LEVEL Reviews 591

We had booked a flight on Iberia Website.
Boston (BOS) to Barcelona (BCN)

Everything about the booking seemed normal until we saw some fine print.
Although Iberia booked our flight, the actual flight would be
on Level Airways, which is a subsidiary of Iberia Airways.
We've flown Iberia before and had no issues, a very good airline.
We assumed that this would a good flight as well.
Well, we couldn't be further from the truth, with that statement.

Boarding was a bit confusing, yet they did get that sorted. Our flight had taken off with a slight 30-minute delay, due to a mechanical issue that they originally claimed would take a few hours to fix. They were about to take us off the plane, but the captain said that there was no further problem, and we can continue normally.

After about one hour into the flight, we were told that a stabilizer was not ‘retracting’ completely. This was creating ‘drag’ on the aircraft, which was burning more fuel than expected. It would not give us enough fuel to reach our destination safely (Spanish coastline), and potentially run out of fuel.
The captain turned the plane around and landed safely back at Boston Logan International Airport. Our original point of departure.
We were all relieve that we landed safely.

After arriving at the gate, the cabin crew as well as the remaining staff for the airline, remained silent. As if they were instructed to say nothing.
We had no instructions or direction from any of the staff.

Everyone from the flight proceeded to the ticket counter, to try and find out if there was any information available about rebooking, or if this flight would go back out tonight. Since it was already close to midnight, there was a strong sense that we would not be flying out at all.
All the staff would tell us is, that we would receive an 'e-mail' with further instructions. (Which we never received.)

The passengers that were there, including ourselves, had to figure out which baggage claim to retrieve our luggage. There was no assistance offered by the airline staff at all.

Once we gathered our luggage, we arrange for a car service to bring us home. Luckily we were about 15 minutes away from the airport. Most of the passengers there were stranded and had nowhere to go. Finding out a day later we made the news:
Look Up: boston25news
people-are-piling-up-passengers-stranded-after-iberia-flight-makes-emergency-landing

This airline has the worst communication skills that I have ever experienced in the 40+ years of flying. This is the 'SPIRIT' of Spain. Poorly organized and poorly managed. They are an example of what an airline should not be. Researching further, they cancel over 50% of their flights. They consistently blame someone else out of convenience.

When calling Iberia, they would be helpful at first. But then when trying to get onto another flight that they had transferred us onto, the itinerary was wrong. We would miss all connecting flights. We would call back and they would do nothing for us. Just an egregious airline.
They should have called it

A 'LEVEL' BELOW.

AVOID FLYING WITH THIS AIRLINE. NEVER AGAIN

I won't choose this airline ever again.
I paid $947 for a round trip NYC to Barcelona. That amount does not look low cost to me. And I got NO food, NO water, NO coffee. NOTHING

Never Again.

Although I booked my flight with Iberia, I got an email informing me I will be flying level. Next email informed me that I will need to PURCHASE onboard meal and beverage and headphones,blanket and pillow. I called Iberia airlines to question meal purchases and was told since the flight is longer then 5 hours I will provided with a meal and beverage. WRONG. I flew internationally many times before and never had such a horrible experience. Apparently I purchased a seat and fresh air and would have to buy my LEVEL of comfort. The seat was uncomfortable, service pretty bad-i had to practically yell to get a glass of complimentary water. And meals-had to be purchased. But if you purchas a meal, then you would also have to purchase a seat number and i simply refused to pay for that. All in all, as a result of this experience I will do my very best to avoid Iberia airlines and therefore Level. Stay away

Absolutely the worst airline I have ever flown and I’ve been flying for over 40 years!
I flew from New York to Barcelona in the most tight, cramped, uncomfortable environment ever. The seats were like sitting in lawn chairs.
Since it was an overnight flight, I took a melatonin to get some sleep. No way shape or form. Could I even do that. I miss the dinner meal, but that was OK because I thought I would get the breakfast before landing. When they started coming around with the cart, I wasn’t really that hungry so I asked for a cup of coffee.
The flight attendant said since I didn’t pay for the coffee ahead of time, I could not have a cup of coffee!
CAN YOU POSSIBLY IMAGINE FLYING OVER 7 1/2 HOURS UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES AND NOT EVEN GETTING A SINGLE CUP OF COFFEE? ARE YOU KIDDING? WITH NO APOLOGY OR SINCERITY IN HER VOICE SHE SAID “NO YOU CAN’T HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE.”
Never ever ever again will I fly level no matter how cheap it is! Because sometimes you just want a cup of coffee.

