By James Wilkinson

Hot on the heels of successful launch flights to Los Angeles earlier this year, V Australia has added a second international destination to its route map, following the inauguration of services to Phuket, Thailand.

V Australia has taken off for Phuket, Thailand with a celebration attended by many famous faces

In the usual Virgin flamboyance, the launch flight on Sunday (Nov 22) was attended by celebrities and dignitaries, including Peter Morrissey, Layne Beachley, Kirk Pengilly and Tania Zaetta, with celebrations both at the airport and in the air.

A special farewell event at Brisbane Airport prior to the launch featured special Thai cuisine, tropical cocktails, dancers and decorations and a brief presentation.

Onboard the celebration continued, particularly in the carrier’s luxurious business class cabin, where the champagne flowed and guests were treated to 5-star cuisine from notable Sydney chef Luke Mangan, who recently became V Australia’s culinary expert.

Not just in business class, a packed launched flight meant there was a party in all three classes of the brand new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

“With our first flight full to overflowing it’s obvious that Queenslanders have been waiting sometime for a direct service to Phuket and V Australia is pleased to be filling that gap,”said Virgin Blue Airlines Group CEO, Brett Godfrey.

“As an added bonus, whether travellers are seeking a budget or premium product or somewhere in between, V Australia has got it covered and best of all, no matter which cabin they are travelling in, the service will always be first class.”

V Australia’s rapid expansion continues in December with the launch of Melbourne-Los Angeles, Melbourne-Phuket and Sydney-Nadi flights.