Norwegian changed its Instagram profile image to the British Airways logo for one day on 12 July after England defeated Norway 2-1 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final. The match took place in Miami Gardens, Florida, on 11 July and ended after extra time, sending England into the semi-finals and activating a social media wager between the two airlines.
Norwegian initiated the bet on 8 July, proposing that the airline representing the losing national team display its rival’s logo on Instagram for one day. The Norwegian low-cost carrier honoured the agreement after the match and used the attention to promote a limited flight sale covering destinations in England and Norway, although it did not announce fare details in the posts.
The terms of the airline wager
Norwegian challenged British Airways through a series of Instagram posts after Norway qualified for the quarter-final. It asked whether the UK carrier was prepared to “risk your logo” and proposed a reciprocal arrangement based on the result.
“If Norway wins, you have to switch to our logo on Instagram on Sunday for one day. And vice versa. Deal?” Norwegian wrote.
British Airways initially responded, “Don’t make bets you can’t win.” The airline later accepted the challenge after further posts from Norwegian sought a direct answer.
The campaign extended beyond comments between the two brands. A member of Norwegian’s social media team travelled to London before the match and met a British Airways counterpart to exchange a USB drive reportedly containing the logo files required by the wager.
Norway took the lead in the 36th minute through Andreas Schjelderup, but Jude Bellingham equalised for England before scoring again in the third minute of extra time. England’s victory marked its first appearance in a World Cup semi-final since 2018.
Norwegian replaced only its Instagram profile image. The change did not apply to its wider corporate identity, website, aircraft or other permanent branding.
After changing the image, Norwegian wrote: “It’s coming home. Well played, England and British Airways.”
“While the tournament is over for us, this friendly bet will forever live in all our hearts,” the airline said in a separate post. Norwegian also wished England success in the semi-finals.
Campaign generates airline industry engagement
British Airways responded by presenting the exchange as the start of a closer relationship between the carriers. “Just like Haaland and Bellingham, we feel a blossoming friendship between our two airlines,” the airline wrote, referring to Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and England midfielder Jude Bellingham.
British Airways also offered return flights to Norway for members of Norwegian’s social media team who had travelled to London. Norwegian continued the exchange by advertising a flash sale with the message: “Well played, England. Fancy a trip to Norway?”
The carrier described the routes included in the promotion as “Norwenglish” destinations. The campaign allowed Norwegian to connect the match result with travel between the two countries immediately after Norway’s elimination.
Other airlines and aviation accounts joined the conversation before and after the match. Malaysia Airlines, Riyadh Air, Brussels Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Qantas, Virgin Australia and Kenya Airways were among the companies reported to have commented on the campaign.
A pre-match analysis of the campaign reported that one Norwegian post had received about 75,000 likes, compared with the 400 to 1,500 likes generated by many of the airline’s regular posts. Later reports placed engagement substantially higher as the exchange attracted attention outside the airlines’ usual audiences.
Neither Norwegian nor British Airways is an official FIFA sponsor. Their exchange nevertheless connected both brands with one of the tournament’s highest-profile matches without a formal sponsorship campaign.
The logo change remained in place for the agreed one-day period. Norwegian then restored its usual Instagram identity, completing a wager that had developed from a football-related exchange into an international airline marketing campaign.
