British Airways owner British Airways owner IAG’s new airline Level has already soared past 100,000 bookings since launching in March
IAG only unveiled its new low-cost, long-haul airline Level last month.
But the new Barcelona-based carrier has already soared past 100,000 bookings as the low-cost, long-haul market heats up. Customers have been snapping up tickets from the Spanish city to LA, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Punta Cana.
Read more: British Airways owner IAG is launching a new low-cost, long-haul airline
IAG boss Willie Walsh, said: “Selling more than 100,000 tickets in such a short period with a new brand is incredible. The response has been fantastic in all markets. We’re enabling many people to fly long-haul for the first time and stimulating demand by providing them with more choice.”
He also sent out a warning to rivals, saying:
This is just the start. In summer 2018 we will have more aircraft and will operate more destinations from Barcelona. We’re also planning to expand Level operations to other European cities.
The new carrier was unveiled on 17 March and to start with, it will be operated by Iberia’s flight and cabin crew and will create up to 250 jobs based in Barcelona.
The first flight will take off on 1 June from Barcelona to Los Angeles, followed by San Francisco the next day.
Level becomes IAG’s fifth main airline brand along with Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling. Passengers on the new airline will also be able to earn and redeem Avios, the loyalty currency for IAG’s other carriers, giving them the opportunity to fly to 380 destinations across IAG’s network.
IAG’s shares were up nearly three per cent in afternoon trading at 543.50p.
It marks the latest push in the low-cost, long-haul market, with Norwegian announcing a flurry of new transatlantic flights in recent months. It unveiled 10 new routes in February, followed by new flights to Seattle and Denver from Gatwick Airport last week.
Read more: Norwegian launches Gatwick flights to Seattle and Denver from £199