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Norwegian’s CEO Bjørn Kjos was awarded the 2018 Ambassador’s Award by Kenneth J. Braithwaite, the United States Ambassador to Norway
Norwegian’s CEO Bjørn Kjos was awarded the 2018 Ambassador’s Award by Kenneth J. Braithwaite, the United States Ambassador to Norway

Press release -

Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos receives Ambassador’s Award for strengthening bilateral relations between Norway and the U.S.

Today Norwegian’s CEO Bjørn Kjos was awarded the 2018 Ambassador’s Award by Kenneth J. Braithwaite, the United States Ambassador to Norway, for significantly contributing to building U.S.-Norway relations and growing the countries’ economies.


 “I congratulate Bjørn Kjos on receiving the 2018 U.S. Ambassador’s Award for his work to strengthen people-to-people and economic ties between the United States and Norway, one trans-Atlantic passenger and one American-made airplane at a time,” said Ambassador Braithwaite.

Ambassador Braithwaite also credited Bjørn Kjos and Norwegian for being an important investor in the United States, buying U.S. products and services, promoting job creation and increasing prosperity.


 “It is an honour to receive this award. I am grateful that the work we have done in the U.S. so far is appreciated and acknowledged. No other foreign airline is more committed to the United States than Norwegian, and this is still just the beginning,” said Bjørn Kjos.

Job creation and boosting economies


 “The hundreds of thousands of tourists and other visitors that Norwegian has carried between the U.S. and Europe, has led to thousands of jobs being created and has boosted local economies on both sides of the Atlantic. We will do our best to continue contributing towards more job creation and strengthening the ties between our countries,” Bjørn Kjos continues.

Norwegian began flying to the U.S. in 2013 and support from the U.S. has been vital for Norwegian in its mission to offer more affordable fares to the American people and the possibility to travel internationally. Today, Norwegian offers more than 60 nonstop routes from the U.S. to Europe; more transatlantic routes than any other European airline.


 Norwegian has a strong relationship and commitment to the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer, Boeing. Back in 2012, the airline signed the largest ever aircraft order in European history with Boeing. Norwegian still has more than 100 U.S.-made Boeing aircraft on order.


 Today, Norwegian has around 800 dedicated colleagues based across several locations in the U.S. – a number will continue to grow quickly. Norwegian is the only foreign airline hiring U.S.-based pilots, bringing many American pilots back home. Norwegian also employs more cabin crew locally than any other foreign airline. Earlier this year, Norwegian opened its fifth U.S. base, at Los Angeles, proving Norwegian’s commitment to the U.S. Norwegian also has bases in New York, Fort Lauderdale, Providence and Stewart.

Topics


Norwegian in the UK and Ireland:

  • Norwegian carries 5.8 million UK passengers each year from London Gatwick, Edinburgh and Manchester Airports to 50 destinations worldwide
  • Norwegian is the third largest airline at London Gatwick, with 4.6 million yearly passengers, and with more than 1,000 UK-based pilots and cabin crew
  • In 2014, Norwegian introduced the UK’s first low-cost, long haul flights to the U.S. - the airline now flies to 11 U.S destinations, Buenos Aires and Singapore
  • In 2017, Norwegian also launched affordable transatlantic flights from Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Shannon to the US East Coast, using the brand new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft
  • Norwegian is the only airline to offer free inflight WiFi on UK flights to more than 30 European destinations
  • The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of 3.7 years, including next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 737 MAX and Boeing 737-800s
  • Norwegian has been voted ‘Europe’s best low-cost carrier’ by passengers for five consecutive years at SkyTrax World Airline Awards from 2013-2017, along with being awarded the ‘World's best low-cost long-haul airline’ in 2015, 2016 and 2017
  • Norwegian Reward is the airline's free to join award-winning loyalty programme offering members CashPoints and Rewards that reduce the cost of Norwegian flights

Contacts

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Press contact Norwegian Press Office +47 815 11 816
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Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Press contact Marketing/sponsorship requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Norwegian.com

The Norwegian group is a leading Nordic aviation company, headquartered at Fornebu outside Oslo, Norway. The company has over 8,200 employees and owns two of the prominent airlines in the Nordics: Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe’s Flyveselskap. Widerøe was acquired by Norwegian in 2024, aiming to facilitate seamless air travel across the two airline’s networks.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, the largest Norwegian airline with around 4,700 employees, operates an extensive route network connecting Nordic countries to key European destinations. In 2023, Norwegian carried over 20 million passengers and maintained a fleet of 87 Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Widerøe’s Flyveselskap, Norway’s oldest airline, is Scandinavia’s largest regional carrier. The airline has more than 3,500 employees. Mainly operating the short-runway airports in rural Norway, Widerøe operates several state contract routes (PSO routes) in addition to its own commercial network. In 2023, the airline had 3.3 million passengers and a fleet of 48 aircraft, including 45 Bombardier Dash 8’s and three Embraer E190-E2's. Widerøe Ground Handling provides ground handling services at 41 Norwegian airports.

The Norwegian group has sustainability as a key priority and has committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions from its operations. Among numerous initiatives, the most noteworthy is the investment in production and use of fossil-free aviation fuel (SAF). Norwegian strives to become the sustainable choice for its passengers, actively contributing to the transformation of the aviation industry.

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