While you are up in the air struggling for leg space as the passenger sitting next to you snores in your ear, pause for a moment and think how different it would be if you were rich – travelling on a luxury executive private jet.

Here is how it would be different: leather seats, a top-of-the-range entertainment system, an open bar and all the leg space you could ever want.

You could pre-order a gourmet main course specially prepared for you. It would be freshly cooked in the small but fully equipped kitchen by hostesses trained in the culinary arts.

If you felt slightly chilly after a lunch of caviar and champagne, you would be given a cashmere blanket to cover up. If you needed to catch up on your work, there would be enough power sockets to set up an office in the clouds.

The lavatory would be spacious and lavishly decorated. You would not have to walk in sideways to fit. It would not smell of stale cabin air and you would not need to turn the handle with a tissue: in executive travel, it is never grimy.

Oh, and you could avoid a reclining-seat war with the passenger behind you: a footballer could dribble comfortably.

Air X will pamper clients with a good night’s sleep on board. It will be as comfortable as sleeping in your bed at home

In fact, as it happens, footballers are regular passengers on these luxury flights. Among them, for example, is the Southampton football team. The team engages the Air X aviation company headquartered in Malta for executive flight services.

Southampton FC travels from one away game to the next by means of Air X’s Boeing 737 jets, shuttling the top players and several tons of equipment.

“We can take up to five tons of cargo in the rear hold alone,” Air X chairman John Matthews said.

In the near future, Air X has plans to pamper clients with a good night’s sleep on board.

“It will be as comfortable as sleeping in your bed at home,” Mr Matthews promised.

Apart from premiership teams, current frequent flyers on Air X’s nine aircraft include diplomatic envoys, 125 celebrities on repeat business, officials from four governments and members of three royal families who hire one of Air X’s smaller aircraft or a B737.

Although they would all have special requests, none are too extravagant. “Nowadays, charter jets are like executive taxis – people get on, fly and get there, sparing themselves the hassles of travelling.” He did say that football teams always made one request: no alcohol on board. Celebrations are teetotal, “even if they win”, Mr Matthews chuckles.

Air X employs 45 pilots, 25 cabin crew and 25 staff to operate its luxury flights. Nice, London, Moscow and Saudi Arabia are the most popular destinations.

In 2014, the Air X crews logged 3,322 air hours and 1,858 flights.

What about the little matter of cost?

It depends on the flying zone because this determines landing fees. You can look at paying anything between €5,000 and €8,000 an hour, excluding landing fees.

“But you have to divide that amount by the number of passengers on board. It is actually very competitive to any business class carrier,” Mr Matthews points out.

For the financial year ended December 2013, Air X registered revenues in excess of €20 million from charter flight operations.

Inside a luxury cabin on Air X, an aviation company headquartered in Malta. Inset: chairman John Matthews. Photos: Paul Spiteri Lucas

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