Level airline is now the world’s budget champion
If you were to ask even a wellinformed travel professional to name the cheapest airline flying the Atlantic, he or she undoubtedly would answer: Norwegian Airlines.
And that person would be dead wrong. The cheapest such airline is Level, a joint enterprise of British Airways and Iberia Airlines. It flies mainly from Paris and Barcelona, Spain, to Newark, N.J., Boston and San Francisco for a basic fare — hold your breath! — of only $300 or $350 round trip between Newark/boston and Paris/barcelona, and for only $366 round-trip airfare between Paris/barcelona and San Francisco.
I am not making this up. Just recently, a relative of mine and her boyfriend — both residents of Paris — used Level to fly round trip between Paris and Newark for a cost of the euro equivalent of $350 per person.
To pay that little, they took no baggage other than the small overnight cases that could fit into an overhead rack, and they ate no airline- provided meals ( contenting themselves with homemade sandwiches brought aboard).
As you can imagine, Level charges higher-than-usual fees for checked baggage, seat selection, in-flight meals, Wi-fi and other “options.”
Despite the astonishingly low price, the plane was half empty (reflecting a lack of advertising to date), and each of them stretched over four seats to sleep.
Level airline, as best I can discover, is the brainchild of Willie Walsh, CEO of British Airways, and his counterpart at Iberia Airlines.
The planes used for Level are excellent aircraft staffed by British personnel, and the flights themselves are absolutely normal.
The airline began flying in 2017 and expanded its destinations to include Newark and San Fran- cisco in September 2018.
Level’s European gateways are mainly Paris, Barcelona and Vienna. Surprisingly, it does not fly to or from London, but it does fly heavily to and from Paris (Orly Airport). Whether Level will continue flying in winter is not yet known, but I know of no reason it shouldn’t.
If you’d like to be the bestinformed travel maven of your community, learn more about Level airline from the material on the internet, and then use it for your next trip to Europe and pay the unheard-of price of only $300 or $350 round trip.
Just don’t bring a normal-sized suitcase or you’ll pay for the privilege. And do bring a few sandwiches prepared at home.
Arthur Frommer is the pioneering founder of the Frommer’s Travel Guide book series. He co-hosts the radio program, The Travel
Show, with his travel correspondent daughter Pauline Frommer. Find more destinations online and read Arthur Frommer’s blog at frommers.com.