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The new services, which represent an additional 1,200 seats, will be operated by Jetstar's seventh A330-200 aircraft to join the Australian-based fleet.

The announcement follows Jetstar Asia's recent announcement that it will commence twice daily services from Singapore to Phuket from December 15.

Jetstar chief executive officer Bruce Buchanan said Thailand was still holding as one of the most popular Asian destinations for Australian and Southeast Asian tourists.

"Thailand is still the second most popular Asian holiday destination for Australians, so we are fortunate to be in the position to add new incremental capacity in time for the popular holiday period," Buchanan said.

"Our additional low-fare services will potentially bring thousands more Australian passengers into Thailand.

"Thailand also remains a high growth and appealing destination for Australian holidaymakers and was the second most popular Asian destination for Australian travellers after Indonesia for the year ending June 2009, with more than 378,000 visitors over the 12 months period.

"Combined with our Melbourne-Bangkok services, the new Phuket services will bring our weekly connections between Australia and Thailand to eight.

"The new services from Australia will commence on the same day as Jetstar Asia's commencement of a double daily service between Singapore and Phuket, together representing over 6,200 new Jetstar seats to Phuket each week from December.

"Our decision to redirect our new capacity to Thailand shows the confidence and commitment we have in this market as a vital member of our ever expanding Asian network," he said.

The new Sydney-Phuket services will be operated by Jetstar's two class A330-200 wide-bodied aircraft.