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Cute ‘Hello Kitty’ Jets Conquering The Clouds

Forget the YouTube videos. If you want a real dose of cute cat, book a flight with Taiwan airline EVA Air. The carrier has recently added two more Hello Kitty-themed aircraft to its fleet, taking the total to five, on which everything from the fuselage to the flight attendants to the food is kitted out in the kawaii cat brand’s images.

This isn’t the first time Taiwan’s second-largest carrier and Japan’s comic company, Sanrio, which owns the Hello Kitty brand, have collaborated. The two companies launched the first generation of Hello Kitty jets in 2005. That Kitty fleet was disbanded in 2009, after its licensing agreement expired.

The new Taipei-based Hello Kitty jets — following the themes of Hello Kitty Happy Music Time and Hello Kitty Speed Puff — will join the three existing Hello Kitty jet family members and will operate on different routes originating from Taipei. The Happy Music Time jet flies to Sapporo and Guam, as does the Magic jet. Speed Puff flies to Hong Kong. Apple Jet flies to Seoul and Fukuoka. Global Jet serves Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The Hello Kitty journey starts with Hello Kitty boarding passes and baggage stickers. Then passengers make their way to a you-can’t-miss-it gate dedicated to the Hello Kitty flyer. The boarding gate in Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport is pink and features a Hello Kitty playground.

On board, more than 100 in-flight items are specially designed with the Hello Kitty motif — including headrest covers, tissues, paper cups, utensils, milk bottles, snacks, soap dispensers, hand lotion, meals and ice cream. Passengers can also purchase limited edition duty-free products, such as Hello Kitty-shaped pasta, from flight attendants wearing Hello Kitty aprons.

EVA Air has been operating for more than two decades with a mixed fleet of Airbus, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas aircraft.

Are you crazy for Hello Kitty? Crazy enough to book most of your flights on these cute jets?

Source: CNN Go

Image: Kotaku

Sleepy Air Canada Pilot Mistakes Planet Venus For Oncoming Plane

A sleepy Air Canada pilot first mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft, and then sent his airliner diving toward the Atlantic to prevent an imaginary collision with another plane, an official report said on Monday.

Sixteen passengers and crew were hurt in the January 2011 incident, when the first officer rammed the control stick forward to avoid a U.S. plane he wrongly thought was heading straight toward him. The incident occurred at night on board a Boeing 767 twin engine passenger plane flying from Toronto to Zurich in Switzerland with 95 passengers and eight crew. The report said the first officer had just woken up, disoriented, from a long nap, when he learned from the pilot that a U.S. cargo plane was flying toward them.

“The FO (First Officer) initially mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft but the captain advised again that the target was at the 12 o’clock position (straight ahead) and 1,000 feet below,” said the report.”

The first officer, whose young children often interrupted his sleep at home, had napped for 75 minutes rather than the 40-minute maximum laid down by airline regulations. This meant he fell into a deep sleep and was disoriented when he woke up. The report is yet another problem for Canada’s largest airline, which has faced prolonged labor unrest.

Air Canada, expressing regret that passengers were injured, said it had taken steps to prevent a recurrence, reminding pilots to follow the rules for napping during flights and increasing efforts to heighten crews’ awareness of fatigue and its effects. The Air Canada Pilots Association has long pressured authorities to take the stresses of night flying into account when setting the maximum hours a pilot can work. Canada’s regulations were last changed in 1996, when the longest duty day was cut to 14 hours from 15 hours.

Should pilot’s duty hours be shortened to reduce fatigue? Share your opinions to us!

Source: Yahoo News

Image: Time