Virgin Atlantic Launching Flights To Phuket, Thailand

Intro

Virgin Atlantic has been shifting around their route network for the past few years. With more flights opening up to the Middle East, and certain routes in Asia being cut, they have now announced their latest route. And honestly, it has very little downside...

The Details

Beginning next fall, Virgin Atlantic is set to start its first flights to Thailand. More specifically, the airline will begin serving London Heathrow to Phuket 3x weekly, utilizing a Boeing 787-9. This will represent the only direct flight between London Heathrow and the tourist destination of Phuket.

Beginning October 18th, 2026, the schedule will be as follows:

VS214: London-Phuket, departing at 12:00 PM and arriving at 07:10 (+1 day)

VS215: Phuket-London, departing at 09:20 and arriving at 16:00

It's interesting to see the 787 deployed instead of the A339 or A350

I think what stands out to me most is the fact that Virgin Atlantic is set to use the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route, with a 1-1-1 configuration in business, and a 3-3-3 in economy. For such a touristic destination, I would have expected the high-density A350 to be utilized, but what do I know...

My Thoughts

I've gotta be honest, this is quite a smart route addition by Virgin Atlantic. Why? Well, there isn't as much traffic from UK-based airlines to Thailand as you might expect. BA just resumed its Gatwick service to Bangkok, and TUI flies from Gatwick to Phuket, but VS will be the only UK carrier to serve Thailand from Heathrow.

With the horrid winter weather in the UK, and families looking to escape for the holidays, I have to presume that this 3x weekly service will at least break even. It's a low-risk route, and with not many options left for the airline, it makes sense.

The only thing that I don't quite understand is this: this is mostly a point-to-point traffic route, and they have scheduled this route weirdly. People in general don't want to arrive 7 hours before they can check into a hotel, and they don't want to leave from their hotel in Phuket at 6 am.

In my eyes, the departure should be landing in Phuket around midday, and the flight back to London should depart around 2 pm, getting in at 8:40 pm. But there is probably more going on behind the scenes about aircraft utilization, which we don't see...

Final Thoughts

It's a bit of an exciting day for those from the United Kingdom, as Virgin Atlantic has just announced that they will begin serving Phuket from London Heathrow 3x weekly as of October 18th, 2026. This would seem like a route that would be served, but surprisingly, it isn't yet. I would expect some award space to be available, especially in premium cabins, as Phuket isn't known to be a high-yield destination...