Taiwan-based carrier EVA Air has unveiled a second generation of Hello Kitty jets. The brand-new Airbus A330-300 jetliner wears a special livery featuring legendary Japanese cartoon character and pop culture icon Hello Kitty. The unveiling was celebrated on Oct. 27 at a Happy Magic Party in a specially decorated Evergreen Aviation Technologies hangar adjacent to Taipei, Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport.
EVA said, the airline is creating three new Hello Kitty Jets as a special encore for its 20th anniversary this year (2011) and has selected new Airbus 330-300s for the transformation. White with the exception of green tails and the EVA logo, the aircraft are giant airborne canvases for Hello Kitty and her friends.
The airline is applying the character’s theme also to the design of more than 100 in-flight service items. At check-in, passengers on these aircraft are greeted by Hello Kitty boarding passes and baggage stickers. Onboard, they’ll discover Hello Kitty headrest covers, tissue, paper cups, utensils, milk bottles, snacks, hand-washing liquid, hand lotion, meals and ice cream. Flight attendants wear Hello Kitty aprons and special insignias on their uniforms. And at intervals, EVA will offer a series of limited-edition Hello Kitty duty-free products, enabling fans to acquire collectibles and enjoy happy journeys at the same time.
The new logojets are themed Magic Jet, Apple Jet and Global Jet.
The newly unveiled Magic Jet has a Hello Kitty with Magic Stars concept. Perched on the fuselage, Hello Kitty waves her magic wand, sprinkling shining stars and heralding the start of a happy journey.
The concept that inspires the Apple Jet is that the apple is a symbol for Hello Kitty. Along the fuselage of this aircraft, a colorful display of red and green apples suggests the teamwork between EVA and Hello Kitty.
The third aircraft, the Global Jet tells the story of Hello Kitty around the world and illustrates EVA’s role in bringing the world closer together. Well-known landmarks from different countries decorate the length of the plane while Hello Kitty extends an open invitation to join her on her world travels.
The Magic Jet was introduced on EVA flights between Taipei and Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan on Oct. 31. The Apple Jet and Global Jet are scheduled to debut later this year on EVA’s routes from Taipei to Fukuoka, Tokyo and Seoul.
These three new aircraft are EVA’s first Airbus A330-300s. Each one is configured with 30 seats in Premium Laurel Class and 279 in Economy Class. The in-seat audio video on demand (AVOD) entertainment system has been updated so that, along with the Hello Kitty theme, passengers enjoy a simpler, more user-friendly interface and upgrades that enhance use of personal devices. The 15.4-inch touch screen enables passengers to browse photos and listen to their favorite music using Photo Viewer, PDF viewer and Media Player on personal devices.
EVA equipped its A330-300s with the latest Panasonic eX2 AVOD. In addition to a 3D data display system that presents flight information, the system offers a new Connecting Gate Information (CGI) function that allows passengers to check information about connecting flights, arrival terminals and baggage carousel location.
More at evakitty.evaair.com
Source: EVA