International Airlines Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Vueling, announced they would be launching a new long-haul airline called Level. The airline will be the fifth airline brand under IAG operation.
The airline will be based in Barcelona, Spain and will fly to four destinations starting in June. The initial destinations are Los Angeles (LAX), Oakland (OAK), Buenos Aires, and Punta Cana.
The airline is planning on initially operating two Airbus A330 aircraft. These aircraft will be laid out in a two-class cabin configuration featuring 293 economy seats and 21 premium economy seats.
The airline will offer numerous fare types across the two cabins, with the cheapest seats starting at $149 each way. Each seat features generous leg-room and a personal 10-inch screen for inflight entertainment.
Economy customers can purchase additions to their trip such as seat selection, checked baggage, and hot meals. The airline will also feature by-on-board products such as amenity kits and onboard Wi-Fi. Premium Economy features a separate cabin, along with 37 inches of legroom, a 12 inch TV screen and a three-course meal included in the fare.
Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said, “Barcelona is Vueling’s home base and this will allow customers to connect from Vueling’s extensive European network onto Level’s long-haul flights.”
Although Level is a low-cost carrier (LCC), they are not the first LCC to venture into the long-haul sector. In recent years, Norwegian Air Shuttle has expanded their LCC long-haul at a rapid pace using Boeing 787 aircraft while flying to cities in the U.S.
On Twitter, the airline claims to have sold a whopping 52,000 tickets on its first day.
On our second day of “Life” Hello world! ???? Yesterday we hit record sales: 52,000 tickets sold. Wow!
— LEVEL_en (@flywithlevelEN) March 18, 2017
With its fleet of A330 aircraft, the airline will start service on the following dates:
- Los Angeles on June 1, 2017 with twice per week frequencies.
- San Francisco (Oakland) on June 2, 2017 with three times per week frequencies
- Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) on June 10, 2017 with twice per week frequencies
- Buenos Aires on June 17, 2017 with three times per week operations
These flights will initially be operated by Iberia crew and will create up to 250 jobs in the Barcelona area.