DO NOT BOOK THIS AIRLINE. Their price is not really low. Bad service, can't even compare to the cheapest Asian airlines. They charge extra for EVERYTHING (food, blankets, earphone, drink, etc.). They will intentionally turn on the AC high, so people will be forced to buy their blankets and pillows. The whole plane returning to LAX from BCN end up with half the people on flight all sneezing and coughing. Need to sue this airline for the way they do business.
Flight attendants were not well train or just not professional. Safety were not gone over properly. Flight attendants don't check whether people have seat belt when required. Nor do they ask / check people have move the seat back in place before serving food. For a 13 hours flight, it only offered 2 meal time and no in-between drinks offering. Pressed the request button for flight attendant but no one came by. Either Level did not train its employees well or these people just should be fired.

Terrible experience with their IT. Hope they spend more on training and maintenance.

Unethical company - never book with this dishonest company!
If they oversell the ticket, they will make up random excuse and cancel your seat, right in front of the gate.
And provide NOTHING to help.
It was a cross-continent flight, from Spain to United State!
Can you imagine how big a disaster it was for a helpless passenger.
I had no idea where I was going to stay for that night. And had to buy for an alternative flight which was super expensive for the next day.

I bought a flight and paid fully for the flight more than one month ago. I received several confirmation emails since then to the day of departure.
Even the day before departure, I was able to checkin online and purchased a seat.
I was able to check in for this flight in the airport and got my boarding pass the same day of departure.
However, less than 3 hours before departure, the airline sent me an email telling my seat was cancelled due to payment issue.
I can hereby confirm I NEVEN hear anything from the bank, or any issue about any payment. I confirmed this with my bank.

Apparently they oversold the tickets and made up an excuse to drag someone off from the flight.

However, being denied to board this flight caused me huge problems: I have an important work meeting and must return to Canada urgently.
I lost my connection flight, my hotel in destination, and had to pay for rebooking a new flight myself. These add up to more than 1400 Canada dollars in total.

The airline did NOTHING to help.

In this statement of facts, when Level Airlines (hereinafter as "Level") says there is a "chargeback" they are referring to an open case with PayPal to get a refund of a first payment which Level says was denied. This chargeback does not refer to this particular claim which occurred after my unsuccessful interaction with Level.

On December 17, 2022 I purchased directly through the Level website, a flight ticket from New York to Barcelona. The departure date is December 23, 2022. I paid by PayPal. Level sent an email saying this PayPal payment was denied and then I have 20 minutes to make another payment (See Exhibit 1). The amount is 1633.57 USD.

This flight ticket, included the ability to have the ticket refunded to a voucher and it supports changes. I am paying a high price for the flexibility and also based upon the timing of the flight relative to holidays.

I then make a payment on the same date within 20 minutes through my Chase Visa credit card for the same amount of 1633.57 USD. Level sent an email confirming ("Confirmed") this payment. Refer to Exhibits 3 and 4.

I then see an email from PayPal for the original payment of 1633.57 USD.

So although Level says the PayPal payment was denied, it actually succeeded. I then started an open case with PayPal to get this refunded based upon the fact that I paid by another method for the ticket. PayPal refunds that payment on December 23, 2022. See Exhibit 5.

On December 20, 2022 I contacted Level by telephone to cancel the flight back to a voucher because of forecast bad weather. The flight was scheduled to leave December 23, 2022. It turned out there was very bad weather and 12,500 flights were canceled in the United States because of the weather that day. It turned out that this particular flight while not canceled, was delayed nearly 4 hours.

A Level representative in the call said they cannot cancel the flight because there is a chargeback on the ticket. I immediately knew this was related to PayPal. I explained to them that there was no chargeback, simply an open case with PayPal to get a refund for the first payment that they said was denied.

I asked Level, if they did successfully get the Visa card payment. They said yes. I have an audio recording of this. And also the exhibits show that the visa card payment was successful.

In the call I asked Level to change the departure date. They said they cannot because there is a chargeback on the ticket.

