{"id":954,"date":"2015-04-07T06:37:01","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T06:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diningtraveler.com\/?p=954"},"modified":"2015-04-07T15:17:21","modified_gmt":"2015-04-07T15:17:21","slug":"hello-kitty-plane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diningtraveler.com\/2015\/04\/hello-kitty-plane.html","title":{"rendered":"My EVA Air Hello Kitty Plane Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
I first heard of the EVA Air Hello Kitty Plane experience at the New York Times Travel Show this past January.\u00a0 Taiwan tourism and EVA Air featured the model plane in their exhibition. \u00a0It was both cute and surreal at the same time. \u00a0I didn\u2019t think much of it since I\u2019m not a huge Hello Kitty fan but thought the concept was pretty cute and original.<\/p>\n Fast\u00a0forward to my recent trip to Taiwan.\u00a0 I missed my flight back to Okinawa and had to purchase a last minute ticket to Tokyo in order to make my connecting flight back to Washington on time.\u00a0 The most convenient and cost effective route from Taipei to Tokyo was EVA Air 198. \u00a0The only thought on my mind when booking my ticket was to make\u00a0it home on time. Later that evening, I logged in to check-in online and noticed I was going to be on the \u201cHello Kitty Plane\u201d.\u00a0 I thought that perhaps it was a marketing ploy. Not the case.<\/p>\n As I checked in at the EVA Air counter, I began to witness all the Hello Kitty mania!\u00a0 It was everywhere, to include the print on my boarding pass.\u00a0 As I walked to customs, I spot a whole Hello Kitty Plane display to include a dedicated self-check in counter area.\u00a0 I must admit I am not a big fan of pink and girly themes, however, there\u2019s something about the whole scene that automatically makes you smile.\u00a0 With young and old alike taking pictures and looking genuinely happy, the environment is quite festive at Taipei International Airport.\u00a0 Long lines and inefficient check in are a thought of the past when you see the white cat with the big pink bow!<\/p>\n Walking through the airport, I was sucked into the world of Hello Kitty to include a large store with everything Hello Kitty, a whole boarding area with pink chairs with the iconic pink bows, and walls lined with scenes of the cartoon.\u00a0 It was absolute cute overload.\u00a0 I think the positive atmosphere and seeing people just thrilled to be part of the experience automatically put me in a great mood to fly.<\/p>\n I arrive to my gate and there it is: the Boeing 777-300 Hello Kitty Plane.\u00a0 The airline has been flying with this theme since 2011.\u00a0 This collection is the second generation of the collaboration with Sanrio Japan (the creator of Hello Kitty).\u00a0 The current EVA Air Hello Kitty Plane fleet consists of six different aircrafts that travel all over the world. \u00a0Each model has a different theme. The model I boarded was the \u201cHello Kitty Speed Puff\u201d.\u00a0 According to EVA Air, this theme draws inspiration from East Asian folklore of the \u201csomersault clouds\u201d.\u00a0 For more about the other designs, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n When you board the plane, you are completely drawn into Hello Kitty mode.\u00a0 Each individual in-flight entertainment screen is playing the cartoon.\u00a0 The business class section has huge embroidered theme pillows and the economy class has smaller pillows with the print with the head rest liner to match.\u00a0 I\u2019m nonchalant, thinking to myself \u201coh, this is cute, my friends SpicyCandyDC<\/a> and A Loyal Love<\/a> would love this\u201d.\u00a0 Now comes the part when I become a convert\u2026..<\/p>\n My turning point of \u201cOh, this Hello Kitty Plane concept is kinda cute\u201d to \u201cWow, this is pretty amazing\u201d was the meal service.\u00a0 The flight attendants don a pink Hello Kitty Plane apron and serve my meal. Every little detail of the meal is in line with the theme 100%.\u00a0 From the plastic silverware with Hello Kitty heads to the carrots in my noodles cut in a bow shape, it is everywhere!\u00a0 Sometimes when food comes together with a theme it loses its quality as the focus is on the theme.\u00a0 Not the case on this flight.\u00a0 The noodles with shrimp accompanied by fresh fruit was the best meal I\u2019ve had in economy class in a while!<\/p>\n The verdict:<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 If you do plan to come to Taiwan, look into the experience!\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have plans to come to Taiwan, you need to add it to your list! \u00a0The city is pretty amazing, I left with the desire to return and explore the rest of the country.\u00a0 The flight boarded very fast, the seats on the Economy plus are extremely comfortable with plenty of legroom.\u00a0 The food was delicious and the attendants were very sweet and patient, especially with everyone wanting to take photos.\u00a0 The only point for improvement was the check-in counter.\u00a0 Being a Premier Star Alliance member, I am allowed to do priority check-in however, I was rerouted to the economy check-in which was pretty slow.\u00a0 However, the representative at the counter did go out of his way to link my United flight to my EVA Air flight although on different reservations which saved me time. Time I used to write this post.\u00a0 Stay tuned to\u00a0my Instagram<\/a> account as I will be giving away a special item I purchased on the flight.\u00a0 Have you flown the EVA Air Hello Kitty Plane? What did you think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I first heard of the EVA Air Hello Kitty Plane experience at the New York Times Travel Show this past January.\u00a0 Taiwan tourism and EVA Air featured the model plane in their exhibition. \u00a0It was both cute and surreal at the same time. \u00a0I didn\u2019t think much of it since I\u2019m not a huge Hello […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,2,80],"tags":[228,229,230,227],"class_list":{"0":"post-954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-air-travel","8":"category-travel","9":"category-travel-blog","10":"tag-air-travel","11":"tag-eva-air","12":"tag-hello-kitty","13":"tag-travel"},"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>
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