Category Archives: EVA Air

EVA Air unveils its fourth Airbus A330 Hello Kitty logojet today

EVA Air (Taipei) today (May 23) unveiled its fourth and latest “Hello Kitty” logojet on its Airbus A330-203 B-16311 (msn 693). B-16311 operated its first revenue service to Hong Kong this morning. B-16311 is likely to be called “Kitty loves music”.

On April 5, 2012 EVA Air announced it would begin serving two more gateways with its Hello Kitty jets on May 23, 2012. The airline will use two of its new character-themed Airbus A330-300s on its close-in Taipei Songshan – Tokyo Haneda and Songshan – Shanghai Hongqiao routes. EVA is also hard at work with Sanrio to give two Airbus 330-200s colorful Hello Kitty Jet makeovers, which will up the airline’s fleet of the cheerfully painted second-generation aircraft from three to five and enable more passengers to enjoy the themed flights. In addition, it has made Hello Kitty Jet information available in Japanese, Korean and English on its dedicated website at http://evakitty.evaair.com . EVA launched the website in Chinese in October 2011.

The airline unveiled the Magic Jet, Apple Jet and Global Jet late last year to enthusiastic response from passengers and fans worldwide. The first of the transformed A330-200s was introduced on May 23, 2012 and the second on June 22, 2012. During the one-month interval, the airline will temporarily serve its Taipei Taoyuan/Tokyo Narita (BR2198/2197) and Taipei Taoyuan/Hong Kong (BR857/858) routes with aircraft clad in standard EVA livery.

On the new Hello Kitty Jet route between Taipei Songshan and Tokyo Haneda, the themed aircraft will make two trips a day, flights BR192/BR191 and BR190/189. Hello Kitty Jet service from Songshan to Shanghai Hongqiao, flights BR772/771, will operate six times a week, excluding Tuesdays. With these additions, EVA’s Hello Kitty Jets will fly to two Taipei airports, Taoyuan and Songshan, two Tokyo airports, Narita and Haneda, Fukuoka, Hokkaido, Shanghai’s Hongqiao, Guam, Seoul’s Incheon International Airport and Hong Kong.

Top and Bottom Copyright Photos: Manuel Negrerie.

Middle Copyright Photos: EVA Air.

EVA Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Hot New Photos Slide Show: CLICK HERE

EVA Air to add seven additional Boeing 777-300 ERs

EVA Air (Taipei) today (May 8) finalized an order for three additional Boeing 777-300 ERs (Extended Range) airplanes. The order also includes purchase rights for an additional four airplanes.

In addition to the Boeing order for three 777-300 ERs, EVA Air will also lease four 777-300 ERs from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), adding a total of seven new 777-300 ER airplanes to its long-haul twin-aisle fleet. EVA Air currently operates 15 777-300 ERs.

Delivery of the aircraft from GECAS’ existing order book with Boeing is scheduled for 2014.

GECAS currently leases 10 wide-body aircraft to EVA Air including six Airbus A330-200s and four Boeing 747-400SF freighters.

EVA Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE

EVA Air is accepted to join the Star Alliance

EVA Air (Taipei) and the Star Alliance have announced the Chief Executive Board (CEB) of the Star Alliance have unanimously accepted the membership application of EVA Air. According to the alliance, “this decision underscores the Alliance’s long term strategy of seeking network growth and providing access to new markets which show strong economic potential and development.”

The integration process will now begin, with the respective teams at EVA Air and Star Alliance commencing the work which needs to be completed before a new airline can join the Star Alliance network. Air China will be assisting in this process as the mentor airline.

EVA Air’s network of 62 destinations will add Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Surabaya in Indonesia as unique airports to the Star alliance network. In addition, Taiwan’s geographic location adds to the quality of the Star Alliance hubs in Asia, it has the shortest average distance to all major cities in the Asia-Pacific region. In total, the network of 30 airlines (the current 26 and four future members) will offer more than 22,000 daily flights to 1,345 destinations in 191 countries.

In other news, the company is planning to place an order for seven additional Boeing 777-300 ERs according to a report by Flightglobal.

EVA Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE

EVA Air introduces a new generation “Hello Kitty” logojet

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