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Norwegian honour 10 iconic British women

Press release -

Norwegian honour 10 iconic British women

Airline adds eight new female tail fin heroes ahead of International Women’s Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Norwegian has announced that the portraits of eight renowned British women will adorn the airline’s tail fins and become ‘Tail Fin Heroes’. These inspiring women will join Amy Johnson and Jane Austen, who already feature on Norwegian aircraft, to create 10 British Female Tail Fin Heroes.

Since Norwegian’s first aircraft took to the skies in 2002, the airline has always honoured iconic figures on the tails of its aircraft, celebrating personalities who symbolise the spirit of Norwegian by pushing boundaries, challenging the norm and inspiring others.

To celebrate inspirational British women, Norwegian will adorn their aircraft with renowned historical figures who have taken risks and pioneered their field. The new heroes to be honoured include:

  • Ada Lovelace, British Mathematician
  • Charlotte Brontë, British Writer
  • Emmeline Pankhurst, British Civil Rights Activist
  • Florence Nightingale, British Medical Pioneer
  • Lottie Dod, British Sportswoman
  • Mary Seacole, British Medical Pioneer
  • Rosalind Franklin, British Scientist
  • Virginia Woolf, British Writer

The portraits of these eight iconic British figures will take to the skies later this year as they adorn the tail fins of Norwegian’s aircraft.

Anne-Sissel Skånvik, Chief Communications Officer at Norwegian said: “Our tail fin heroes celebrate those who have been admired for their accomplishments, as pioneers in their field and inspired future generations.

We are proud to increase the number of female British tail fin heroes in our fleet to ten. It is a huge honour to have these renowned women adorn our aircraft and to pay tribute to some of the greatest British women of all time”.

Anna Starling, Head of Commercial, National Portrait Gallery “Norwegian’s tail fin heroes pay tribute to those who have been an inspiration to many people worldwide and we are delighted they have chosen to feature these 10 portraits from our 100 Pioneering Women book. These remarkable women made an extraordinary contribution to British life, making a mark in a wide variety of areas from science to the arts”.

Norwegian now honours 15 British tailfin heroes, 10 women and 5 men, including children’s author Roald Dahl, footballer Bobby Moore, rock legend Freddie Mercury, aviation maverick Sir Freddie Laker and explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Europe’s third largest low-cost carrier flew 5.8 million passengers from the UK to over 50 global destinations in 2018. The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of 3.8 years, with more than 150 new aircraft on order. Norwegian has been named ‘World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline’ for the fourth consecutive year and ‘Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe’ for the sixth year in a row at the renowned Skytrax World Airline Awards.

For more information about Norwegian’s tailfin heroes visit www.norwegian.com/uk/about/our-story/tail-fin-heroes/

- Ends -

NOTES TO EDITORS

ABOUT 100 PIONEERING WOMEN 100 Pioneering Women presents a selection of images of remarkable women from the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, who have defied the expectations of their gender and made extraordinary contributions to British life over the past five centuries. An introduction from the Gallery’s Senior Curator of Eighteenth Century Collections considers the representation of women in the Collection and the efforts being made to redress historical imbalances through the acquisition of portraits of notable women from the last five centuries. Texts accompanying each portrait outline the sitter’s lives and key achievements, and a timeline presents major milestones on the road to equality in the United Kingdom. This publication celebrates the accomplishments of famous pioneers, including some of the Gallery’s most famous sitters, and those whose stories are less well known but whose influence is equally significant.

www.npg.org.uk 

Topics


Norwegian in the UK and Ireland:

  • Norwegian carries almost 6 million UK passengers each year from London Gatwick, Edinburgh and Manchester Airports to 30 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 12 U.S destinations, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro from London Gatwick
  • 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 3.8 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 six consecutive years at SkyTrax World Airline Awards from 2013-2018, along with being awarded the ‘World's best low-cost long-haul airline’ in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018
  • 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

For journalists only

For journalists only

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

Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

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

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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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