On Friday I first wrote about LEVEL, the new transatlantic low cost carrier being launched by IAG, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling. The new airline is designed to compete with the likes of Norwegian and WOW Air, which are otherwise giving the traditional transatlantic airlines a lot of competition.
LEVEL will initially be launching flights out of Barcelona this summer, as follows:
- Flights to Los Angeles start on June 1, 2017 and operate twice per week
- Flights to Oakland start on June 2, 2017 and operate three times per week
- Flights to Punta Cana start on June 10, 2017 and operate twice per week
- Flights to Buenos Aires start on June 17, 2017 and operate three times per week
They’ll initially be operating two A330 aircraft, though will grow over time. Tickets went on sale on Friday at flylevel.com, and start at $149 one-way.
Now here’s the crazy part — LEVEL is claiming they sold 52,000 tickets on their first day. That’s so impressive that I’m not sure whether or not to believe it.
https://twitter.com/flywithlevelEN/status/843125135448182784
Let’s assume that by 52,000 tickets they mean 52,000 one-way tickets. LEVEL A330-200s have a total of 314 seats. That means that on day one they sold out 165+ planes. They’ll eventually operate 10 weekly frequencies in each direction across their four routes, or a total of 20 weekly frequencies roundtrip. That means that on day one they sold out every single flight for over eight weeks.
As of now they’re only selling tickets through mid-October, which would mean that they’ve sold nearly half of all seats on day one.
If that is in fact true, that must be one of the most successful airline launches ever. While sub-$300 roundtrip transatlantic tickets are tempting, I’m shocked that many people pulled the trigger on day one.
If this is in fact true, congrats to LEVEL… that’s amazing. However, maybe they meant something else. They said that on day one they hit “record sales.” Wouldn’t any number of sales on the first day of accepting bookings be a “record?” 😉
Did any readers make a booking on LEVEL on day one?
Level Airlines reminds me of Song Airlines. A Delta Airlines LCC to compete with other Low Cost Carriers. In the long run Song did not make any money and the brand was returned to Delta Airlines. How can Iberia and BA make any money doing this ?
I bought a RT ticket OAK-BCN-OAK for June. US$299. I can handle the 30inch pitch. I simply would have never taken the trip for 9 days with a $1200 fare that forced 4 hours in EWR or ORD each way.
I've taken Norwegian OAK-LGW and back and thought it was fine. Probably better than United or Delta. And the fact that the SF Bay Area has never had a non-stop to Spain is crazy....
I bought a RT ticket OAK-BCN-OAK for June. US$299. I can handle the 30inch pitch. I simply would have never taken the trip for 9 days with a $1200 fare that forced 4 hours in EWR or ORD each way.
I've taken Norwegian OAK-LGW and back and thought it was fine. Probably better than United or Delta. And the fact that the SF Bay Area has never had a non-stop to Spain is crazy. This fixes that. You are allowed 10kg of carry on. On Norwegian, I only ended up taking 7kg. I never travel with lots of luggage. I brought sandwiches, ate two, and paid for 2 soft drinks (ttl US$7). If you get to the airport 2+ hours ahead, there are generally plenty of seats to choose from.
All of the add ons are for those who don't plan or fear that it will be awful. It simply isn't.
Craig, It's the first low cost so yes, here in Argentina was crazy!!!!!
An 11 hour flight with a 30in seat pitch? Nobody should be that desperate.
@Glenn Towler - their website says LAX, which makes sense - Burbank and Long Beach don't have FIS facilities, Orange County has a very short runway (couldn't handle a fully-loaded intercontinental A330, and it has all the curfew restrictions), and Ontario has the unfortunate problem of being in Ontario. (Seriously, if they were flying to ONT, I'd hope they'd be disclosing that right up front, although it does have FIS.)
And on a side note,...
