About · An Independent Documentary Series

Why we follow the money

Private aviation is covered as a lifestyle. We cover it as a business — because the business is the better story.

The Idea01
"Every jet you see take off is a set of contracts, costs, and decisions someone would rather you didn't look at too closely. We look closely."

The Empty Leg exists because the business of private aviation — the economics of empty flights, the ventures that promised to democratize the cabin, the true cost of keeping an airplane crewed and airworthy — is chronically under-covered. The lifestyle gets the cameras. The balance sheet gets a shrug.

Each documentary starts with a question a viewer could reasonably ask ("why would anyone fly a jet empty?") and answers it with evidence: court records, filings, transaction data, operator interviews on the record, and named industry research. Estimates are labeled as estimates. Company claims are described as claims. When we can't verify something, we say so on screen.

Independence02
What we do
  • Make evidence-led documentaries and briefings about the business of private aviation
  • Publish the source ledger behind every film
  • Build free educational tools with published assumptions
  • Disclose every sponsored or affiliate relationship where you can see it
  • Correct mistakes publicly, dated, on the record
What we don't do
  • Sell, broker, or arrange charter, aircraft, or flights — we hold no FAA certificate and no brokerage authority
  • Give financial, tax, or purchase advice
  • Represent any company we cover, or accept payment to change an editorial conclusion
  • Publish claims we can't source

Conflict policy: partners never see cuts before publication, never shape conclusions, and are declined when a relationship would compromise coverage of their category. The full policy lives in Sources & Standards.

Talk to us

Tips, corrections, partnerships

Editorial tips and on-the-record interviews: editorial@theemptyleg.co · everything else via the contact page.

Contact Partner With Us