Thanks for the info. With the current half-price sale, I bought a roundtrip ticket on this route for less than $200. Hard to go wrong at that price.
I was wondering about check-in. On BA, if you don't pay for an economy seat, they seem to assign most folks seats at the 24-hour mark but it's then usually possible to change your seat if there are open seats still available. It doesn't sound like this works on Level. Do you ALWAYS have to pay for a seat assignment, even within the 24-hour mark? If so, I guess I'll use your strategy and look at the seat map as I board. Since I'm travelling with my wife, I wonder if they'd give us 2 seats along the window if I checked in early online.
The last time I flew BA coach out of EWR, I was annoyed by the very long (and hidden) TSA line, and the lack of a pre-check line. I did see "in the know" folks who cut across the first class/priority rope after going past the initial (non-TSA) checker. This seemed a bit slimy, but I'm thinking of doing it myself as I had to wait 50 minutes to get through security and missed a lounge visit. What was your experience at EWR?
Does Level give out free water, or do I need to bring some empty water bottles with me? My strategy on food is to hit a lounge before boarding and bring a few snacks. That will be easy on the overnight flight, but I'll probably give some thought in Paris to provisioning for the longer daytime flight home. I'm thinking baguettes and cheese and such. I'm sure it would make the flight home more enjoyable. I'm guessing I can't sneak a little wine on board.
