China-Taiwan Flights to Feature Hello Kitty
Posted on: Tuesday, 13 December 2005, 12:00 CST
By Kyodo News International, Tokyo
Dec. 13--BEIJING -- An Eva Airways plane with giant Hello Kitty images painted on its body will fly a normally forbidden direct route to China for the Lunar New Year, a spokesman for the Taiwan-based airline said Tuesday.
An Airbus 330-220 will land in Beijing on the afternoon of Jan. 27 with seven Hello Kitty caricatures on the cabin, one on the engine and more inside the aircraft, said company spokesman Liang Wenrong in Beijing.
Flight attendants wear Sanrio-style attire and serve meals with hints of Hello Kitty, the company spokesman said. Boarding passes and luggage tags also will carry the Japanese cartoon images, the Beijing Youth Daily reported Monday.
"We want to come to Beijing in a special way, nothing too boring," Liang said. "It's a kind of promotion." In October Eva Airways signed an advertising contract with Sanrio Co., he said. The airline said in a statement that Hello Kitty promotes "creativity" and "innovation" in the company.
The cat-festooned plane began daily Taipei-Fukuoka flights in late October, the statement says. Liang said the plane also flies from Taipei to Tokyo.
The Eva Airways flight is one of 36 from Taiwan due to touch down in four Chinese cities during the Jan. 20-Feb. 13 Lunar New Year period next year. Chinese airlines will also send 36 flights.
For the second straight year, China and the self-ruled island that China sees as part of its territory agreed to exchange direct flights without security stops to help mainland-based Taiwan business people return home.
Direct flights are normally prohibited as political tensions remain high.
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Copyright (c) 2005, Kyodo News International, Tokyo
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Source: Kyodo News International, Tokyo
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