I Flew Hello Kitty

One of the most coveted tickets on the Taipei-Tokyo run is the Hello Kitty plane. And I flew on it.

Those of you without young children may not be familiar with Hello Kitty, but she is a cute, saccharine character that is unavoidable in Japan. She has conquered most of Asia and is making steady inroads into the U.S. My own daughter owns a stuffed toy, a pillow, and a few other items.

But she is not only popular with children, but also adults. Which is why Eva Air has festooned one of the planes with the character. But she is not only on the fuselage. Oh no. There is Hello Kitty music as you get on the plane, the stewardesses wear Hello Kitty aprons, the desert is in a Hello Kitty shape, the cocktail napkins have Hello Kitty, and so on. Pretty much anywhere and everywhere she can be, they put her there. I think Eva charges extra for all of this.

My Israeli traveling companion had never heard of her, and the best I could explain it is that we were on the equivalent of the Micky Mouse jet. Only lamer.

I wasn't surprised to seen grown men and women jumping down in exceitement about going on this plane. I even saw several business men in suits taking pictures of their rare opportunity to fly this special plane (okay, I was taking pictures too but it was for blogging).