Another IAG airline bites the dust – LEVEL France closing

According to El Pais in Spain, IAG – the parent company of British Airways – has decided to close down LEVEL France, its long-haul low cost airline.

This follows LEVEL Europe, the short-haul low cost airline based in Vienna, which entered insolvency last month.  LEVEL Europe operated a relatively small fleet of six A320 and A321 aircraft out of Vienna and Amsterdam to destinations such as Rome, London, Lisbon and Barcelona.  Around 240 staff were made redundant.

Unlike LEVEL Europe, which slipped into administration, it appears that IAG is pre-emptively winding down LEVEL France. According to El Pais, IAG management has made the decision to close the loss-making Paris base in the coming weeks. A consultation with the unions is due to begin on 15th July.

What was LEVEL France?

LEVEL France was a long-haul operation based out of Paris Orly, using three A330-200 aircraft.

It flew to:

• Montreal
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• New York Newark

There was no Business Class.  The aircraft operated with only Premium Economy and Economy seating.  It was a fairly basic business model:

you paid for all food and drink

you paid for all checked luggage

you paid for seat selection

you paid for a blanket, pillow and / or amenity kit

you paid for internet

you paid for IFE

LEVEL France was, legally, the old British Airways OpenSkies operation in new clothes.

Operating from Paris Orly, OpenSkies used to operate two flights per day to New York Newark and New York JFK.  OpenSkies services were bookable with Avios and, if you paid cash, you earned Avios and British Airways tier points.  It had a weirdly named three class service – Biz Bed, Prem Plus and Eco.

When British Airways decided to pull the plug on OpenSkies, IAG decided to use its operating licence to ‘front’ LEVEL France.

What’s left for LEVEL?

With the Vienna-based short haul operation and the Paris-based long haul operation now gone, all that remains is the original LEVEL Barcelona operation.

This was operating on long haul routes to Buenos Aires, San Francisco and Boston. El Pais suggests that this will continue.

The Barcelona operation worked well because it wasn’t facing much direct competition and had a large catchment area.  The Paris long haul market was a totally different matter.  That said, it would be odd if IAG was prepared to keep LEVEL going as a pure three route long haul operation out of Spain.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

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British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)