Air Flair: To Shanghai and Beyond! Meet China Eastern’s New ‘Toy Story’ Plane

by Paul Thompson

Many of us grew up watching Disney-Pixar’s heartwarming “Toy Story” trilogy. Although there hasn’t been a new movie in the series since 2010, the movies’ main characters, Woody and Buzz Lightyear remain as popular as ever.

Recently, Shanghai-Based China Eastern Airlines introduced an Airbus A330 decked out in Toy Story imaging, both inside and out, similar the Hello Kitty plane from Eva Air we showed you last month. The Toy Story plane comes as a result of a marketing partnership between China Eastern and Shanghai Disney Resort.

Inside the cabin, you’ll find images of the beloved characters on the seats, ceiling, overhead bins, and even your tray tables. Passengers also check in for the flight at specially decorated kiosks, where they receive commemorative boarding passes. On the flight, flight attendants wear the famous Disney Mouse ears. The cabin features 38 Business Class and 262 Economy Class seats, with AC power and audio/video programming at every seat.

Right now, the plane is being used to fly the route from Beijing to Shanghai, where the Shanghai Disney Resort has opened a Toy Story Landpark. Walt Disney Land in Florida also has a Toy Story Land, which will be opened on June 30th. Although the plane is only on one route at the moment, it’s highly possible the plane will be reallocated to other routes in the future. If you can’t make it to China Alaska Airlines and WestJet also have Disney-themed planes featuring a myriad of familiar characters. In addition, Japanese airline ANA has a small fleet of Star Wars-themed planes that often make their way to U.S. cities. Star Wars is also a Disney franchise.

Also, in case you haven’t heard, (SPOILER ALERT!) Toy Story 4 is in the works, due out in June, 2019.

All photos courtesy of Shanghai Disney Resort