Oslo-based Norwegian Air has replaced its own logo on its official Instagram page with that of British Airways after losing a bet with the rival carrier over who would prevail in the hotly contested quarterfinal match between England and Norway in the FIFA World Cup on Saturday.
In the days leading up to the match, Norwegian trolled British Airways on social media and challenged the Heathrow-based flag carrier of the United Kingdom to a bet: The side that loses must replace their logo with that of their rivals for 24 hours.
Surprisingly, the lawyers at British Airways actually gave the go-ahead for the airline’s social media team to engage in this heated rivalry, and before long, a Norwegian Air intern was on a plane to London with a USB stick containing the airline’s logos.
A day before the match, USB sticks containing logo files were exchanged at BA’s headquarters close to London Heathrow Airport.
The match ended in a stunning victory for England, with Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid midfielder, scoring both goals in the 2-1 victory for the English team in Miami.
As the celebrations in England continued through the night, Norwegian Air followed through with its promise, changing its own logo to that of British Airways logo on its Instagram page.
In a seperate post, Norwegian Air wrote: “While the tournament is over for us, this friendly bet will forever live in all our hearts❤️ We wish England and British Airways all the best in the semi-final, and we sincerely hope you’ll get to bring football home!”
British Airways then cheekily replied: “We love this new look on you,” while its fellow oneworld airline Qantas also got in on the fun, saying: “felt cute might delete later xx”
Malaysia Airlines also called out how unique this whole situation is, saying: “Respect to Norwegian! Most airlines need six months and 14 approvals to change a logo.”
Norwegian Air had thrown its full support behind its national soccer team in the lead-up to the match, adorning its cabins with Norwegian flags and encouraging passengers and crew to take part in the iconic ‘Viking Row’ that has come to symbolise Norway’s national soccer team.
With all this newfound interest in Norwegian Air’s social media presence, the airline certainly wasn’t going to miss this great marketing opportunity. Hours after the match, the airline offered a discount code for passengers flying between England and the airline’s destinations in Norway and beyond.
At one point in Norwegian Air’s not-too-distant past, the airline directly challenged British Airways on routes to North America from London Gatwick Airport, as it attempted to break into the low-cost, long-haul market.
Unfortunately, maintenance issues with the Rolls-Royce engines on its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners further compounded Norwegian’s financial performance on these routes, and there were real concerns that the carrier might fall into liquidation.
In the end, Norwegian abandoned its long-haul ambitions and retreated to its core market in Norway. As it turned out, however, that was the best decision it could have made. After undergoing a painful transformation, the airline is once again profitable, albeit much smaller than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
