Norwegian Air changes Instagram logo after losing bet to British Airways during FIFA World Cup

Adding to the fun of the FIFA World Cup, a light-hearted exchange between two airlines has gone viral.

Norwegian Air honoured its social media wager with British Airways by replacing its Instagram profile picture with the British carrier’s logo for 24 hours after England defeated Norway 2-1 in their World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.

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Ahead of the match, the two airlines agreed to a friendly challenge in which the losing side would swap its Instagram profile picture for the winner’s logo for a day. Following Norway’s defeat, Norwegian Air kept its promise.

Breaking: Norwegian Airlines change logo into British Airlines😭

挪威航空願賭服輸 大頭貼更換成英國航空 pic.twitter.com/6hgzR1LeHL

— Master | 最強打野(穢土轉生) (@CryptoMaster_70) July 12, 2026

“While the tournament is over for us, this friendly bet will forever live in all our hearts. We wish England and British Airways all the best in the semi-final, and we sincerely hope you’ll get to bring football home!” Norwegian Air wrote alongside its temporary logo, as quoted by Reuters.

England came from a goal down to secure a 2-1 victory, booking a semi-final clash against defending champions Argentina and ending Norway’s historic World Cup run.

Adding to the banter, the British Airways social media left a comment under the post saying:

“Don’t make bets you can’t win,” British Airways commented on Instagram post.

Hey @Fly_Norwegian a bet is a bet, will you be changing your social media pages to @British_Airways for a day?

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🦁🦁🦁#FlyNorwegian #BritishAirways #Norwegian #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/w1g6U8VE0T

— L.A™️ (@MrLeeAntony) July 12, 2026

The quarter-final was a landmark achievement for Norway, which reached the last eight for the first time in tournament history after making its first World Cup appearance since 1998. Their previous best performances came with Round of 16 finishes in 1938 and 1998, along with a group-stage exit in 1994.

Norwegian Air switches back to its original logo

After the 24-hour challenge ended, Norwegian Air restored its original Instagram profile picture and signed off the playful bet with another humorous post.

“Our logo is back … until our social media team gets another idea,” the airline wrote, drawing amused reactions from followers.

The exchange between the two airlines has been widely praised by football fans on social media, with many calling it one of the most entertaining off-field moments of the tournament.