Flights already going your way, for less.
When a helicopter drops passengers or freight somewhere, it has to fly home. An empty leg is a seat on that return flight, typically 40 to 70 per cent below chartering the same aircraft.
- Below charter
- 40–70 %
- Listed
- 1–2 days ahead
- Seats close
- 90 min before
- Listed now
- 0
What is listed right now.
Legs appear here when an operator lists one. Each is a single sector on a date set by the charter it comes back from.
No empty legs listed right now
A leg exists only once someone books the charter it comes back from, so it is usually listed a day or two before it flies, and they go quickly. Tell the desk the route you want and we will tell you when one opens.
The same helicopter, at a lower fare.
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 cheaper and why you cannot choose the date.
The operator has already paid for this flying
After dropping passengers at Lukla or freight at a high landing site, the aircraft still has to get home. Selling the seats recovers part of a cost 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.
The aircraft goes when it goes
If the charter it comes from moves, or the weather closes the valley, the return sector moves with it.
- Rarely more than one on any sector, and they go quickly.
- Cancelled legs are refunded in full. A refund is not a flight, so do not build a connection around one.
Weighed and on the manifest early
You are buying seats on someone else's aircraft, so the manifest closes sooner than a charter's.
- Seats close 90 minutes before departure so the weight and balance is final.
- The 75 kg allowance, bags included, applies. Bring photo identification.
© Shadow Ayush · CC BY-SA 4.0Need a fixed day? Charter it.
An empty leg is the cheapest way to fly a helicopter in Nepal, and the least certain. If your date is fixed, the desk quotes the flight as an ordinary charter.
- We compare every licensed operator that flies the route and book you the cheapest.
- A shared seat is the other lower fare: one or two seats on a flight other travellers are filling.
- Nothing to pay until you accept. A quote you do not take costs nothing.
Before you take a leg.
The four things people ask about empty legs, answered once.
What is an empty leg helicopter flight?
A sector a helicopter has to fly with nobody on board. After dropping passengers at Lukla or freight at a high landing site, the aircraft still has to get home, and the operator has already paid for that flying. It is the same helicopter, the same CAAN-certified operator and the same pilot. You give up 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 same sector. 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 are empty legs listed?
Usually a day or two before departure, occasionally the same morning. A leg exists only once the outbound charter is booked, and it disappears if that charter moves. If nothing matches your plan, the desk can price the flight with operators. It costs nothing, and the desk aims to reply within four hours.
What happens if the empty leg is cancelled?
You are refunded in full. If the charter it comes from moves, or the weather closes the valley, the return sector moves with it. Seats close 90 minutes before departure so the operator's weight and balance is final.
Tell us the route. We watch for the leg.
Send the route and the days you could fly. If a leg opens we tell you; if your date is fixed, we compare every licensed operator and quote the cheapest, aiming within four hours.