On August the 8th, the date for Father’s Day in Taiwan, EVA Air is planning to operate a special flight with one of its Hello Kitty livery jets. The celebratory flight will take off from Taipei Taoyuan Airport and land 2 hours and 45 minutes later at, well, Taipei Taoyuan Airport.
The desire to just get on a plane and go has certainly grabbed many of us during the past few months. The freedom to book any ticket, finances permitting, and find ourselves in another country with different sights, smells, and tastes within a few hours is something we no longer take for granted.
For some, the getting-on-the-plane part of the journey is a necessary evil to get to where they are going. For others, it is as much a part of the excitement as the destination. Star-Alliance member EVA Air is betting that at least some of its customers belong to the latter category.
Hello Kitty on a tour of Taiwan
EVA Air’s flight BR5288 (which sounds similar to “I love you dad” in Mandarin) to nowhere will be operated by one of its special Hello Kitty A330-300s. It will take off from Taipei at 10:30 local time and first head East towards Japan.
The flight will pass by the small island of Guishan and then turn South, along Taiwan’s eastern coastline. It will then make its way to the southernmost tip of Taiwan and the Eluanbi lighthouse, before returning back North to the capital. It will land back in Taipei at around 13:15.
The special father’s day sightseeing trip will differ from most A330 flights in that it will stay at altitudes between 20,000 and 25,000 feet. Whether or not social distancing would be observed on board has not been mentioned.
Accessible Business and Michelin-star food
Tickets for the “semi-travel experience” went on sale yesterday. An economy class ticket costs NT$5,288 (about $180). For anyone who always dreamt of traveling business class, on this occasion, EVA is making it quite accessible, as tickets go for NT$6,288 (around $215).
In-flight services will include Hello Kitty amenity kits, the sale of Hello Kitty souvenirs, and discounts on duty-free items.
The meal options have been put together by Japanese three-star Michelin chef Nakamura and will feature seafood chirashi-sushi rice, as well as beef sambal noodles.
EVA Air, which stands for Evergreen Airways, has reasons to be optimistic about the turnout. Earlier this month Taipei’s smaller airport, Songshan, attracted thousands of applicants for a three hour “fake trip.” This experience allowed people to check in, go through security, board an aircraft, and stay on the tarmac.
EVA Air’s seven Hello Kitty jets ceased flying back in April as a result of the epic downturn in passenger demand and extensive travel restrictions.
If you could not fly to anywhere in particular, would you still pay to fly, just to get back in the air? What kind of celebratory flight would you like to see? Let us know in the comments.
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