I explained to them the facts of the situation, and what they are doing is terribly wrong, then after quite a lot of effort on my side, finally Level said they are going to open a case about this (Refer to Exhibit 2) and will get back to me as soon as they can. To this date, there has *never* been any follow-up from them regarding this case.

However, although Level started a case about the issue, Level consistently said *multiple times* in three different calls, that I need to contact my bank about the chargeback and there is nothing they can do. Level was consistently saying again and again to contact the bank. Therefore, the open case with Level was meaningless. And to this date they never followed up regarding that case.

The problem is at this point in time there was *no chargeback at all* through my Chase Bank Visa card. There was only an open case for the first payment by PayPal that Level said was "Denied". Therefore, contacting Chase Bank was of no use.

Obviously this is a very distressing situation because I have paid 2 times 1633 USD and I am being refused service from the airline. Their only answer is to contact the bank for a charge which I never even initiated a chargeback on.

The following day on December 21, 2022 I called Level back to cancel the flight. They said they cannot because there is a chargeback on the ticket. I asked Level to change the departure date. They said they cannot because there a chargeback on the ticket. I then began to realize, that I may not even be allowed to board the flight. So I asked Level twice if I would be denied boarding. They twice said I will be *denied boarding*.

Therefore, my only conclusion at this point, is that I actually do need to initiate a chargeback for the Visa card payment because Level is refusing service. Providing air transportation is a time sensitive service. Level cannot come back to me weeks later and say the problem is resolved on their side and then provide me a usable ticket. By then I will have purchased another ticket.

I have already purchased another ticket through Delta Air Lines for the same flight from New York to Barcelona.

On December 21, 2022, I initiated a chargeback for the 1633.57 USD paid through my Chase Visa card because Level refuses to perform their obligations.

Update: I did successfully get a credit for this chargeback.

I would never fly with them or trust them to operate a plane safely.

Very poor customer service. Customer service takes you to a British answering call center that is only open during European hours (not convenient when you call from California). Even more frustrating is LEVEL pricing which is more expensive than Lufthansa which is odd for a so-called low cost airline! A week ago two round trip premium tickets LAX-Barcelona-LAX were priced at $4636 but a week later the same tickets (same departing dates) cost me $6422. Two premium round trip tickets with Lufthansa for a San Diego-Munich-San Diego (actually more convenient for me), only cost about $4600 or $1800 LESS! I will NEVER fly LEVEL again, I might even cancel my reservation.

Booked tickets and then tried to contact this airline to cancel within 24 hours penalty free as per USDOT regulations for flights operating to or from the US. Every time I called the automated system ran me through several prompts only to get to the last prompt and the system hangs up on me and I talk to no one. Tried to call Iberia as recommended on the Level website and they tell me they cannot cancel a Level flight, even though Level directly suggests calling Iberia. Iberia suggests calling Vueling, another affiliated company, and could not reach them as the automated phone system would not allow me to talk to a person either. Have started a USDOT complaint and have disputed the charge on my credit card and I will very likely prevail with one of these responses. But the point is do not do what I did, think that the incredibly bad reviews you see for Level here, and all over the place, are meaningless. If you like problems and do not require any customer service then Level is for you.

Level, like all low cost airlines, charges you extra for everything. But none of it is worth it. The Wifi system barely worked while promising high speeds. The extra meals were small, tasteless, and one promised and paid for meal service never came. The temperature of the plane was hot and uncomfortable, with little moving air. Overall you end up saving no money and receiving less.

Due to IBERIA Airlines cancelling our flight they placed us on their sister line LEVEL.I had read many negative reviews about the airline previously and had no plans to ever book on LEVEL.However, I was forced to accept the change by IBERIA as it was the only non-stop flight from LAX to Barcelona.I was afraid to change to another airline with a connection for fear of losing our luggage.BIG MISTAKE! The Airbus 330-200 configuration for LEVEL seats 406 passengers.All seats were taken and passengers packed in like sardines.Very unhealthy.Seats were VERY close.You were trapped if the person in front reclined and not able to use the mini table to eat.Return flight departed BCN 2 1/2 hours late. Ground and air service was minimal.Airline food in general is not that good, it is a given on all airlines.However, LEVEL food is uneatable! Saying it was garbage would be a compliment.The coffee was like mud, it actually made me sick, the tea was not drinkable.We were forced to order ham sandwiches and a beverage for $20 each.Finally, when we returned home we found within 48 hours that we had contracted COVID on the flight back! No surprise due to the way they pack in passengers. Also, we paid extra ($160) for assigned seating. They resold our assigned seats on the returned flight to someone else! I showed them my proof of payment, etc. to no avail.I will NEVER fly LEVEL again and may not fly IBERIA again for placing us on such a horrible airline. Do yourself a favor, perhaps saving your good health and life, NEVER fly on LEVEL if you value your well being and a reasonable level of comfort and service. LEVEL only has 4 long distant aircraft, so if one is late or disabled, you're screwed!

