TRAVEL agent Debbie Firkin is flying high after a dream day trip to Vienna with a set of special passengers -- all her friends and family.

Debbie, aged 27, was thrilled to be able to invite 39 people to join her on a private plane for a 12-hour visit to the Austrian capital.

Debbie, of Leigh Road, in Boothstown, Worsley, is the assistant manager at Lunn Poly in Bury and won the star prize in a national British Airways competition.

She said: "I only had three days to organise who was coming with me, so it was quite frantic, but luckily everyone I asked could come."

Friends and family from Dublin, Liverpool, London and Yorkshire, along with Debbie's 84-year-old grandmother and six-year-old nephew, met at Manchester Airport at 7.30am on Saturday, where they boarded a private jet complete with leather seats, free drinks and personal cabin crew.

They departed on the two-and-a-quarter hour journey at 9.30am, and were greeted in Vienna by an Austrian Tourist Board guide, who took them on a coach tour of the city.

They also visited a palace, explored the city, sampled the local bars and had a meal before returning to the airport.

Debbie said: "It was a long, but wonderful day. The best part was us all being together on our own plane. Because we all live in different parts of the country, it's rare that we all get together. And the fantastic service really made us feel special.

"Vienna is a beautiful cosmopolitan city. Nobody from our party had been before -- now we all want to go back!"