Norwegian Airlines has taken World Cup disappointment in its stride, suffering defeat in a friendly social media bet against British Airways after England edged Norway out 2-1 in a thrilling FIFA World Cup quarter-final clash.
Back before the game, the Norwegian budget airline went head-to-head with British Airways in a wager over Instagram, suggesting the losing airline should briefly change its logo to the winning airline for a period of time.
Seemingly assured of their chances, Norwegian put down the gauntlet for their English rivals, urging them to ‘risk their logo’ should their team fall short. It appeared as though Norway would secure the victory, as Andreas Schjelderup put them 1-0 up in the 35th minute. However, England produced an incredible comeback with two goals from Jude Bellingham securing a 2-1 victory and sending the Three Lions into the semi-finals.
Commenting on the defeat, Norwegian confessed that their World Cup hopes were now dashed but congratulated their English counterparts. “With the tournament ending for us, this casual bet will always live with us; however, we are still rooting for England to go on and win this,” they said in a post.
British Airways jumped at the opportunity, labelled their competition a ‘short-term rivalry,’ joked that the two companies were friends in the likeness of Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland, while a Norwegian Airline flight sale was subsequently launched on both Norwegian and English flights to celebrate both teams’ achievements in their eyes.
