LEVEL Airlines is the newest member of IAG (holding group owner of British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus). The airline, that started operations today with 2 aircrafts and 4 routes, is IAG’s bet for the long-haul Low Cost market and a direct response to Norwegian Airlines long haul flights between Europe and the Americas.
After flying in their inaugural flight between Barcelona and Los Angeles (you can access my review here), I returned to Barcelona today from Oakland International Airport on their Premium Economy product.
Online Check-In
I booked LEVEL Premium Discounted fare, that includes all the perks of the Premium product except seat assignment (which were offered for $22/$37). At check-in, I got assigned seat 2A but the site allowed me to change seats free of charge.
After the check in was completed the only option I got to retrieve the boarding pass was PDF vie email. No mobile boarding pass option was offered.
Airport Check-In
LEVEL Airlines operates from Terminal 1 at Oakland International Airport. Check in was operating with 4 counters: 3 for Economy passengers and 1 for Premium Economy. They had one person checking for the dimensions and weight of the hand luggage. She took my suitcase and weighted and returned asking me to remove something from the suitcase as I was 600 g over the limit (10 kg/22 lb). I took my jacket out, and put it back in after she weighted the suitcase again.
They had again the hand luggage dimensions check:
LEVEL does not include priority security lane for their premium passengers. Please notice that Norwegian does offer this service for their premium passengers.
The Boarding
Boarding was organized by zones: Premium Economy + 3 Economy boarding zones. In general Boarding was much more efficient than in Barcelona.
The Cabin and the Seats
The Premium Economy cabin consists of 21 reclinable seats with 37” pitch in a 2-3-2 layout. The seats are sleek but with much more cushion than the seats in Economy. The fabric used for the cushions is breathable and it did not feel hot at any point of the flight. This is the same hard product that Iberia will be offering on their long haul flights starting this summer.
Seats offered adjustable footrest:
We were offered orange juice as pre-departure drink:
The Take Off
Here is some video of the take off from Oakland Airport:
It was a beautiful afternoon in the Bay Area!
The In-Flight Entertainment
Every seat in the Premium Economy cabin has a 12” touch screen, offering the same content as in the Economy cabin. A remote control came in the seat.
Noise cancelling headphones were handed out after take off.
Two power outlets and two USB ports were also available in between the seats:
The Amenities
At boarding, every seat had a pack with a blanket and a pillow:
A small amenity kit was handed before departure. The contents included a toothbrush and generic toothpaste (same brand IB uses for their Business Class amenity kits), socks, eye shades, earplugs and hairbands.
The Food & Beverages
As in my outbound flight, the food service was actually good. This time I had a chicken teriyaki for the diner service.
The pre-arrival snack was a ham, cheese and pesto sandwich, yogurt and snacks.
I could confirm from the staff that the Premium Economy food service was the same pre-paid food service offered in Economy Class for 35€.
The Landing
Here is some video of the landning @ BCN:
Mileage accrual
LEVEL Premium Economy fares get 100 % accrual on Iberia, 5960 Avios.
Conclusion
This Premium Economy product reminded me of what Economy Class long haul hard product used to be 20 years ago in terms of pitch and width of the seats and the footrest and the food servings. Isn’t is sad that the airline industry has raced so much to the bottom that it has to be sold as a Premium product now?
Agree with your conclusion!
Although it indeed is sad, one has to consider the ability to cross the Atlantic for 100€ is just something that was made possible due to this race to the bottom.
Ask yourself, would a leisure traveller be willing to pay Premium Economy cabin for those extra savings?
In addition I feel like the Premium Economy of airlines like Air France can be considered to be the equivalent of a Business class seat back in the days… (Or just take a look at Ukrain Airlines’ current business product.)
Nice review. I have a fly to OAK in august and I have two question, they give water or some drinks in betwen the meals for free or we have to pay for it (I mean for water and soda if we wanna drink something).
The blanket is free with the Optima fare?
Thanks for the review 😉
There is water and cups at the galley. All other drinks are for purchase. Optima is an Economy Class fare, so blanket and pillow are for purchase.
does anyone know if the flights on PEY Level will earn AAdvantage miles?
TPG posted an article regarding this: https://thepointsguy.com/2017/06/aa-credit-level-flights/
thx!
“This Premium Economy product reminded me of what Economy Class long haul hard product used to be 20 years ago in terms of pitch and width of the seats and the footrest and the food servings. Isn’t is sad that the airline industry has raced so much to the bottom that it has to be sold as a Premium product now?”
— economy prices are at least 50% of what they were 20 years ago. so you choose to fly economy at half the price, or pay the same for the same.
Thanks for the review
The two equipment boxes under the pair of seats is disappointing. Somehow airlines like Delta have figured out how to offer IFE & power in economy cabins on the A330 without such bulky nuisances!
Do you know how wide the seats are? I cant seem to find any details or seat maps from Level. Kind of weird.
I’ve seen on seat guru that they’re 17.5 inch wide.
Ah cool, thanks for the info! I couldn’t find Level planes listed on Seat Guru.
For Premium Economy, that sure is a narrow seat. :/
I could confirm from the staff that the Premium Economy food service was the same pre-paid food service offered in Economy Class for 35€. —>This is nice to know. In fact you may get a row 4 in the small economy section, pay for the 35 euros and the seat and save a lot of money, and no difference.
But one less seat in a row in the Premium cabin, correct? So it’s not just the food.