Skip to content

Press release -

Norwegian’s father and son pilots fly the Dreamliner to New York ahead of Father's Day

  • Captain and 27-year old co-pilot son fly from London Gatwick to New York to mark Father’s Day

Norwegian mark’s Father’s Day by operating a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight from London to New York by a Captain and his co-pilot son. The flight is the first time the airline has had a father and son fly the 787 Dreamliner together from London Gatwick. Images available to download here.

Europe’s third largest low-cost airline has more than 700 pilots based at London Gatwick to operate Norwegian’s affordable long-haul flights to the USA, Buenos Aires and Singapore. Norwegian has more than 28 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in its fleet, to serve all long-haul routes. British passengers can fly in the airline’s newest Dreamliners which are less than six months old and feature a larger 56-seat Premium cabin that offers passengers more than a metre of legroom.

Captain Sven-Bertil Johannson (61) and his son, First Officer Erik Johannson (27) piloted Norwegian’s popular London Gatwick to New York JFK service, carrying more than 320 passengers on 6 June. Sven-Bertil and Erik were on the same pilot training course when they both joined Norwegian together two years ago.

Sven-Bertil got his passion for flying by learning about aerodynamics while reading flying publications to help him race sailboats. Sven was a member of Sweden’s sailing team at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games and shortly after began his flying career as a fighter pilot in the Swedish Air Force in 1978. He has now amassed nearly 23,000 flight hours.

First Officer Erik Johannson was born in 1991 and was inspired to fly by his dad while sitting on the jump seat at a young age which fueled his passion for flying even further. Erik began flying at the young age of 15 and did professional flight training in Sweden. He joined Norwegian almost two years ago and currently has around 3000 hours.

Captain Sven-Bertil Johansson at Norwegian said: “It’s an absolute joy to fly the 787 Dreamliner with my son to one of our favourite destinations.

“We joined Norwegian together on the same training course, so our special Father’s Day flight was also an opportunity to check whether Erik’s flying skills have developed to be as good as mine.”

First Officer Erik Johansson at Norwegian said: “My dad inspired me to start flying from as far back as I can remember.

“I didn’t feel any pressure flying next to my father as we’re both professionals, but it was very exciting and a dream come true to fly the Dreamliner with my dad.”

Sven lives in Portugal with his wife, who also had a career in aviation, while his younger son and Erik’s little brother, is currently training to be a pilot. When away from the controls of a 787 Dreamliner, Sven and Erik enjoy sailing and skiing together in their spare time.

Norwegian currently has numerous opportunities for experienced pilots to grow their career. Further information about career opportunities in the flight deck can be found at careers.norwegian.com

  • ENDS

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

Press Office details

Press Office details

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

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.

Norwegian