Private jet routes / Empty legs to the Alps
Every ski season, private jets fly guests into Geneva, Sion, Chambéry and St. Moritz, then fly home empty. Those return flights, and the positioning flights that come back to collect guests a week later, are sold as empty legs: the whole aircraft, one way, well under the price of a booked charter.
Below is everything on the board into and out of the Alpine airports right now, which airport serves which resort, and how to catch the flights that suit your dates.
Showing the next 12 of 31 departures. Get alerts to hear about new ones first.
| Resort | Fly into | Transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Verbier | Sion about 45 min by road |
about 45 min by road |
| Crans-Montana | Sion about 30 min by road |
about 30 min by road |
| Zermatt | Sion about 1 h to Täsch, then the 12 min shuttle train |
about 1 h to Täsch, then the 12 min shuttle train |
| St. Moritz | St. Moritz (Samedan) about 10 min by road |
about 10 min by road |
| Davos and Klosters | St. Moritz (Samedan) about 1 h by road |
about 1 h by road |
| Gstaad | Gstaad (Saanen) about 10 min by road |
about 10 min by road |
| Courchevel | Courchevel altiport, or Chambéry on the slopes; about 1 h 45 from Chambéry |
on the slopes; about 1 h 45 from Chambéry |
| Méribel and Val d'Isère | Chambéry about 1 h 45 to 2 h 15 by road |
about 1 h 45 to 2 h 15 by road |
| Megève | Megève altiport, or Geneva on the slopes; about 1 h 10 from Geneva |
on the slopes; about 1 h 10 from Geneva |
| Chamonix | Geneva about 1 h by road |
about 1 h by road |
| Kitzbühel | Innsbruck or Salzburg about 1 h 15 by road |
about 1 h 15 by road |
| St. Anton, Lech and Ischgl | Innsbruck about 1 h 15 by road |
about 1 h 15 by road |
| Val Gardena and the Dolomites | Bolzano under 1 h by road |
under 1 h by road |
| Cortina d'Ampezzo | Bolzano about 2 h by road |
about 2 h by road |
Transfer times are typical drives in good conditions; snow and weekend traffic add to them.
Empty legs we have listed into and out of the Alps went for €1,100 to €22,800 for the whole aircraft, depending on the jet and the distance. Split across a full cabin, the price per seat comes down fast.
Mostly around the weekend. Chalets in the French and Swiss resorts change over on Saturday, so jets fly guests in full and often head home empty the same day. A week later the jet flies back out to collect them, usually empty again. The most flights appear over Christmas and New Year, the February school holidays and Easter.
Geneva serves Chamonix and Megève and is the fallback for most of the French Alps. Sion is the closest for Verbier, Crans-Montana and Zermatt. Chambéry serves the Trois Vallées and Val d'Isère, Samedan is St. Moritz's own airport, and Saanen sits next to Gstaad. In Austria, Innsbruck and Salzburg cover the Tyrol. The table above lists the usual transfer times.
Courchevel's altiport has a short, steep runway on the slopes, so only small turboprops such as the Pilatus PC-12, flown by specially qualified pilots, can use it. Everyone else lands in Chambéry or Geneva. Samedan, for St. Moritz, is one of the highest airports in Europe and needs crews briefed for it, so not every aircraft can go in. Each listing names the airport, so what you see is where the aircraft actually lands.
Usually, but space depends on the aircraft. Light jets and turboprops have the least room; midsize jets and larger take ski bags more easily. Tell us how many bags you are bringing when you enquire, and the operator confirms before you commit.
Empty legs are published days, sometimes only hours, before they fly, because they depend on another trip. If your dates are fixed months out, book a charter. If you can move by a day or pick between Geneva and Sion, set an alert and take the flight that comes up.