Flag Carrier dons new airliners with Global Cartoon Mascot

Advancing in the steps of innovative branding, airlines are now in the process of affiliating their designs with world famous icons and mascots. Eva Air, the flag carrier of Taiwan, will be allocating air carriers in the new Hello Kitty livery on major international routes from Taipei, its central hub in the country.

Eva Air is in partnership with Sanrio for the implementation of the Hello Kitty livery for some of its airliners. Based in Japan, Sanrio is the owner and creator of the cartoon series. The Hello Kitty design is further divided into 4 to 5 themes, with some of them having the entire hello kitty family being painted over their exterior.

All in-flight accessories such as toiletries will be branded in sync with the theme, while the air hostesses will also be dressed in pink. As souvenirs to mark the experience, even the boarding passes and tickets will be in print of the Hello Kitty designs. A total of 8 destinations are being covered under these distinct airliners, which include flights to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Seoul, Guam, Sapporo and Fukuoka.

Hello Kitty is a female childhood sensation, a cartoon character depicting a white bobcat dressed in pink shades along with a laced bow atop its head. The character has been successfully utilized for a complete marketing campaign for selling cosmetics and other consumer durable products in the international market, which is why its fame is being highlighted as an asset under Eva Air.

This is not the first time the airline has affiliated its fleet with designs of the cartoon celebrity. The very first Hello Kitty jet came up back in 2005, and from then on followed a series of jets with the same program. However, all of the planes in the cartoon livery were confined for Japanese destinations, since regional tourism was focused from the country. The cartoon icon remains extremely popular in Japan, and the airline marketing department utilized its brand power to attract leisure travellers for cultural affiliation to promote tourism.