Elevation for private-jets firm as it lands U2 gig

Private-jet firm Air X Charter has landed one of the most lucrative and glamorous jobs in the business — flying rock band U2 from gig to gig.

The nine-year-old business will transport Bono (pictured) and the rest on its European tour in July and August.

The U2 website suggests the tour has already almost sold out.

The contract is a coup for company founder and executive chairman John Matthews.

The 36-year-old has been in the airline business since he was 19 when he started washing aircraft at Redhill Aerodrome. Air X operates 17 passenger aircraft — including the world’s largest charter-operated private jet, the Airbus A340-300 — from bases in Malta, England and Austria.

The firm has grown rapidly, having had just four planes four years ago. It forecasts sales of around £80 million this year. It recently said it plans to expand into America and into the cargo transport sector.

A stock-market flotation is a possibility in the near future.