Virgin Atlantic has launched its first route to Thailand, with direct flights between London Heathrow and Phuket beginning on October 18 as the island enters its high tourism season.
The airline marked the inaugural service with a celebration shared on its official Facebook page. Images showed crew members holding Thai flags alongside performers dressed in traditional Thai khon costumes.
The seasonal service operates three times a week, with flights from London departing on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Return services from Phuket operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The route is scheduled to run until March 26, 2027, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
The flights use the numbers VS214 from London to Phuket and VS215 for the return journey. The inaugural flight departed Heathrow on October 18 and arrived in Phuket the following morning.
The published schedule lists the London departure at 3.45pm, arriving in Phuket at 9.55am the next day. Return flights are scheduled to leave Phuket at 11.45am and arrive at Heathrow at 7.25pm. Flight times are approximately 12 hours and 10 minutes outbound and 13 hours and 40 minutes on the return journey.
Virgin Atlantic operates the route using a Boeing 787-9 aircraft configured with 258 seats across three cabins: 31 in Upper Class, 35 in Premium and 192 in Economy. The airline offers onboard meals, drinks and entertainment, alongside Wi-Fi availability.
The aircraft’s current cabin configuration may change as part of Virgin Atlantic’s planned 787-9 refurbishment. Boeing has announced plans for a redesigned layout featuring 44 Upper Class seats, 56 Premium seats and 127 Economy seats. The revised configuration is intended to increase capacity in the premium cabins.
Virgin Atlantic’s launch adds to several new international connections serving Thailand. Chinese airline Lucky Air launched direct flights between Kunming and Udon Thani in August, with services operating twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In September, Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air introduced a direct route to Bangkok, operating three flights a week.
Earlier in October, LOT Polish Airlines launched direct flights between Warsaw and Bangkok. The service operated three times a week from October 7 to 25, with frequency scheduled to increase to five flights a week from October 26 for Thailand’s high season.
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