New long-haul, low-cost carrier LEVEL is spreading its wings with sales said to be well ahead of expectations on the back of trans-Atlantic one-way fares as cheap as 99 euros ($US111).
The International Airlines Group carrier on June 1 officially became part of a global expansion by budget long-haul airlines expected to see Europeans offered a plethora of new low-cost options in the coming years.
It began its three times weekly service between its base in Barcelona, Spain, and Los Angeles with a full complement of 314 passengers aboard an Airbus A330 and followed up the next day with flights to San Francisco (Oakland).
Next off the rank is the June 10 start of services to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, due to start June 10 and operation to Bueno Aires, Argentina, kicking off a week later.
“This is the start of a fantastic new adventure for IAG,’’ IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said at the launch of the LA flights. “LEVEL’s sales are well ahead of our expectations in all markets. The brand has resonated with a new audience, many of whom are flying long-haul for the first time.
“In 2018, LEVEL will increase its fleet to five aircraft and we are considering other European bases for the operation.’’
The start-up is working closely with sister airlines Vueling and Iberia in terms of feeder traffic and has also inked a codeshare agreement with American Airlines.
It has Milan and Paris in its sights as new bases and could expand this to Rome as it follows the lead of rival Norwegian Air Shuttle to take advantage of the Alitalia’s bankruptcy.
Walsh said he believed there was strong demand in Rome and a market for Level here for Level “even with the entry of Norwegian’’.
The airlines Airbus A330s are fitted with 293 economy and 21 premium economy seats. The economy seats will be in a 2-4-2 configuration with a 30-inch seat pitch with 9-inch video screens while those travelling in premium economy will get a 37-inch pitch and 12-inch screens.
IAG fast-tracked the new carrier is a response to the aggressive trans-Atlantic expansion plans by Norwegian as well as moves to enter the long-haul LCC market by Lufthansa and Air France.
Norwegian, which has also offered 99-euro flights, is set to start flying from Barcelona to the US later this month and launch 10 new trans-Atlantic routes in June and July from the Scottish capital of Edinburgh and four ports in Ireland.
Other LCCs already crossing the Atlantic include Canada’s WestJet and Air Canada rouge and Iceland’s Wow air. There has also been ongoing speculation that US giant Southwest will join the fray.
The long-haul LCC expansion is part of a trend pioneered by Qantas subsidiary Jetstar in 2006 and which continues to gather gathering pace.
According to the CAPA Centre for Aviation, there has been 15 long-haul, low-cost airlines launched since 2012 and the sector is expected again double in size over the next two years to gain a 1 per cent share of global capacity.
This means more competition for full-service carriers but is also seeing the LCCs taking on each other, including the routes shared by LEVEL and Norwegian and competition between AirAsia X and Scoot on Osaka-Honolulu.
“The fastest expansion is likely to come in Europe, driven by Norwegian, Level and Air France’s Buzz,’’ CAPA said in its analysis. “Scoot and AirAsia X are also expected to focus on expanding in Europe over the next few years — in part a response to their new European-based competitors and partially driven by the fact routes to Australia and North Asia are starting to become saturated.’’
CAPA believes Norwegian could surpass AirAsia X is the world’s biggest long-haul airline by the end of 2018 as it receives more Boeing 787-9s and 737 MAX-8s followed in 2019 by the delivery of A321neoLRs.
