Level (airline brand) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Level

Founded	15 March 2017; 8 years ago (2017-03-15)
Commenced operations	1 June 2017; 8 years ago (2017-06-01)
Operating bases	Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Avios
Alliance	Oneworld (affiliate)
Fleet size	6
Destinations	8
Parent company	International Airlines Group (IAG)
Headquarters	Madrid, Spain
Key people	Fernando Candela (CEO) Luis Gallego (CEO of IAG)
Website	flylevel.com

Fly Level SL, known as LEVEL, is an airline brand. It is part of the International Airlines Group (IAG). Level offers low-cost flights. Its main office is in Madrid, Spain.

Currently, another IAG airline, Iberia, operates Level flights. However, IAG plans for Level to get its own license. This will allow Level to become an independent airline within the group.

Level first started as a low-cost airline for long flights. It began flying across the Atlantic from Barcelona–El Prat Airport in June 2017. In July 2018, Level added long flights from Paris Orly Airport. These flights took over from another IAG company called OpenSkies. Level also started its first short flights from Vienna International Airport. These were operated by Level Europe.

On June 18, 2020, Level Europe faced financial problems. All short flights operated by this airline stopped right away. On July 8, 2020, OpenSkies also announced it would close. This stopped Level's long flights from Paris Orly. Even though tickets for these flights were sold again later, the flights never restarted. Level's long flights from Barcelona, operated by Iberia, were not affected by these closures.

History of Level

Starting the Airline Brand

Level was created by IAG to compete with other low-cost airlines. One of these was Norwegian Long Haul. On March 15, 2017, IAG CEO Willie Walsh announced the new brand. He also announced four destinations starting in June 2017 from Barcelona–El Prat Airport. These first destinations were Oakland, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and Punta Cana.

Walsh said that Level was launched a year earlier than planned. Iberia agreed to operate Level flights for one year. They used Iberia's flight codes and staff. This agreement has been extended because Level still does not have its own license to operate flights.

Walsh also mentioned that Level sold 52,000 seats in just two days. After a month and a half, it sold over 147,000 seats. This was much more than IAG expected. There were also talks about expanding to cities like Rome, Paris, and Milan in Europe. More routes from Barcelona were also considered.

Growing Long-Haul Flights

Level continued to expand by adding routes from other European cities. On November 28, 2017, Level announced new flights from Paris Orly Airport. These included flights to Montreal and Point-à-Pitre. New flights from Barcelona to Boston were also announced, starting in July 2018. Flights from Paris Orly to Fort-de-France and Newark began in September 2018. The airline OpenSkies, also owned by IAG, operated the flights from Paris Orly.

After OpenSkies stopped using its own brand on September 2, 2018, its flights became part of Level. On November 8, 2018, Level announced flights from Barcelona to Santiago de Chile and New York JFK. These were planned to start in March and July 2019. On May 8, 2019, a flight from Paris to Las Vegas was announced for October 30, 2019. However, this flight stopped by March 1, 2020. Another flight from Paris Orly to Boston was announced for March 31, 2020, but tickets were later stopped before it could begin.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused Level to stop all its flights in March 2020. On July 8, 2020, IAG announced that OpenSkies, which operated Level's Paris Orly flights, would close down. Even though tickets for Paris Orly flights were sold again, the flights never restarted. Level's long flights from Barcelona, operated by Iberia, started again on September 11, 2020, but with fewer flights. As travel rules eased, Level launched a new route from Barcelona to Cancún International Airport on July 2, 2021. Later, in September 2021, it announced that flights to Punta Cana would restart on December 4, 2021. In October 2021, flights to Los Angeles were announced to resume on March 28, 2022. On September 19, 2023, Level shared plans to have six aircraft. This would allow a new flight between Barcelona and Miami International Airport to start on March 31, 2024.

Growing Short-Haul Flights

A former Level Airbus A321-200 that flew short routes from Amsterdam and Vienna.

On June 29, 2018, IAG announced a new low-cost airline in Austria called Anisec Luftfahrt. This airline would operate flights from Vienna International Airport under the Level brand. Flights began on July 17, 2018. This new airline had its own Austrian license. It used four Airbus A321 planes. These planes had been used by Air Berlin and Niki. Level Europe planned to fly to 14 European cities from Vienna by the end of August 2018. However, by December 2018, Level reduced its flights from Vienna. Some flights were less frequent or cancelled because they were not as popular as expected.

