The private jet boom that took off during the pandemic has hit serious turbulence. Verijet—the Vero Beach-based charter carrier that promised “personal air mobility” with sleek Cirrus Vision jets—is shutting down for good. At the end of October, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, signaling liquidation rather than restructuring, and canceling all future flights.
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It’s a swift and dramatic fall for one of private aviation’s buzziest startups. Founded in 2020 by aerospace entrepreneur Richard Kane, Verijet expanded rapidly through the U.S., then into the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands. In 2023, it ranked as the nation’s 13th-largest charter and fractional operator, not bad for a four-year-old airline built around single-engine, seven-seat jets.
But behind the scenes, the numbers didn’t fly. The company’s bankruptcy filing shows $38.7 million in liabilities, including more than $10.5 million owed to jet card customers— individuals and corporations who prepaid for flight hours. Lawsuits from clients, lessors and even former employees piled up throughout 2024 and 2025, many alleging canceled flights and unreturned deposits.
Then, in late September, founder Richard Kane died suddenly of a heart attack at age 60. Without its driving force, and already buckling under debt and litigation, Verijet collapsed within weeks.
Customers like Sam Crigman, who paid $147,812 for a 50-hour jet card, say the carrier had already been unreliable for months, with “numerous delays, canceled flights, and countless excuses.” Another customer, Brandon Kruse, was awarded $328,000 in April 2025 after Verijet failed to deliver on contracted flights.
Verijet’s brief statement following that judgment tried to strike a conciliatory tone, saying its “jet card program does not offer guaranteed service” but that it had “taken this experience to heart.” For many travelers left stranded or out hundreds of thousands of dollars, that’s cold comfort.
In an industry that saw pandemic-era optimism fuel unsustainable expansion, Verijet’s implosion joins a growing list of 2025 aviation casualties — from Play and Braathens to Ravn Alaska and Air Belgium. The skies are getting rougher for boutique carriers that flew too close to the sun.