Hold on — we're checking which aircraft are flying back empty
© Roman Raghu Shrestha / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Flights already going your way
When a helicopter drops passengers or freight somewhere, it has to fly home. Those return sectors used to go empty. Now you can buy a seat on one.
How this works
Nothing listed right now
The aircraft is flying this sector either way, so the operator sells the spare seats for a fraction of a charter. Same aircraft, same certified operator, same pilot — you are simply not paying for the empty return.
No empty legs are listed at the moment.
These appear at short notice and go quickly — a leg is usually listed a day or two before it flies. If you have dates in mind, tell us and we will put the request to every certified operator instead.
Request a flightWhat this actually is
Empty legs, explained
The cheapest way to fly a helicopter in Nepal, and the one with a real trade-off attached.
What is an empty leg helicopter flight?
An empty leg is a sector a helicopter has to fly with nobody on board. After dropping passengers at Lukla or freight at a base camp, the aircraft still has to get home, and the operator has already paid for that flying. Selling the seats on that return sector recovers part of a cost that is spent either way, so the price is typically 40 to 70 per cent below chartering the same aircraft. It is the same helicopter, the same CAAN-certified operator and the same pilot — the only thing you give up is choosing the date and time, because the aircraft is going when it is going.
How much cheaper is an empty leg?
Usually 40 to 70 per cent below the charter price for the identical sector, and it is the cheapest way to fly a helicopter in Nepal by a wide margin. The saving is largest on long repositioning sectors, because that is where the operator's sunk cost is largest. There is no fixed discount, because there is no list price being discounted: the operator is pricing spare capacity on a flight already scheduled.
How far ahead do empty legs get listed?
How it works
The same helicopter, at a fraction of the price, on somebody else's schedule
An empty leg is not a discount on a list price. It is spare capacity on a flight that is already happening, which is why it is cheap and why you cannot choose the date.
Why it is cheap
The operator has already paid for this flying
After dropping passengers at Lukla or freight at a base camp, the aircraft still has to get home. Selling the seats on that return sector recovers part of a cost that is spent either way.
- Typically 40 to 70 per cent below chartering the same aircraft for the same sector.
- The saving is largest on long repositioning legs, because that is where the sunk cost is largest.
For operators
Flying a sector empty?
List the return leg and recover part of a cost you have already spent. You set the seat price, you keep control of the manifest, and seats close 90 minutes before departure so your weight-and-balance is final. Listings are set up with our desk while the console screen is being built.
