London’s Biggin Hill airport has this one-day powerhouse for the private aviation world as luxury meets business in this coming together of industry leaders in aviation. We went down to check out ACE25, the Air Charter Expo on for one day and one day only!
We were kindly invited down to review the event and as someone who has recently developed quite the obsession for private jet travel (with a keen interest in Empty legs) I was absolutely in my element.
All the suits would go around talking, doing the deals and making the connections whilst me and my friend were soaking up the luxury experience that these events so often deliver as I indulge in the movie-star lifestyle and fashion this very article which brings such a luxury down to earth and not only makes it affordable, but accessible, but more on that later!
Our event began just down the road from the main entrance to the airport as the event had put on a fleet of chauffeur vehicles that would pick up guests and deliver them to the main entrance to begin.
Being picked up in a swanky private hire Mercedes to be driven to the entrance of this private airport was already the start of quite a surreal experience as we were already sat in a luxurious setting heading towards the expo.
Upon arrival we had your stereotypical expo set-up with halls of exhibitors but also quite a few plans located indoors and even more so outdoors.
There were millions upon millions of pounds of aircraft on display here, so much so that one particular Helicopter booth was handing out free samples of $3000 caviar, so luxury and so prestigious in every regard until we were served up said caviar on a ready salted Pringle… certainly a first for me that one, that’s for sure!
One very popular indoor aircraft was the Dassault Falcon 8X which has been designed and built alongside Dassault Aviation’s fighter aircraft. This jet in particular is an ultra long-range jet and had a queue all day for folks to hop onboard and have a nosey around the rather luxurious and incredible interior.
Such plush interior with so much room and space making it a rather pleasant and spacious flight and when we saw the price tag (between $40-$60 million) it instantly explained why they had kept this one indoors, protected!
With the array of jets on offer we saw quite the variety of private jets from some rather spacious and beautifully wide jets (such as the Challenger CL604) to the rather tight yet still incredible Phenom 300.
There were quite a few jets that surprised me though however in terms of a severe lack of space but with short-haul jets this is usually the case but I’ve had more space on a business class commercial flight than I’d had sitting down in some of these private jets. I’m a sucker for space but it’s great to see the full range of jets on offer for customers of all tastes, budgets and plane size preferences.
Speaking of budgets, let me introduce you to empty leg flights.
Empty leg flights are repositioning flights that operators need to complete with or without passengers. Instead of flying empty, they offer them at steep discounts—often around half the usual rate, sometimes even more.
For travellers who can be flexible on dates and airports, this creates an opportunity to experience private jet travel at a fraction of the cost. The catch is that the schedule serves the aircraft, not the passenger, so spontaneity and adaptability are essential. Bring friends along and divide the cabin cost, and suddenly the price per person edges close to business-class fares on major airlines—only with the full private experience of quiet lounges, no queues, and your own aircraft.
You can keep an eye on a whole variety of empty leg websites and companies to find the airport / time / date that suits you best and off you go on a little private jet adventure.
Some websites offer empty leg flights for 4-6 people for around £900-£1500 in that price bracket which when you split it between your group it really does become a lot cheaper and it’ll be an experience you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
Air Charter Expo comes in handy because you get to see these very jets up close and personal and whilst you won’t be jumping on a Dassault X8 on an empty leg for an affordable rate the Phenom 300 and other jets on the tarmac were certainly within that budget and you can have a look through and decide which jet suits you best.
Thanks to Air Charter Expo for inviting us down and checking out this very cool, unique and luxurious event.
Planes, caviar and good company. I’d say that it was quite the day!
