EVA Air (Taipei) accepted this brand new Airbus A330-302X registered as B-16331 (msn 1254) on October 20, 2011. Following delivery , the airliner has been rolled out at the Taipei base in this new generation “Hello Kitty” special color scheme. Two additional Airbus A330-302X aircraft with two additional designs will also be introduced in the coming weeks.

Hello Kitty is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. Hello Kitty is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character’s first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States in 1976. The character is a staple of the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture.

The Hello Kitty trademark has spread globally; Sanrio earned over $1 billion annually in sales outside of Japan, as of 2003. Although mainly aimed at the pre-adolescent female market, the Hello Kitty product range goes all the way from purses, stickers and pen sets to toasters, televisions, clothing, massagers, and computer equipment. It has a cult-like following among adults as well, especially in Asia, where Hello Kitty adorns cars, purses, jewelry and many other high-end consumer products. Several Hello Kitty TV series, targeted towards young children, have also been produced. Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances. Her fame as a recurring Sanrio character has led to the creation of two officially licensed Hello Kitty theme parks, Harmonyland and the indoor Sanrio Puroland.

In October 2005, EVA Air launched a campaign with Japanese company Sanrio to create the original “Hello Kitty Jet,” featuring the popular Japanese character. Using an Airbus A330-200, the exterior adopted a livery of Hello Kitty characters. A year later, the airline launched a second Hello Kitty Jet. The aircraft featured a Hello Kitty motif on exterior and interior fittings and features. Both planes were used to serve Japanese destinations, and from mid–July 2007, also the Taipei-Hong Kong route. The original Hello Kitty livery was retired in 2009, but in 2011 EVA Air announced its return in a redesigned form to mark the carrier’s 20th anniversary and renew interest in Japanese tourism.

EVA Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photos: Manuel Negrerie.