SkyAccess and Leon Software Automate Europe's Empty Leg Market

LOS ANGELES & WARSAW, Poland – January 20, 2026 – In a significant move to enhance efficiency in the private aviation sector, real-time empty leg marketplace SkyAccess and aviation management platform Leon Software have announced a formal integration. The partnership enables charter operators using the Leon platform to automatically list their repositioning flights on the SkyAccess marketplace, a development poised to reshape the European private jet landscape.

This collaboration directly addresses a fundamental inefficiency in the charter industry—the high number of unoccupied flights. Industry data suggests that as many as 40% of all private jet flights operate without passengers as they return to base or position for their next client. These “empty legs” represent a significant sunk cost for operators and a massive, largely untapped opportunity for travelers seeking more affordable access to private aviation.

The integration allows flight schedules and availability from an operator's core Leon management software to be published directly and instantly to the SkyAccess marketplace, eliminating the slow, error-prone process of manual data entry. This creates a live, dynamic inventory of available flights, particularly benefiting the burgeoning European market.

Tapping into a Growing European Market

The announcement comes at a pivotal time for European business aviation. The charter services segment alone was valued at approximately USD 1.19 billion in 2024 and is projected to surge to USD 1.92 billion by 2029, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of over 10%. This growth is fueled by an increasing number of high-net-worth individuals and business travelers seeking the flexibility, privacy, and efficiency of private air travel.

Demand for empty leg flights, which can offer discounts ranging from 25% to as high as 90% compared to standard charter rates, is rising in tandem. Travelers are increasingly drawn to these one-way deals, especially for short-haul trips between major European business and leisure hubs like London, Paris, Geneva, and Nice. Markets in Spain, Italy, and France have shown particularly robust growth in private jet traffic, driven by strong tourism and business demand.

This integration is designed to capture this demand by making it easier for operators to market their empty inventory. By automating the process, operators can ensure that a last-minute repositioning flight from Zurich to Milan, for instance, is immediately visible to a global audience of potential clients, maximizing the chance to offset fuel and operational costs.

Streamlining Operations for Charter Companies

For private jet operators, managing empty leg listings has long been a manual and time-consuming task. Staff must identify potential empty legs, calculate pricing, and then individually post them across various broker sites and marketplaces—a process that is often too slow for the fast-moving nature of charter schedules.

“Empty legs move quickly, and speed matters,” noted Paweł Szmagaj, CTO of Leon Software, in the official announcement. “With the Leon Software–SkyAccess integration, operators can share up-to-date availability with the market faster, while maintaining full control over pricing and operations.”

This automation is the core benefit for operators. The new system allows them to:

• Automatically publish eligible flights without manual intervention.
• Maintain full control over pricing, availability, and flight details directly from their existing Leon dashboard.
• Eliminate administrative overhead associated with coordinating listings across multiple channels.
• Access incremental demand from the SkyAccess platform without adopting new software or altering established workflows.

Daniil Buriev, Co-Founder and CEO of SkyAccess, highlighted the importance of a seamless workflow. “Operators don’t need more tools. They need distribution that fits how they already run operations,” he stated. This philosophy of integrating into existing systems rather than adding another layer of complexity is central to the partnership's value proposition for charter companies, allowing them to focus on their core business of flying.

A New Level of Access for Travelers

While the operational benefits for charter companies are clear, the integration promises an equally significant impact for travelers. By creating a direct, automated pipeline of inventory from a large network of operators using Leon Software, SkyAccess is positioned to offer one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date listings of empty leg flights in Europe.

This increased supply directly translates to more options and greater transparency for consumers. SkyAccess operates on a no-membership model, allowing anyone to search and discover available flights without a subscription fee, further lowering the barrier to entry. Travelers whose schedules have some flexibility can now more easily find heavily discounted private flights, making an experience once reserved for the ultra-wealthy more accessible.

However, it is important for prospective flyers to understand the nature of empty leg travel. The destination, date, and departure time are predetermined by the aircraft's primary charter. While the savings are substantial, flexibility on the traveler's part is key, as schedules can sometimes change at the last minute if the original charter is altered. Despite this, for many, the opportunity to fly privately at a fraction of the typical cost is a compelling trade-off.

A Strategic Play in a Competitive Field

This partnership is more than just a technological upgrade; it is a strategic maneuver in the increasingly crowded digital aviation marketplace. Numerous websites, apps, and brokers compete to connect travelers with empty leg flights. However, many rely on manually updated lists or less sophisticated aggregation methods, which can lead to outdated information and a frustrating user experience.

The SkyAccess and Leon Software integration creates a powerful competitive advantage by tackling the supply side of the equation head-on. By plugging directly into the operational heart of charter companies, the partnership ensures a higher fidelity of data and a truly real-time inventory. This makes the SkyAccess marketplace more reliable for travelers and a more efficient sales channel for operators.

This deep integration represents a new phase in the evolution of aviation technology, moving beyond simple listing services to create a connected ecosystem. By solving a core logistical challenge for operators, SkyAccess and Leon Software are not just facilitating transactions but are actively helping to optimize the efficiency of the entire business aviation industry, paving the way for a more sustainable and accessible future for private air travel.