EVA Air Hello Kitty Experience On Love Apples, B-16332 Part 1

Welcome to my trip report on EVA Air's Hello Kitty!

*Aircraft photos are credited to the respective photographers from Airliners.net 

This is EVA Air's Airbus A330-300 in old livery (They are not painted to the new livery as they are on leased until the arrival of the airline's Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner) 

For part 2, please click here!

Carrier: EVA Air
Flight number: 857
Date: 10th March 2012
Routing: TPE-HKG
Seat number: 53K (Empty seat beside mine)
Aircraft type: Airbus A330-302X
My 5th ride on this aircraft type and the 3rd airline to have flown on.
1st time on B-16332
Line number: 1268
Plane delivered: 29-11-2011
Registration: B-16332
Flight duration: 1 hr 30 mins
Scheduled departure time: 1810
Actual departure time: 1815
Scheduled arrival time: 2000
Actual arrival time: 1945
FL: 400
Load factor for Y class: 60%
Departure gate: C3
Arrival gate: C36
Departure runway: 05R
Arrival runway: 25R

                                             Happily onboard B-16332

My aircraft: B-16332

Introduction

I always like flying on planes with special livery and if there is a chance to fly on one, why not? I am definitely not into Hello Kitty, but for this occasion, I am very much keen to fly on it. I had already planned to fly to TPE for about 2 weeks, why not fly to HKG on the Hello Kitty jet for a night? (Later on, I changed to 2 nights.) So it was all set, I booked with EVA Air's Hello Kitty flight in December, and a few months later the day had come. How exciting it was! Not only that, but I also got to fly on my favourite Airbus A330 which was very satisfying especially the -300. Not only that, the 3 A330-300s of EVA Air's were only a few months old and that was another bonus for me.

                                   Photos of terminal 1 and 2 (TPE)

Hello Kitty experience

All I can say its amazing the way EVA Air has put in lots of effort. It is definitely an experience for me and one that will always remain with me for the rest of my life. Here are the photos, please enjoy. :)

                                           Check-in counters

Self-check-in kiosk! Is it too much for some of you? :) 

This is now outdated. Do check out my part 2 for July 2015 update.

If you get hold of this passport, you can chop the stamp on it and if you get all the stamps, you will get a golden boarding pass. 

Boarding

It was something you don't see often. Many passengers were at the window taking photos of the Kitty plane, B-16332. I was glad to have flown on this aircraft as it was my favourite among the 3, I guess. It is not that I am into Kitty, but it is the livery that attracts me more than anything else. Anyway, boarding started soon after and we were all on the plane in no time. All went well without any delays. It is unusual to see so many passengers taking photos onboard and I have to admit I was the busiest of all throughout the short flight.

                                            Photos of the cabin

Ample legroom space on this Airbus A330

The lovely safety card and magazines. A USB port for you to charge your electronic devices. 

July 2015 update: The airline has retired the Boeing 747 Combi. 

Interior of the aircraft

There are some differences between this A333 Hello Kitty and the other aircraft type. They are the hello kitty head cover, an upgrade PTV system and Hello Kitty theme songs and animation to welcome you aboard. I thought it was going to be worse than that, but it turned out not to be too bad. As for the seats, its very much similar to the A332 and B77W Y class. Good legroom space and seats at least to me are quite comfortable. What caught my attention was the updated PTV system which was not too bad. Certainly not the best, but at least this time, there is a USB connector for you to charge your iPhone. The PTV itself is touch screen and its system is easy to use. I am impressed with the system so far, not the best in the market but it works for me at least.

Inflight meal

My meal

As you guys know, airline meal tastes average and this was no different. The chicken tasted ok, but the appetizer tasted weird but edible though. However, for such a short flight, having a hot meal is definitely welcome.

Window shots

Service on board

I wasn't expecting any better service on this flight, to be honest, and I was right. Service on board was less than desirable. More than half of the crews were just doing their jobs for the sake of it, rather the passion. No smiles and lack of attention from them, I think there may be others that agree with me that something must be done with this. A more positive experience for the passengers would definitely help to bring more revenue for the airline, that's for sure!


Conclusion

Is it worth booking a flight on EVA Air (Hello Kitty) flights? I will recommend for the experience, besides this arrangement will last until next year I think. So if you have the time, book yourself on one of the A333's routes. (Its currently flying to Tokyo Narita, Hong Kong, Guam, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Seoul.) Don't expect too much from the service though. Overall, apart from the service, it was a good experience for me. The 6th special livery aircraft I had flown on so far.

Rating

Service on board: 5/10
Seat comfort: 8/10
Legroom space: 8/10
Aircraft condition: 9/10
Seating presentation: 9/10
Food: 6/10

Overall rating: B

Thank you for reading my trip report!

Click here for part 2

Best Regards,
Charles Ryan Teo