IAG To Launch Low-cost Long-haul Airline

IAG, owner of British Airways and Iberia, will launch a new low-cost carrier in June, with flights from Barcelona to the US and South America.

The new airline, LEVEL, will serve four cities, Los Angeles, Oakland, Buenos Aires, and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, from June with new Airbus A330s, IAG said in a statement.

Los Angeles flights will operate twice weekly from June 1, Oakland three times a week from June 2, Punta Cana twice weekly from June 10, and Buenos Aires three times a week from June 17, 2017.

IAG said the flights, crewed by Iberia pilots and cabin staff, will launch from Barcelona but will expand to other European cities.

IAG’s launch of LEVEL and Lufthansa Group’s expansion of Eurowings as an LCC are part of legacy airlines’ push to counter the emergence of low cost long-haul carriers such as rapidly expanding Norwegian.