Level (airline brand)

Level was established by IAG in response to increased competition in the low-cost long-haul market, including that of Norwegian Long Haul. On 15 March 2017, IAG CEO Willie Walsh announced the new brand, together with four destinations from Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport beginning in June 2017. These were Oakland, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Punta Cana.[4] A one-year contract was in place for Iberia to operate Level flights under its IB flight code and provide the necessary personnel, which has since been extended.

Willie Walsh, CEO of IAG, stated the corporation due to take over operation of the brand sold 52,000 seats within two days of being established, and over 147,000 after little more than 1.5 months, far exceeding IAG's expectations.[5] Rome, Paris and Milan were mentioned as possible locations for future expansion of the airline in Europe, together with additional routes out of Barcelona.[6]

In line with the expressed intent to continue with future expansion by adding routes from other European cities,[7] on 28 November 2017, Level announced flights from Paris Orly Airport to Montreal and Point-à-Pitre and flights from Barcelona to Boston to begin from July 2018, and flights from Paris Orly to Fort-de-France and Newark to begin from September 2018.[2] Flights from Paris Orly were to be operated under the air operator's certificate (AOC) and crew of OpenSkies, another airline owned by IAG.[8]

After the OpenSkies brand was retired on 2 September 2018, its operations were absorbed into the Level brand.[2] On 8 November 2018, flights from Barcelona to Santiago de Chile and New York JFK were announced to begin in March and July 2019 respectively.[9] On 8 May 2019, a service from Paris to Las Vegas was announced to begin from 30 October 2019, which was subsequently terminated by 1 March 2020.[10][11]

On 29 June 2018, IAG announced the launch of a new low-cost Austrian subsidiary, Anisec Luftfahrt, to operate flights from Vienna International Airport, branded as Level, starting from 17 July 2018. The new subsidiary bears its own Austrian AOC and bases four Airbus A321 aircraft previously used by Air Berlin and Niki in Vienna, from which it planned to serve 14 European destinations on behalf of Level by the end of August 2018.[12] However, by December 2018 Level announced cuts to its Vienna route network, with routes being reduced in frequency or cancelled altogether, due to business figures being below expectations.[13]

On 14 March 2019, IAG confirmed plans to open a second base at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, with seven routes already operated by Vueling transferred from 6 April 2019 to 15 August 2019. Routes once transferred were planned to be operated under the Level brand by Anisec Luftfahrt, with three Airbus A320 aircraft transferred from Vueling to Level in March 2019.[14] On 18 June 2019, during the 2019 Paris Air Show, the International Airlines Group signed a letter of intent to order a total of 200 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and MAX 10 aircraft to be operated across IAG's airlines, possibly including the Level brand, Vueling, and British Airways, though specific allocation amounts between operating airlines were not specified.[15][16] In December 2019, Anisec Luftfahrt was renamed to Level Europe.[17]

On 18 June 2020, all short-haul flights operated by Level Europe from its bases in Amsterdam and Vienna were terminated, as the operating company went into liquidation.[3]

On 18 June 2020, Level Europe, the short-haul subsidiary, ceased all flights and went into administration, resulting in all short-haul flights within Europe being terminated.[3] The table below shows the status of each destination at the time the airline ceased operating.

As of July 2018, the airlines operating for Level have codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Former Level Airbus A321-200

Level previously had the following aircraft operate under its brand:

• Airbus A320-200 (Operated by Level Europe.)
• Airbus A321-200 (Operated by Level Europe.)

The airlines operating for the brand announced plans to expand from three A330-200s in 2017 to at least 15 aircraft by 2022, with the possibility of continuing to acquire Airbus A330s, or perhaps moving to Boeing 787s.[26] In June 2018, four branded Airbus A321-200 aircraft were added to begin short-haul services before another two Airbus A320-200 aircraft were added starting from March 2019.[12][22] The Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft were subsequently retired in June 2020 after the airline responsible for operating short-haul flights under the brand ceased operations.[3]

Premium Economy on Level's A330 aircraft features 21 reclining seats in a 2–3–2 layout, each featuring 37 inches (94 cm) of pitch and are provided with noise cancelling headphones. Seats are equipped with a 12-inch (31 cm) TV screen featuring a complimentary selection of films, TV shows, and music. Passengers are offered a three-course meal, and WiFi is available for purchase. Passengers are also given a baggage allowance of one cabin bag and two checked/hold bags.

The Economy cabin of Level's A330 aircraft features 293 seats in a 2–4–2 layout, which are equipped with a 9-inch (23 cm) TV screen. In-flight WiFi, in-flight catering, and checked/hold baggage are all available for purchase by passengers.[27]

The Level brand does not have its own standalone frequent-flyer program, however flights operated by Iberia are eligible to earn Avios points through the airline's Iberia Plus program. Flights operated by OpenSkies are not eligible to earn Avios points on any program.