FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — "Go Cats Go" is the name of the newly decorated JetBlue commercial plane revealed in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday.
The 162-seat plane was shown to a group of media members, including WPTV Panthers anchor Mike Trim, at the Jetscape hangar at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
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"You guys see my new plane?" joked Panthers star forward Brad Marchand.
Marchand was joined at the ceremony by Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov and Panthers General Manager Bill Zito.
The commercial airliner is capable of flying to all 130 JetBlue destinations and will fly locally out of South Florida, including Donald J. Trump International Airport.
"There's an energy from it. It's so beautiful. It's so cool, and I'm already proud of it, and I really have no reason to be proud of it. It's just really special and really cool," said Zito.
The plane features Panthers logos old and new.
The current Panthers shield is featured on the tail while the classic jumping cat logo is on the underbelly.
Marchand, Barkov and Zito added a special touch at the ceremony by signing the jumping cat logo with Sharpies.
For Barkov, it's another step in seeing the Panthers brand grow.
"I love it. It's been fun to see this community grow, get more and more fans, more and more involved in here, and just seeing Florida Panthers everywhere. You see it on the highways, you see like, everywhere and now this plane," said Barkov.
The plane's first flight will be to Boston on Thursday, home of the rival Bruins.
Marchand captained that team for years and told Trim and a group of reporters, "I almost feel like they might have done that on purpose. You know, because it's not a plane that you're going to miss. It all stands out. They did an incredible job with it."
Representatives from JetBlue told Trim the plane's Panthers livery will stay for at least five years.
