ONEflight International Suspends Flights in September 2026, With 12 Federal Customer Lawsuits Filed by 28 October
Why It MattersThe case shows how a broker holding prepaid customer money and relying on third-party operators concentrates risk on customers, while sponsors and partners reprice their exposure once payment concerns surface.
What happened
ONEflight International (OFI), the private aviation company behind the BAJIT booking platform, suspended flight activity in September 2026 "for the next 30 days, or until further notice" while it assessed its operations and financial position. The pause was confirmed on 16 September. By 28 October, neither a completed restart nor an agreed customer repayment program had been publicly verified.
By 28 October, 12 federal customer lawsuits had been identified. They include claims against ONEflight entities, founder and chief executive Ferren Rajput, and various executives. One also names television personality Robert Herjavec, who denies the alleged equity relationship and knowledge of the company's finances. Jeremy Ricks filed the first customer case identified in the review on 20 September.
The company had entered 2026 announcing $232 million in 2025 revenue (8 January) and, on 23 January, a multi-year partnership naming it official private aviation partner of McLaren's Mastercard Formula 1 team. The Denver Business Journal reported on 25 September that McLaren had suspended the sponsorship. On 15 October, golf reporter Alan Blondin reported that the PGA Tour had separated from ONEflight, citing a Tour official; the Myrtle Beach Classic was to continue in 2027.
In August, ONEflight announced a 35% surcharge for contracted-rate cardholders and withdrew it within hours after customer feedback. A September investigation by the PJCC described operator-payment concerns and an employee resignation, and reported a July sale of $2.29 million in future receipts to Swift Funding Source for $1.65 million before fees and deductions, followed by an August UCC filing. Rajput disputed the employee's interpretation, said marketing spending was being reduced, and described the filing as retaliation over a predatory-lending complaint.
Company structure and products
ONEflight dates its launch to 2010. BAJIT (Book-A-Jet), launched in 2017 according to company materials, was its aircraft-search and booking platform. ONEflight described itself as an indirect air carrier arranging flights performed by certificated operators, not an owner of a fleet of hundreds of aircraft; the FAA registry lists Gulfstream N510FR as registered to ONEflight International Inc.
Its 2026 BAJCard brochure advertised Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers tied to 25, 50 and 100 hours, with annual dues of $15,000, $25,000 and $40,000. Other products included deposit-based JetCards.
Founder history and endorsers
Rajput pleaded guilty in Colorado in 2006 to failing to collect and pay employee taxes and failing to pay employer taxes in connection with the mortgage brokerage Altus Financial, involving a tax loss exceeding $1.1 million. He was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on 15 June 2007, with restitution ordered.
Herjavec, announced as a brand ambassador in December 2019, said he was no longer an ambassador and demanded the company stop using his name and likeness. A representative for Kevin O'Leary, announced in June 2022, said he had never invested in ONEflight.
Industry impact & what to watch
A broker that sells prepaid hours or card memberships but flies on other companies' certificated aircraft sits between two sets of obligations: customers who have paid in advance, and operators who must be paid to fly. When payments to operators come under strain, the customer's prepaid balance is the exposed asset, and the broker's own balance sheet is the only buffer. The sequence here, from a surcharge reversal in August to a suspension in September, shows how quickly that buffer can be tested once confidence slips.
The sponsorship and ambassador fallout shows a second channel. McLaren and the PGA Tour stepped back, and named endorsers distanced themselves, which turns a payments problem into a reputational one for any brand that lent its name to a charter or card programme. For the segment, the practical lesson is that a prominent partnership is not a substitute for checking who holds customer funds and who operates the aircraft.
The open items are the ones the record names: whether flights restart, whether a repayment programme is agreed, and how the 12 federal cases proceed against the company, its chief executive and other executives.