Our Flight from Buenos Aires to Barcelona got cancelled. The pilot and air attendants said themselves the flight was being postponed because there was a technical issue with a part of the plane and that the new part was being flight from Madrid.
I realized the flight was cancelled by checking google. When I approached the land crew they still did not know what was happening. Finally got out of the boarding zone, got my baggage back and queued for about 4 hours to get a hotel voucher. I had to arrange my own transportation to the hotel.
Next morning we get an email about our new flight, and all hundred passengers there had to call a phone number to ask for a cab. The people at the other end of that phone did not answer our calls. About an hour an a half later we get told that a transfer is coming to pick us up.
Transfer arrived 45 minutes late but did bring us to the airport. Now we have been queueing for a little over an hour and have at least another 100 meter queue ahead. There are literally 5 people working at the counters.
I realized the flight got cancelled around 5 and left the airport around 9. Got to the hotel around 10. Spent 12 hours at the airport on friday all together. Now, Saturday, I will queue the very least another 2 hours! :O
Planes can get broken. Flights can get cancelled. Airlines have protocols and plans to face this issues. Level either does not have them or can’t put them in place.

Our flight was a real joke. The stewardess sat in the back on her cell phone while we were allowed to help ourselves to water, which was the only free drink.

We had booked a flight with Iberia and all information, up to the boarding passes suggested that the flight is also operated by Iberia. But that was not the case. Only during boarding we saw the plane out of the window. The only plane, which was not from Iberia itself, but from the subsidiary "Level", should be our plane. To date, Iberia has not informed us that the flight is operated by "Level", nor have we received a statement in any form. With any hollow phrases is evaded here, if then at the interval of 14 days times someone deigns to answer our mails.

For my part, I will in any case neither the Iberia nor one of its subsidiaries ever book again. One can apparently not even be sure in what kind of shi* you end up in the end.

The attendants refused to give me water, turned off the call light without asking what I needed, and eventually directed me to the attendant's station where I saw other passengers receiving assistance. They shut the curtain in my face, held it closed, and refused to answer in spite of my saying that I just needed water. I made multiple attempts to flag someone down, was ignored, and had to wait until the final food/drink service (6 hours later) for water.

An absolute joke of a company. They cancelled a connecting flight for a trip from Dublin to Buenos Aires, never informed me of this cancellation, I only found out because I happened to check the booking on the site. Then offered a paltry reimbursement which means I will have to pay triple the cost with another airline. Do not book any flights with this company, can't stress that enough. Customer service is a joke that goes around in circles. Terrible experience.

My wife and I had a relatively good experience with LEVEL. We were supposed to fly Iberia but somehow ended up with LEVEL. We flew premium economy. We had larger seats (bulkhead so we had plenty of leg room). Food wasn't gourmet but it was edible. You will be treated a little better with premium economy at check in. If you have problems before your flight call the London office. Much better than the 800 number . After looking at the other reviews we feel lucky. Probably no more LEVEL or Iberia for us. Flight was round trip JFK to Barcelona.

Still trying to claim a refund for my daughters flight from BCN to New York August 2020. Various phonecalls but no results but said i wasn't entitled to one

How you dare to treat a handicap person like that. You lie and ask her to leave the plane. Why you were not prepared for this situation?. I hope all the bad things happen to the person responsible for this.

A cancellation and no solutions. I am waiting for a call from the customer service but nobody is answering, I sent already a few emails. I need to be re-routing or re-protecting. I am waiting for your call in order to solve it, my case is 05315258. I NEED A SOLUTION, very very bad customer service for now.
>>>> We are on the 11th. of DECEMBER and NO REFUND has been made to my account but LEVEL is saying the contrary. I DID NOT GET the refund, I am very unhappy with the service. I am waiting for a solution !!!!