Note: I took this a flight a couple years ago, but wanted to share with you what a typical Hello Kitty flight looks like.
I arrived at Taipei Airport excited to finally fly my first Hello Kitty flight. First launched in 2012, the Hello Kitty flights have been a huge hit in Taiwan and around Asia and I was curious to see what the fuss was about.
The Hello Kitty experience starts at check in as Eva Air has a self-serve Hello Kitty check in area.
However, since I was flying in business class, I opted to check in at the manned business class counter instead.
Upon passing through security and immigration, I headed to the Infinity lounge to grab a quick snack before my flight.
Soon it was time to board, and I headed down to the gate, and onto the awaiting Hello Kitty A330 Hello Kitty Jet.
The A330 features an older generation business class product in a 2-2-2 configuration, which means if you want direct aisle access, I’d suggest selecting a seat in the middle section.
The angled flat Premium Laurel business class seat has plenty of legroom, especially for a relatively short flight.
At the front of the plane is a full sized Hello Kitty picture, which eerily stares at passengers seating in the middle of the first row.
Each seat is fitted with a full sized Hello Kitty pillow and the seat pocket is lined with a Hello Kitty safety card and magazines.
Once I finished settling in my seat, a flight attendant came by and offered me a glass of bubbly.
After takeoff, the flight attendants put on their Hello Kitty aprons and took my breakfast order. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get a clear picture, but here’s what the uniform typically looks like.
On this flight, I was delighted to see a menu from Ding Tai Fung, famous for its Xiaolongbao, a type of steamed dumpling. I was first served a small shrimp appetizer and Chinese pork soup.
This was followed by the steamed dumplings, which retained much of its juicy soup flavor, not a small feet considering we were flying at 40,000 feet.
After breakfast, a flight attendant came around asking if we would like to purchase anything from the onboard store. There’s pamphlet listing various Hello Kitty souvenirs you can buy, ranging from the normal to the more unique, such as your very own Hello Kitty apron.
The bathroom had various hello kitty themed sanitizing products including Hello Kitty toilet paper.
I then watched a few TV episodes and the movie Wolf of Wall Street until we began our descent and landed in Tokyo.
Overall, I had an enjoyable my short flight to Tokyo. Besides the huge Hello Kitty picture in the front of the cabin, most of the branding was done in a subtle way, which I’m sure most of the business class passengers prefer.
