How can I travel via not-regularly-scheduled aircraft?

Question

What are some ways to find transportation via aircraft other than regularly scheduled common carriers?

For example:

• hiring private pilots (with commercial license) for short hops in general aviation aircraft?
• extra space on charter flights?
• extra space on private jets?

I would be interested in hearing any personal accounts of such travel.

Answer 1

For private charters, the industry term for what you are describing is "empty leg". A quick internet search will bring up a number of sites that list empty legs.

The NY Times had an article about this recently: http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/travel/fly-a-private-jet-at-public-prices.html