Norwegian introduces new 'tail fin heroes' for women's month

International Women’s Month is held annually as a commemoration for all the accomplishments of women in the past and present. However, it also serves as a reminder of the progress still necessary in the fight for gender equality.

Since its inception, Norwegian Airlines has been a corporation inspired to push the envelope. Though the company is quite young in comparison to many of its competitors, having only taken off in 2002, it has managed to establish a strong foothold in the UK market. Now, to honour women who share the desire to destroy limitations, the company has introduced eight new ‘tail fin heroes’ famous historical figures which appear prominently on the tail fins of the airline’s fleet. All the new heroes are women who made lasting and significant contributions to British society despite the boundaries placed upon them.

The women chosen include mathematician Ada Lovelace, writers Charlotte Brontë and Virginia Woolf, civil rights activist Emmeline Pankhurst, medical pioneers Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, sportswoman Lottie Dod and scientist Rosalind Franklin.

The corporation’s introduction of these new icons transforms it into a pioneering socially conscious brand, as the amount of female tail fin heroes for UK flights will now double the number of male heroes. This subverts the history and continued presence of sexism, tokenism and underrepresentation in marketing and brand development. Celebrating these women was important to Norwegian, as Anne-Sissel Skanvik, chief communications officer at Norwegian, says, “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.”

The airline already maintains a solid reputation among UK consumers, as it has been voted Europe’s best low-cost carrier at the SkyTrax World Airline Awards for six consecutive years. The company’s new international women’s month initiative may bolster its image among passengers even further.