rwkoehler

I am looking to book a flight from Barcelona back to Boston in early 2025 following the completion of a Norwegian cruise around the Iberian peninsula.

I want to fly in some sort of Premium Economy (not Business or First) so that seats are very comfortable for the long flight. The costs for a Premium Economy fare on a LEVEL airlines flight, operated by Iberia, appear to be significantly lower than all others I have found.

I have searched for reviews of LEVEL on the internet and they seem to be all over the place. Some think they are great, and are just the same seats on the same airplanes, but offered by a different provider. Other reviews wouldn't touch LEVEL with the proverbial 10 foot pole. Some of the reviews on another forum (TA) are so ridiculously bad that they almost have to be fake.

Does anyone have very recent, real world experience flying Premium Economy on LEVEL? If so, what should I be aware of, look out for, be concerned about?

Thanks.

Yllanes

There's nothing serious to be concerned about, it's a pretty standard Premium Economy product. Just be aware that you won't receive frequent-flyer benefits with them if you are a OW (or even IB+) elite and consider the cost after adding all the extras that you need (luggage, etc.).

rwkoehler

Thank you for the reply. I would really like to believe that LEVEL is legit. There are almost hilariously awful reviews in another forum (TA). They are universally SO bad that they almost have to be fake. And yet, would anyone really take the time required to actually post so many of those?

craigthemif

LEVEL is fine. Certainly no reason to take a connecting flight in order to avoid it.

Instead of making assumptions, which might be incorrect, just look through the website to be sure what is included and what isn't.

Your first incorrect assumption has led you to post in the Iberia forum. Yes, the companies are related and the FT mods won't usually move LEVEL-related questions elsewhere... but you won't earn any miles, receive elite benefits, etc. "operated by Iberia" means little more than the fact that the employees work for Iberia and the planes are owned by Iberia.

chacor

For what it's worth, if you're an IB+ member you do earn Avios and Elite Points on LEVEL (both seats and extras) on Iberia-operated flights, but do not get any status elite benefits such as the lounge. These don't extend to BAEC or any other OW program though.

rwkoehler

Thank you for all of the replies. I am new to FlyerTalk and only posted on the Iberia forum because I couldn't find one specifically for Level. I am aware that they are separate from (owned by IAG?) and only "operated by" Iberia.

I will be flying direct from Barcelona to Boston so no worries about connections. I also am not concerned about getting frequent flyer points.

It is just those many, crazy awful reviews on TA that make me hesitate, which is probably what they are intended to do. It is responses from folks like all of you who make me feel much better about making an informed decision.

Thanks again.

voyager_

We flew Level last summer BOS-BCN in PE. I paid additional for the 1st row, but in reality it did not offer that much additional legroom. Level also offers specific meals for pre-purchase, which we purchased and received. The service in PE was OK, not worse than on legacy lines

rwkoehler

Thanks very much for the update, Voyager. It appears that there is only one row of supposedly "XL" seating offered by PE for an additional $99 per seat. Considering how much less expensive the Level PE fare is, compared to say Premium on Iberia, I am considering just adding that additional $198. Since you say that there is not that much difference, I assume that XL is not necessarily a bulkhead style seat that it could appear to be on their seat map. Is there another row directly in front of the XL row.? Is that row any further away from XL than say, XL is in front of the seat behind it?

Did you check any bags in Boston? That PE fare is supposed to include 2, checked bags per person. I want to ensure that it does. If you did check bags, did Level have its own checkin desk at the Boston airport, or did you check your bags at the iberia desk, or perhaps even Yueling?

Did you happen to notice whether or not Level had its own checkin desk at the Barcelona airport?

Yours is exactly the kind of real world, post Covid experience with Level that I was hoping to find before I decided to book with Level. Thank you so much for sharing.

If you want a chuckle, go out to the popular travel forum TA (my guess is that flyertalk might blank out the name if I spelled it out). There are reviews out there about Level that would have you believe that the airline was run by Satan himself, with his fallen angels acting as both airport staff and flight attendants (and probably pilots as well).

voyager_

Well the "XL" is the bulkhead row (1st). In 2023, the fee was $80 or 80Euros, I do not recall. The trick was to change the currency to Euros, in this way the overall fare was lower than in US$ (assuming your credit card does not impose fees for conversion).
Yes, there was a Level counter in BOS, and we did check bags, but we had 2 for the 2 of us.
I do not know much about BCN's Level counter as we were also on a cruise that ended in DUB.
And yes, I looked at the TA reviews back in time - they were uniformly awful with few exceptions

rwkoehler

Thank you so much.

craigthemif

As with all LCCs, a "normal" flight is unremarkable. And therefore only the TA-obsessed will make the effort to do a positive review.

However, when things go wrong, the recovery is usually much worse with a LCC. Others might not be aware that they booked a LCC and are annoyed at paying for luggage, food, etc. So therefore more people go to TA to vent.