Inadequate Coordination and Empty Legs

Commercial airlines operate on a tight schedule. They utilize trained personnel operating in specific roles to complete assigned tasks and face any challenges that may arise. These roles work together in a centralized hub, which makes excess communication unnecessary and leads to greater efficiency. Everyone knows their role in this system and performs duties that lead to smooth operations, most of the time.
Because charter jets are booked on-demand they do not have a set schedule or central hubs to operate out of. There isn't any regularity like with commercial airlines. With minimal opportunities to plan ahead, communication between all parties involved is crucial to keeping fleets operating. This lack of scheduling requires extra communication and puts stress on the system. This stress means extra work, extra cost, and longer lead times (lags) in the delivery of services.
The degree of irregularity is compounded by the fact that a charter may not always pick up passengers at every destination they arrive at. This creates extra costs when one-way flights are booked. The charter must then pay to relocate the aircraft to whatever destination the next paying customer is located.
An empty leg flight is a major pain point causing regular excess expense to the charter system. Unfortunately, the current solutions only address the problem after an initial flight is booked. Typically, existing companies will contact existing members offering a large discount, sometimes up to 75% off, to cajole customers into mediating the costs of these empty-leg flights.
Empty Leg Flight

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