Airline group IAG opens Paris base for Level

British Airways’ owner IAG is expanding its low-cost long-haul airline Level by basing two planes at Paris Orly airport and launching four new routes.

Level started in Barcelona in March to compete with other long-haul budget airlines such as Norwegian Air Shuttles and Wow Air.

Orly will be home to two Airbus A330-200 planes which will fly to Montreal, New York, Guadeloupe and Martinique.

IAG said it expected the airline to be profitable this year.

“Level’s Barcelona operation has been an incredible success,” said IAG chief executive Willie Walsh. “Barcelona was always a first step and we’re delighted to launch flights from our second European city.”

The airline will also launch a new route from Barcelona to Boston in March next year.

Mr Walsh has previously said that there will be 30 planes in the fleet by 2022.

That would mean establishing bases at other airports and on Monday, IAG said it had secured take-off and landing slots at London’s Gatwick Airport from Monarch Airlines, which folded in October.

Analysts at US stockbrokers Goodbody said IAG might use these slots to launch Level services from Gatwick.

“To date (IAG) has been taking the fight to Norwegian at Gatwick using its BA brand… Level could offer an alternative brand in this battle,” the Goodbody analysts said.

Level will operate a total of five aircraft in 2018, with the planes leaving Paris being operated by staff who currently work for IAG’s OpenSkies airline, which will stop operating at the end of next summer. Its staff will then work on Level flights permanently.