Hello Kitty jet to take off in S'pore

Singapore fans of the cartoon cat with no mouth will soon have a big reason to smile.

A Hello Kitty-themed jet operated by Taiwanese airline EVA Air is coming to town as part of a new flight service between Singapore, Taipei and Houston, starting on Friday.

There are only seven such jets worldwide, and the Lion City will be the first country in South-east Asia to host a Hello Kitty jet.

Passengers on these jets will get to enjoy exclusive travel items such as Hello Kitty-themed boarding passes and luggage tags, and specially designed Hello Kitty meals and cutlery served by cabin crew in themed aprons.

Yesterday, EVA Air unveiled an exclusive theme for its Singapore jet, the EVA Air Hello Kitty Shining Star jet. The new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will feature not only Hello Kitty, but also Sanrio cartoon characters My Melody and Little Twin Stars Kiki and Lala. It will make its first flight from Singapore to Taipei on June 21.

EVA Air president Austin Cheng said: "With overwhelming response to our chartered Hello Kitty flights (to Taipei) in December last year, it was a natural decision for us to bring in a permanent Hello Kitty flight to Singapore."

The idea of the Hello Kitty jets was initiated by EVA Air chairman Chang Kuo-wei, who wanted to "make flying fun". The first such jet was launched in 2005, and now flies between Taipei and destinations in Japan.

At the launch, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance Josephine Teo said: "Innovation is a very important feature of any air hub that plans to stay at the top... We welcome all forms of innovation at our airport, and we welcome (the Hello Kitty jet) in the same spirit that we welcomed the first A-380."

timgoh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 16, 2015.
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