The 2022 northern summer season was a success for several airlines, especially Spanish ones. LEVEL, IAG’s long-haul low cost based in Barcelona, reported a record summer with a 26% increase in the number of passengers carried versus 2019, with 330,000 passengers on more than 1,200 flights.
Despite certain conditions that led it to operate flights for Iberia from Madrid, the low-cost carrier was able to increase its presence in its key markets. During the summer it flew to Boston (BOS), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) in the United States; Buenos Aires/Ezeiza in Argentina, without competition; and New York (JFK), where it had to compete against American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
«We have experienced the best summer of the five that make up LEVEL’s history and it is a source of pride for all the people who make up the company. These figures are also the driving force to continue fulfilling the airline’s raison d’être, which is to strengthen the long-haul connectivity of Barcelona. In fact, it is this commitment that today, after two very difficult summers for the sector, we can celebrate these record figures for LEVEL,» said Lucía Adrover, commercial director of LEVEL.
According to data obtained through AENA statistics, between January and September, New York (JFK) was the destination with the highest demand with more than 100,000 passengers transported; in second place, Buenos Aires with 99,130 customers; Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston close LEVEL’s top destinations with 52,377, 50,051 and 32,656 travelers, respectively.
With the volume of services offered between Barcelona and the United States, LEVEL has become the second most important operator of Barcelona airport in that market. The company stated that one out of every four seats between Barcelona and the United States belongs to its operations.
Also, connecting traffic, which accounted for 15% of the airline’s total volume, reinforces Barcelona Airport’s position as an intercontinental hub. LEVEL and Vueling have a code-share agreement that allows passengers to make connections to Vueling’s domestic, European and African destinations.
In early October, Turespaña and LEVEL signed a comarketing agreement for the promotion of Barcelona and Catalonia in the United States, valued at one million euros.
According to figures published by Turespaña, 3.3 million U.S. tourists visited Spain in 2019, spending 5.773 billion euros. In the same year, the United States ranked fifth as an outbound market for tourists to Spain and fourth in terms of spending.
LEVEL currently operates four Airbus A330-200s with capacity for 314 passengers, and recently resumed operations to Santiago (SCL), Chile.
