Overall, Europe's load factor at IAG dropped to 80.5 from 83.4% a year earlier. Vueling is also down 1.4%. BA, IB and EI are all up.

https://www.iairgroup.com/~/media/Files ... y-2019.pdf

IMO this shows how much overcapacity there is in Europe and that LEVEL is not able to compete in the in the intra-European low-cost market (again, after Vueling).

LEVEL has already discontinued a number of routes out of VIE, unable to compete with Ryanair (Lauda) and Wizzair, such as Copenhagen, Milan MXP, Seville, Valencia or Venice.

How will LEVEL end?

All airlines in the group expanded and carried more pax than the year before, especially Level. It always takes a bit of time until the network is stabilised. So I would say at the moment it looks all ok from the numbers point of view.

When the company is growing by passenger number 5 times (544%) the drop of load factor is just natural: growth comes with new competition and mistakes in network planning there and there (when you launch a lot of new routes in one year, some of them will be underperforming).

Nevertheless, the goal and future of LEVEL brand are still unclear in longterm. But that has nothing to do with current changes in load factor.

They're doing better than many thought they would, simply by sticking around in certain markets. Though I'm still not convinced they can compete out of VIE long term, and the cracks are starting to appear.

I can't see FR pulling the plug just yet and they can afford to burn cash to eliminate the competition. W6 have that many planes arriving in the next few years that if they can't make a base at VIE viable then one wonders where and how they're going to operate a 200+ strong fleet.

Makes me wonder where LEVEL is going in VIE, they're not going to have a lower cost base than FR/Laudamotion & W6, so one would imagine they'd be the first to crack in a fare war. Similarly they aren't going to have the route network and connection possibilities that OS/EW boast to help them fill their aircraft.

smbukas wrote:

Nevertheless, the goal and future of LEVEL brand are still unclear in longterm. But that has nothing to do with current changes in load factor.

I think it's little more than a stick to beat other work groups with - "look at how little money Level workers earn, there's no reason why you should earn more. Take a pay cut or Level gets the new work" etc.

VIE seemed a strange choice for a first short haul base.

VIE is going to be the cheapest European destination this Europe I can’t wait.

I’ll be honest, I find Level’s advertising here in Wien frankly Very dull and uninteresting. The airline’s adverts around the city read more like an accounting firm or estate agent.

Take this image for example. This was taken just around August last year, so Level we’re running for a month or so.



Meanwhile, Wizzair we’re doing this on a Viennese landmark, opposite a huge three month long film festival in the city centre.




Wizz have it covered while Level, well it’s not eye catching, tells me nothing really about the airline, and until you see the aircraft at the bottom, you’re not really sure what Level is. Admittedly this is my opinion, but brand recognition wise, Level aren’t making a breakthrough here in Vienna.

Not sure about the somewhat particular VIE operation, and its peculiar dynamics, but LEVEL (long haul) is a very good LCC which offers a very good product, on brand-new, very comfortable aircrafts, with excellent crews. It's a very convincing proposition that I have used on several occasions, and that I am happy to select in lieu of some more established carriers, simply because you can easily and cheaply 'tailor' the service to your needs, and in any case the basic service, and the hardware are of a very good standard (good spacious seats, good entertainment, decent catering options at very affordable prices, generous and fairly relaxed luggage policies, a very nice C+ section, and in general crews that are well groomed, professional and friendly). You can basically buy a $200.00 return long-haul, pay an extra $120.00 to really perk it up, and end up flying better than on AA, BA or LH for only a fraction of the cost.

Number6 wrote:

I’ll be honest, I find Level’s advertising here in Wien frankly Very dull and uninteresting. The airline’s adverts around the city read more like an accounting firm or estate agent.

Take this image for example. This was taken just around August last year, so Level we’re running for a month or so.



Meanwhile, Wizzair we’re doing this on a Viennese landmark, opposite a huge three month long film festival in the city centre.




Wizz have it covered while Level, well it’s not eye catching, tells me nothing really about the airline, and until you see the aircraft at the bottom, you’re not really sure what Level is. Admittedly this is my opinion, but brand recognition wise, Level aren’t making a breakthrough here in Vienna.

Except LEVEL is so much better to fly with than Wizz. Wizz screams cheap. LEVEL feels decidedly upmarket for being a LCC, and they consistently offer good fares. Their aircrafts are immaculate and crews well groomed, professional and multilingual.
You may or may not like LEVEL's branding, but they are very consistent in how they present it throughout the whole booking/flight/ads/etc process, so by the end of the experience you will be familiar with the colors and geometric logos associated with it. It's actually quite clever, it's modern, refreshing and quite innovative.

I flew out of Vienna recently on Wizz and actually really enjoyed the flight. It was more pleasant than ryanair anyway.

I don’t get levels brand. The geometric shapes and blue and green ‘flag’ logo make me feel nothing.

SCQ83 wrote:

How will LEVEL end?

The same way as Joon?

SCQ83 wrote:

How will LEVEL end?

.....when IAG takes control of W6........

It will always baffle me why they did not use the Vueling brand for their long-haul low-cost operations. Alternatively, they could have rebranded Vueling to Level if for any reason they thought Level was a better brand. Or at least, I think they could have segmented long-haul low-cost as Level, and short-haul low-cost as Vueling. It is so confusing that the VIE-based low cost short haul operations of the group are called Level.

The decision to open the Level base at AMS and the transfer of routes from the Vueling to Level brand, was due to a dispute between the Spanish IAG subsidiary and the local unions. They wanted more concessions for the crews, Vueling crew were/are currently flown in from Spain and often nightstop or spend 2 or more nights in a hotel between operating flights. The Level base in the AMS eliminates this additional expense of hotels as they have recruited crew in AMS, which has lead to a cost savings.

oldannyboy wrote:

LEVEL is so much better to fly with than Wizz. Wizz screams cheap. LEVEL feels decidedly upmarket for being a LCC, and they consistently offer good fares. Their aircrafts are immaculate and crews well groomed, professional and multilingual.

The upmarket low cost carrier strikes back. Let me think... Virgin America? Norwegian?

SCQ83 wrote:

oldannyboy wrote:

LEVEL is so much better to fly with than Wizz. Wizz screams cheap. LEVEL feels decidedly upmarket for being a LCC, and they consistently offer good fares. Their aircrafts are immaculate and crews well groomed, professional and multilingual.

The upmarket low cost carrier strikes back. Let me think... Virgin America? Norwegian?

Not really sure what you are on at.... but suit yourself. It doesn't change the fact that LEVEL is much nicer to fly with. As far as the rest is concerned I really do not have an answer as I do not possess a crystal ball - precisely as everybody else on this forum I would suppose...

SelseyBill wrote:

SCQ83 wrote:

How will LEVEL end?

.....when IAG takes control of W6........

Or some believe EasyJet...

SCQ83 wrote:

oldannyboy wrote:

LEVEL is so much better to fly with than Wizz. Wizz screams cheap. LEVEL feels decidedly upmarket for being a LCC, and they consistently offer good fares. Their aircrafts are immaculate and crews well groomed, professional and multilingual.

The upmarket low cost carrier strikes back. Let me think... Virgin America? Norwegian?

In what universe is Norwegian upmarket?

It’s 1 month, come on now. Let’s see how they fair once Summer season is done.