Taking it to another LEVEL

Spanish low-cost carrier LEVEL has secured its own air operators certificate (AOC) enabling it to expand operations from its Barcelona/El Prat hub. The airline commenced services in June 2017 and previously operated under Iberia’s AOC before announcing its intention to obtain its own certificate in November 2023. Previously, LEVEL has operated as a commercial brand within the International Airlines Group (IAG). Currently, it has a fleet of six Airbus A330-200s, with a seventh due to be delivered and plans to add an eighth example in 2026. The airline operates five routes from its Barcelona/El Prat hub to Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/JFK, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile.

LEVEL Airbus A330 flying — *Airbus SAS/Alexandre Doumenjou/Master Films*

The airline will fly under the IATA designator code ‘LL’ and the ICAO code ‘LVL’. Meanwhile, it will use the callsign ‘Dalí’ in reference to the Catalonian surrealist Salvador Dalí. It plans to fully transition to the new AOC in 2025. Management is now in the process of obtaining regulatory clearance to continue flying to Argentina, Chile and the US. LEVEL’s CEO Rafael Jiménez Hoyos, who took the helm in October, said the milestone marked a new stage in the airline’s history and gave the carrier “greater agility to achieve its strategic objectives.” Certification has also led the airline to increase its staffing levels, with a new operations team and its own pilots and cabin crew. Since 2019, LEVEL has doubled its capacity, offering almost one million seats in 2024. The airline has also increased its offering to the US by 9% for the current winter season with 300,000 seats.