@Glenn Towler - their website says LAX, which makes sense - Burbank and Long Beach don't have FIS facilities, Orange County has a very short runway (couldn't handle a fully-loaded intercontinental A330, and it has all the curfew restrictions), and Ontario has the unfortunate problem of being in Ontario. (Seriously, if they were flying to ONT, I'd hope they'd be disclosing that right up front, although it does have FIS.)
And on a side note, that is one incredibly boring livery, and I'm taking a stand against typing the name in all caps right now. (Swiss drives me crazy with that too.)
When it says LA I wonder if the flights are landing somewhere close to LA or at LAX. This a ploy used by low cost airlines to cut costs. Use a airport with lower landing fees. You will I am sure have to pay for checked bags, carry on bags and food won't be cheap either
I bought one from BCN-LAX only to do a trip report on it, got it for 99 EUR. And did not have to pay for my seat assignment.
I am a Diamond but got two one way BCN to OAK for 99 dollars too good of a deal not to get one. I need it to come back. I got it via Iberia it may be that Level airlines that I am flying. No food serve but that is fine I can bring a lunch and luggage is 40 euros per pieces which is also fine with me. Iberia website even crashed because of the sale.
You realize that you screenshot a December booking, while saying that they are only selling tickets until October?
That said, in Argentina they are truly going crazy booking flights to Europe for that kind of price...
@mach81 I was looking at rtn flights in September departing Barcelona to Oakland obviously it's not the most direct route 2 or 3 flights, the deal is only on promotional premium economy tickets but I believe that just means you need to make any changes before the flight departs otherwise they are non refundable. Every flight option I looked at had the deal for the BA flights from heathrow and gatwick to the US. Three...
@mach81 I was looking at rtn flights in September departing Barcelona to Oakland obviously it's not the most direct route 2 or 3 flights, the deal is only on promotional premium economy tickets but I believe that just means you need to make any changes before the flight departs otherwise they are non refundable. Every flight option I looked at had the deal for the BA flights from heathrow and gatwick to the US. Three flight options had a transfer in the states on American, now I assume that's in economy but it didn't state that specifically anywhere. Again the flight from bcn to lgw and lhr I'm guessing is in economy also. Maybe you might get a free cup of hot water for your tea bag on the way to London, hahaha who am I kidding! This is the new B(ugger)A(ll)
They are actually selling tix through end of schedule. Family members picked up Christmas departure and after new year return from Oakland for 249rt (two one ways). When priced together it was 299.
@Paulinchina, I'm curious about these cheap WT+ fares...never seen them ex US and ex EU only wayyyy in advance and during promos
Question.... How are they going to operate that many TransAtlantic flights with 2 aircraft starting on June 17? Or by saying "they will grow overtime" that within the first 17 days they will acquire more than 2 A330's? Or do I just need to do the math to figure out that with the correct scheduling you can fly 10 round trips with 2 aircraft in a week?
Well if you try to book flights you can find many promotional premium economy tickets flying on BA which are less than the cost of economy tickets, some a lot less and around the same price you would pay on level. So maybe they are including tickets not being flown on level in those quoted numbers?! The website also states that Level flights will be operated on and by Iberia aircraft?! Is this even a...
Well if you try to book flights you can find many promotional premium economy tickets flying on BA which are less than the cost of economy tickets, some a lot less and around the same price you would pay on level. So maybe they are including tickets not being flown on level in those quoted numbers?! The website also states that Level flights will be operated on and by Iberia aircraft?! Is this even a new airline or just a rebranding and if so where are the cost savings that make lower fares possible? Does rebranding and repainting an Iberia aircraft and running it with the same crew and pilots actually give cost savings?! Creative mathematics?
Considering how cheap TATL can be on legacy carriers (connecting flight included) I hardly see TATL low costs as real "low cost" (except WOW air)
But what happens when fares return to non-promotional pricing?
Donald Trump runs their social media department, including Twitter.... small detail.
This comment is the longest one I've written all week! A record!