Mobility

If properly regulated and digitalised, Indonesia can mirror models proven in Canada, France, and Australia, where Empty Leg operations are integral to regional air-mobility ecosystems.

Imagine a traveller in Bali booking an Empty Leg to Labuan Bajo via a mobile app — complete with instant payment, carbon offset, and ground-transfer integration. That vision of seamless, sustainable, intelligent air travel is attainable within the decade.

 Conclusion — Every Flight Counts

The Empty Leg Flight embodies aviation’s evolving philosophy: from exclusivity to efficiency, from luxury to sustainability.

By combining AirNav’s forward-looking incentives, DGCA’s safety oversight, and operators’ digital innovation, Indonesia can transform its private-aviation sector into one that is globally competitive yet locally empowering.

Even flights once considered “empty” now hold value — economic, environmental, and societal.

In the skies above Indonesia, no journey needs to be wasted. Every leg can carry purpose — and promise.