💸💺 Selling Empty Legs
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Selling Empty Legs via FL3XX API

Empty legs represent a significant opportunity for revenue generation in the business aviation industry. With FL3XX, partners can now tap into this potential by integrating directly into our system and automating the sale of repositioning flights.

This guide explains how to:

  1. Enable empty legs in the FL3XX interface
  2. Fetch empty leg opportunities via API
  3. Convert empty legs into real bookings

💡 Business Context

Every day, aircraft reposition themselves without passengers. These are known as "empty legs."

FL3XX unlocks significant business opportunities through strategic Empty Leg utilization:

  • Revenue Recovery: Generate income from flights that would otherwise operate without passengers
  • Cost Reduction: Partially offset operational costs of necessary repositioning flights
  • Market Expansion: Attract price-sensitive customers with discounted rates
  • Improved Sustainability: Increase efficiency by maximizing flight utilization
  • Competitive Advantage: Offer unique value propositions compared to traditional charter bookings

Traditional Model
Empty Legs Model
Empty Aircraft Return
Revenue Loss
Revenue Opportunity
Reduced Operational Costs
Increased Fleet Utilization
Expanded Client Base
Competitive Pricing Options

🎯 Use Cases

For Operators

  • Repositioning Flights: Monetize necessary aircraft movements between operational bases.
  • Return Trips: Sell the return leg after dropping off passengers at a destination.
  • Maintenance Flights: Offset costs when moving aircraft to maintenance facilities.

For Clients

  • Luxury Travel at Reduced Cost: Access private aviation at significant discounts.
  • Last-Minute Opportunities: Capitalize on spontaneous travel opportunities.
  • One-Way Travel: Ideal for clients needing only a single flight direction.
  • Group Travel: Cost-effective solution for groups when compared to commercial first-class.

For Partners

  • Revenue Share: Generate commissions on otherwise wasted capacity.
  • Client Acquisition: Attract new clients with attractive entry-level pricing.
  • Upselling Opportunities: Convert one-time empty leg clients to regular charter customers.

🛠️ Implementation Process

By following this implementation guide, partners can effectively integrate empty leg offerings into their sales process.

Steps to selling Empty Legs in FL3XX

Step 1: Enable Empty Legs in the FL3XX App

Before anything can be shown through the API, operators must manually enable empty legs via the FL3XX UI.

Detailed instructions can be found at: Retrieve Empty Legs via API.

Step 2: Fetch Empty Legs Using the API

Once empty legs are configured in the UI, you can access them programmatically.

Endpoint: GET /api/external/quote/legs/empty

This endpoint retrieves all empty legs that have been made available to the API by the operator in the previous step.

For more details about how to use the endpoint please visit our API Reference

Step 3: Book the Empty Leg

Once a partner has retrieved an empty leg, booking it works just like any other quote.

Use the details from the empty leg response to build your quote request:

Endpoint: POST /api/external/quote

or

Endpoint: POST /api/external/quote/book

For more details about how to use the endpoints please visit our API Reference

✅ Conclusion

The FL3XX platform empowers you to:

  • Display empty legs in real-time
  • Let users search and book them programmatically
  • Integrate pricing, tail availability, and booking confirmation into your app

📞 Need Help?

Reach out to our integrations team at integrations@fl3xx.com — we're here to support your implementation and help you capture more revenue from empty legs.

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