Pack your bags for the cutest journey of your life. The Taiwanese airline EVA Air is flying to Chicago with its official Hello Kitty themed carrier service.
Dubbed the Hello Kitty Shining Star Jet, the airline has painted the colourful cartoon cast on the outside of a Boeing 777-300ER as part of its collaboration with the Japanese animation studio Sanrio. The second generation of EVA Hello Kitty jets will fly travellers from Chicago and the Midwest to destinations in Northeast and Southeast Asia and China, while being surrounded by adorable animation characters. Even the cabin crew wear special Hello Kitty uniforms.
The theme continues in the interior, with the iconic logo appearing on headrests, pillows, airsickness bags and even the toilet paper. At mealtimes, devoted fans can chow down on Hello Kitty grilled vegetables and food shaped like the famous feline. The level of detail in the themed flights have won warm reviews from frequent fliers for injecting a little fun into the journey.
The inaugural Shining Star Jet flight took off from O’Hare International Airport on 31 May. The addition of three new Hello Kitty non-stop flights between Chicago and Taipei increases the frequency of this route to a daily service for peak summer months.
Hello Kitty isn't the only themed airplane you can spot in the skies. Canadian airline WestJet have a plane painted for Disney's Frozen, while you can take a Star Wars flight with Nippon Airways. For the release of the second Hobbit movie, Air New Zealand also got in on the action with painting the dragon Smaug over one of its aircrafts. EVA plans to introduce a total of four new livery themes this year, including Friendship Bows which will be launched later this month.
