Taiwan-based airline EVA Air is back with a "sweet and joyful" tradition — and one of the more interesting inflight experiences you'll ever see. This week, the carrier debuted its latest aircraft adorned in Hello Kitty livery. The decked-out Boeing 777-300ER touched down Wednesday night at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD), and it will be making three weekly appearances at the hub going forward.
This freshly painted 777 is EVA's fourth Hello Kitty-themed aircraft, and this one is nicknamed the "Besties Jet." Like prior generations of the cartoon-centric plane, this wide-body features several famous Sanrio characters, from Hello Kitty herself to My Melody and Kuromi.
Unlike some of the other eccentric liveries you'll see on the exteriors of commercial planes, the Hello Kitty theme runs much deeper than a paint job. It shows up in almost every aspect of the inflight service.
Fittingly, the jet arrived to significant fanfare in Chicago on Wednesday night. It started with a water salute as the aircraft pulled up to the gate, and there were excited gasps from travelers and fans as they got their first glimpse of the jet.
But that was only the beginning of the party.
Inside O'Hare's Terminal 5, shades of pink, bright lights, music and food made the occasion unmistakable. This was not your average inaugural flight gateside party.
EVA Air, known for its high-end inflight meal service, offered passengers a taste of its culinary team's skills with a mouthwatering array of hors d'oeuvres. EVA's catering team offered dishes like savory scallops with celeriac mousseline, purple cauliflower with romesco sauce, bresaola and asparagus with creme fraiche, and savory lobster with leek mousseline. Not to mention, there was a scrumptious array of elaborate desserts.
Then there was the Hello Kitty stuff ... lots of it.
The carrier showed off the complimentary and duty-free items available on these themed flights, including Hello Kitty headrest covers and slippers for passengers in each cabin. (The black ones are for business class.) Custom-designed place settings are used for the meal service, and special Hello Kitty boxes are even available for the children's meals. During gateside remarks, EVA President Clay Sun — who traveled to Chicago for the event — said those are a particular favorite.
"I think over the years, passengers enjoy riding on EVA's Hello Kitty jet very much. They have been captivated by the design and onboard amenities — especially the charming children's meals," Sun said. He let the audience in on an "internal secret." "Some of the adults, when they make a booking, they say, 'Oh, I want the child's meal,'" Sun said. "They say, 'Well, because it's very, very cute.'"
EVA's first Besties Jet flight from Chicago took off from O'Hare at just after midnight Thursday. The 777 will fly the Chicago-to-Taipei route on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for the duration of the airline's summer schedule. It will shift to Monday, Wednesday and Friday operations during the winter months.
Here's the full schedule for the EVA Air Hello Kitty Besties Jet flights to and from Chicago:
- Summer (until Nov. 2): Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays
- Winter (starting Nov. 3): Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays
The airline said that on days when EVA flies a more traditional-looking jet to Chicago, passengers from O'Hare will still get the full complement of onboard amenities. Want to double-check that you're actually booking a flight on the Hello Kitty plane? The airline offers more details on that on this page.
If you're hoping to book a seat on the EVA Air Hello Kitty jet, using points is a great way to save money. To do this, one option is to transfer flexible credit card rewards to the EVA Air Infinity MileageLands program. You can transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points to the program at a 1:1 ratio. You can also transfer Capital One miles to EVA, but at a reduced 4:3 ratio. There's another option if you're not a Capital One or Citi ThankYou member: Find award space on one of EVA's partners in the global Star Alliance. It includes a host of carriers, from United Airlines and Air Canada in North America to other popular airline programs like Avianca LifeMiles and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
With just a quick search, I found economy-class redemptions on the EVA Hello Kitty flight through Air Canada Aeroplan starting as low as 50,000 points, one-way. I also found one-way economy redemptions starting at just 47,000 miles through Avianca LifeMiles. From American Express Membership Rewards to Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards, there are tons of options for tranferring credit card rewards to major Star Alliance carriers.
Plus, right now, there are some lucrative credit card welcome offers that could help give you a leg up with your redemption, including Chase's Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. Between now and Sept. 5, new cardholders can earn up to 120,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
EVA Air's 777 is laid out in a three-cabin configuration featuring lie-flat business-class pods, premium economy recliners and well over 200 seats in the main cabin.
Existing variations of the Hello Kitty-themed aircraft include the "Bad Badtz-Maru Travel Fun" aircraft flying on EVA's route from Taipei to Clark in the Philippines. Its "Celebration Flight" and "Joyful Dream" aircraft alternate service on the Bali and Cebu, Philippines, routes.
Wherever the Hello Kitty aircraft flies, it draws global interest from fans and travelers, Andrew Su, executive vice president of EVA Air and head of the carrier's North America operations, said. "It is very successful to draw attention from the public," Su told TPG. "There's a lot of people, especially parents with their children, they try to find the Kitty jet, traveling especially in summer, in the winter, and are so excited to get on the aircraft."
