– The activist and abolitionist is the airline’s first American female and first black tailfin hero –
Norwegian, the World’s Best Low-Cost, Long Haul Airline and Europe’s Best Low-Cost Airline, today announced its first black and first American female tailfin hero, Sojourner Truth. The image of the notable abolitionist and activist will be featured on the tailfin of the airline’s next Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The Sojourner Truth aircraft, the second in the airline’s American hero series, will take flight to the United States in a few weeks.
Born Isabella Baumfree in Upstate New York, the former slave changed her name to Sojourner Truth in 1843. She gave numerous speeches throughout her life and was recognized as a great orator for her ability to capture the crowd with her accounts of what she endured while enslaved. In 1851, Truth delivered remarks about slavery and women’s rights at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention that later became known as the “Ain’t I a Woman” speech. Although she was best known for her dedication to the abolition of slavery and women’s rights, Truth was also a proponent for prison reform, property rights and universal suffrage. One of the Smithsonian’s “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time,” Truth helped to recruit Black troops for the Union Army during the Civil War. She died in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1883 and was able to see the abolition of slavery in her lifetime.
“Our tailfin hero program celebrates everyday heroes who are admired for their various accomplishments and ability to inspire others to action. Sojourner Truth is definitely an inspiration and a pioneer for so many people in the United States and around the world,” said Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegian’s Chief Commercial Officer. “She is someone who pushed boundaries and challenged the establishment in more ways than one. These are all qualities that describe Norwegian and our global strategy. Our aircraft are the most recognizable aspects of our brand and we are very honored to use that canvas to pay tribute to this American icon.”
Since its founding, Norwegian has a time-honored tradition of celebrating iconic, historical figures on the tails of its aircraft. Each person who is featured on a tailfin embodies Norwegian’s spirit of pushing boundaries, inspiring others and challenging the status quo. To commemorate Norwegian’s expansion in the United States, the airline will introduce a series of American icons over the next few months. Norwegian now offers 64 routes from the U.S. There are 58 transatlantic routes from 15 U.S. airports to Denmark, France, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom and six routes to the French Caribbean.
The new aircraft featuring Sojourner Truth is Norwegian’s fourth Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft this year. Norwegian will take delivery of two additional Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from the 110 it has on order. The airline operates one of the world’s youngest fleets with an average age of just 3.6 years.
