Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane! It’s… Hello Kitty?
EVA Airways’ cute-as-a-button Hello Kitty planes are amazingly popular with flyers and plane enthusiasts, and the airline has gone all-out with the theme, from livery to plasticware, across all levels of service, much to the delight of passengers of all ages. Unfortunately, unless you fly frequently into/out of/around Taiwan, you’re not very likely to see one of the six Hello Kitty jets which fly between Taipei and Tokyo, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Seoul, Guam, Shanghai, Hong Kong and, once again, Paris.
Unless you are flying through Taiwan or a few other cities, this is likely as close as you’ll get to a Hello Kitty plane.
At a recent travel show, we got a look at the “Sanrio Family” Hello Kitty plane, which began flying the three-times-a-week Paris route on October 29th. Well, to be precise, we got to play with a model of the Boing 777-300ER. Sadly, nobody on hand could answer the one burning question we’ve heard from Hello Kitty fans and frequent fliers alike: Do you get Hello Kitty PJs in First Class?
Similar to the Hello Kitty aircraft, the Italian cruise ferry line Moby has partnered with Looney Tunes to feature their cartoon characters across the fleet. Naturally, we started thinking about the marketing genius behind this partnership and how it might be applied in the United States, where cartoon pitchmen sell everything from breakfast cereal to life insurance. Beyond a train named Thomas, we think it would be fun to fly with the Peanuts gang. For once, maybe Charlie Brown would find himself in First Class. Popeye the Sailorman seems like the obvious choice to go sailing with, and we can’t imagine better company on an Amtrak train through the mountains than Yogi Bear and Mr. Ranger Sir!
Italian Cruise Ferry company Moby’s ships are adorned with Looney Tunes ‘toons.
Granted, sometimes the rules and policies we encounter while traveling makes it hard to believe some cartoon character is not already in charge. We are fairly certain The Simpsons’ Mr. Burns is the evil power behind many airline company decisions over the years!
You can see more of the Hello Kitty fleet, inside and out, at:
Your turn: Who are your favorite cartoon characters you would like to see sharing your favorite mode of travel?
More fun flights: Theme Parties at 30,000 Feet on Petergreenberg.com
I’ve heard about these planes and I know a lot of young travellers who’d love to travel on board.
I do wonder whatever happened to the Hooters airline? That is one I unfortunately never got chance to try.
The Hooters airline! I had all but forgotten about that, but I often think the American chain Wing Stop, which uses lots of airplane memorabilia in their decor, is a natural for a partnership deal. Heck, at least the food would be better than most… 😉