On March 14, 2019, IAG confirmed plans to open a second base at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Seven routes already flown by Vueling were moved to Level between April 6 and August 15, 2019. These routes were operated by Anisec Luftfahrt under the Level brand. Three Airbus A320 planes were moved from Vueling to Level in March 2019. In December 2019, Anisec Luftfahrt changed its name to Level Europe.

On June 18, 2020, all short flights operated by Level Europe from Amsterdam and Vienna stopped. The company went out of business.

Level Becomes an Airline

On November 21, 2023, IAG announced that Level would get its own license to operate flights. This means Level will be able to fly its own planes. Before this, other IAG airlines had operated Level's flights.

How Level Works

Level has an office in Madrid, Spain. It shares space with the Spanish airline Iberia at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport. Level also has offices at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport. These are shared with the low-cost airline Vueling.

When Level first started in 2017, it did not have a chief executive officer (CEO). Later, Vincent Hodder became Level's first CEO on July 25, 2018. He had worked at the British airline Flybe. Fernando Candela took over as CEO on September 9, 2019. He had experience with Spanish airlines Iberia Express and Air Nostrum.

Where Level Flies

As of March 2024, airlines flying for Level serve or have served the following places.

Long-Haul Destinations

Long-haul flights under the Level brand started in March 2017 from Barcelona–El Prat Airport. Iberia operated these flights. From July 2018, long-haul flights from Paris Orly Airport were operated by OpenSkies. These stopped in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. IAG then announced OpenSkies' closure in July 2020.

Short-Haul Destinations

Short-haul flights were operated by Anisec Luftfahrt (later Level Europe) from July 2018 to March 2020. Operations stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 18, 2020, Level Europe went out of business. This meant all short-haul flights in Europe under the Level brand stopped immediately. The table below shows the status of destinations when Level Europe's flights were suspended in March 2020.

Sharing Flights with Other Airlines

As of October 2021, airlines operating for Level share flights with these airlines:

Level's Airplanes

Current Airplanes

Level Airbus A330-200 airplane.

As of December 2023, the Level brand uses the following airplanes:

Former Airplanes

A former Level Airbus A320-200 airplane.

Level used to have these types of airplanes under its brand:

How the Fleet Grew

In 2017, Level planned to grow from three A330-200s to at least 15 airplanes by 2022. They considered getting more Airbus A330s or possibly Boeing 787s. Later, they decided between the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A330-800 for future large planes. This was because production of the Airbus A330-200 was expected to end in early 2020.

In June 2018, four Airbus A321-200 airplanes were added for short flights. Then, two more Airbus A320-200 planes were added starting in March 2019. Three more Airbus A330-200 planes, operated by OpenSkies, were added in July 2018. In June 2020, the Airbus A320 and A321 planes were removed. This happened after Level Europe, which flew short flights for Level, stopped operating. The next month, OpenSkies stopped flying. Its three Airbus A330-200s were given to Iberia starting in January 2021. At least one of these planes was used for Level's Barcelona flights.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, IAG announced in November 2023 that Level's fleet would grow to eight airplanes by 2026.

Level's Services

Cabins and What You Get

Premium Economy

On Level's A330 planes, Premium Economy has 21 seats. These seats can recline and are arranged in a 2–3–2 pattern. Each seat has 37 inches (94 cm) of legroom. Noise-cancelling headphones are included. Seats have a 12-inch (31 cm) TV screen with free movies, TV shows, and music. Passengers get a three-course meal. Wi-Fi can be bought. Passengers can bring one carry-on bag and two checked bags.

Economy

The Economy cabin on Level's A330 planes has 293 seats. These seats are arranged in a 2–4–2 pattern. Each seat has a 9-inch (23 cm) TV screen. Wi-Fi, food, and checked bags can all be bought by passengers.

Frequent Flyer Program

Level does not have its own frequent flyer program. However, if you fly with Level on flights operated by Iberia, you can earn Avios points. These points are part of Iberia's Iberia Plus program. Flights operated by Level Europe or OpenSkies did not earn Avios points.

See also

In Spanish: Level para niños