Spanish carrier Iberia and budget long-haul operator Level will initially co-operate on US services following Level’s establishment as a standalone carrier.
Level has secured its own air operator’s certificate, under the name Fly Level Barcelona, the Spanish civil aviation regulator AESA confirms.
The airline – which, like Iberia, is owned by IAG – will have a fleet of Airbus A330s.
Iberia has previously operated six aircraft under the Level brand.
One of these has been transferred to the new airline, with a second transfer in progress, states a joint Level-Iberia regulatory filing to US authorities.
It says these aircraft will be used on South American routes.
Three more aircraft will then be transferred to the Level AOC which will subsequently be wet-leased back to Iberia for US operations, until the final Level-branded aircraft has moved over.
Iberia and Level are seeking to codeshare on US routes, with flights operating under both the ‘IB’ and ‘LL’ designators.
Their filing includes a request for blanket reciprocal codeshare approval, as well as clearance for the “final piece of the puzzle” – collective use of the Level trade name, to cover Level-marketed flights on Level-branded aircraft which are still operated under Iberia’s AOC.
