Level takes off from Barcelona today
IAG’s low-cost transatlantic airline, Level, launches today with a flight from Barcelona to Los Angeles.
Flights from Barcelona to Oakland start tomorrow.
Over the next three weeks, Level will also add flights from Barcelona to Buenos Aires and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
IAG, which owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, claims it sold 100,000 tickets for its new airline in the first month.
The launch comes just days after BA suffered a disastrous IT failure that left 75,000 passengers stranded at London Heathrow and Gatwick over the bank holiday weekend.
Steven Small, brand director of Routes, which is hosting its global event in Barcelona in September this year, said: "The biggest step change to international route development over the next few years will be the growth of low-cost long-haul services.
"Established airlines are responding, with IAG launching Level, a no frills offering. KLM/Air France is also set to launch a new airline project named Boost targeting this segment of the market.
"Norwegian is blazing a trail, and making a strong case for the long-term viability of the model. Ryanair is also starting to offer connecting flights and sell seats for other carriers which is likely to introduce aggressive competition into the long-haul market."
He said the arrival of a new generation of long-range narrow-body jets such as the 737 Max 8 and A321 Neo is likely to see even more low cost airlines offering longer flights, mainly from regional airports.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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