June 2024
Well, the old adage of “Buyer Beware” has struck again!
It happened with our late-April flight from Barcelona, Spain to Miami, Florida.
We – my wife and I – were flying home on a recent Friday afternoon after a 2-week trans-Atlantic cruise plus a 7-day post-cruise exploration of Barcelona for the first time. We had booked two “Premium Economy” (PE) class tickets (an approximate $500 pp upgrade), pre-paid well in advance of the Iberia/Level flight. Level is a “low-cost” airline operated by Iberia, the Spanish national airline. The “no frills” aspect of the flight wasn’t apparent to us, since the flight code indicated it was an Iberia-operated flight.
Unfortunately, the airline failed to provide the level of service and comfort that we’d paid for – at least for one of us. The problem was/is that we were told that there were not enough Premium Economy seats available for all the passengers who had paid for the upgrade. Thus, one of us would have to our seat downgraded to regular (crowed and cramped) Economy class. (We learned on the flight that a total of 8 Premium Economy ticket holders had been downgraded.) Thus, my wife and I traveled in separate sections of the aircraft.
Ultimately, our flight was uneventful and on-time. We were relieved to be reunited when we landed in Miami, but were still frustrated by the experience and the separation from our traveling companions.
Some details for perspective
When we arrived at the El Prat airport to check in we discovered that only one of us would be seated in the PE section. The ticket agent told us that all the other PE seats were already assigned and that one of us would have to fly in the regular Economy section. We asked about possibly taking a flight the next day, but were told that was not an option (also, the airline would not, according to the agent, provide a hotel voucher for an unplanned delay.) The agent, and several supervisors, spent about 40 minutes trying to decide what our options were. Turned out, we had two: either, accept the split seating on our original flight, or be refunded our fare payment leaving us without any scheduled return to the US.
After numerous frustrating back-and-forth discussions with the agent and 3 supervisors, we opted to travel as scheduled.
The “Premium Economy” for one of us provided considerably greater seating space (wider seats and 24”-30” of distance between seat rows), complimentary beer and wine service and a package of amenities for the flight, including a head pillow, a comfort blanket, a toothbrush/toothpaste, an eye mask and a plastic refillable water bottle. PE seating consisted of three very spacious and comfortable 2-seat configurations per row (total 6 seats per row.)
By contrast, Economy seating was crowded with 2 seats on either side of the plane plus 4 seats in the middle, between the two aisles – 8 across most rows, approximately 270 economy seats in total. The seats themselves were “slender” in width with only about 20” between upright position and the seat back immediately in front. A very crowded environment for an 11 hour flight!
As noted earlier, 8 passengers, we were told by some of the flight crew, were downgraded from their purchase of Premium Economy seats. The reason for the downgrade it turned out (again, according to the flight crew) was that 8 seats in Premium Economy – all on the left side of the airplane – were not fully operational and, therefore, declared “Unsafe.” Thus, Level had overbooked the Premium Economy seating – and everyone showed up, creating the mini “seating crisis.” (Note: while I fully appreciate Level’s “safety concerns” about the seats, we find it totally unacceptable for them to book/sell seats that were unavailable for use.)
Besides the seating issues, there were other problems on the flight – again, mainly maintenance issues. First, the onboard entertainment system and/or the seat-back sc
Posted by
Australia
1072 posts
I'm assuming you swapped seats at the mid point so that both of you got at least a partial PE experience.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11879 posts
Did you get a refund for the unavailable PE seat ?
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2014 posts
Sorry to hear about your aggravating experience flying Level. I flew on Level one time last fall and paid extra for an exit row seat for the extra leg space. I did notice how cramped and uncomfortable most Economy passengers seemed to be as Level used every square inch of space to cram in as many seats as they possibly could. Also, one of the four lavatories was out of service, forcing many passengers to wait for an intolerable amount of time just to use one of the remaining three that were operating. I’m talking a nonstop line throughout most of the flight of 6 to seven passengers waiting 15-20 minutes to relieve themselves.
It seems that an airline that just launched in 2017 ( and is operated by Iberia) should at least be using aircraft that have lavatories and seats that are in working condition. I get that perhaps a couple seats are inoperable— but 8?! It’s not a good impression for a company and one that likely will cost them a lot of customers ( such as myself) from ever flying with them again. It also reflects poorly on Iberia Airlines because Level is basically Iberia’s budget division.
The most disturbing aspect of your experience is that it sounds like no attempt was made by Level to compensate you in some way so you might remain a customer in the future— like credit for a future flight, a complimentary upgrade on a future flight— anything in addition to a refund for “Premium Economy” which they clearly owe you—that would show that Level regrets what happened and is willing to make it up to you to show it wants your future business.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33837 posts
The reason for the downgrade it turned out (again, according to the flight crew) was that 8 seats in Premium Economy – all on the left side of the airplane – were not fully operational and, therefore, declared “Unsafe.” Thus, Level had overbooked the Premium Economy seating – and everyone showed up, creating the mini “seating crisis.”
You said you paid for the upgrade "well in advance". How could they possibly have known that on the day of your flight those seats would be unsafe. Surely that was an issue on the day, not "well in advance"?
Doesn't sound like they oversold, it sounds like equipment failure.
Would you have complained about being sat in an unsafe seat instead - bet you would have.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11879 posts
It seems that an airline that just launched in 2017...
3 of the 7 planes they have are 'hand me downs' from other carriers and are 12+ to 17+ yrs old.
https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Level?refresh=1
I suspect OP got one of the older planes
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8882 posts
While I realize that being downgraded from premium economy to economy is a major disappointment, I do think that having to sit separately for a flight is not the crisis you seemed to feel it was. I would not like being downgraded either.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10623 posts
They failed. They didn’t maintain their craft and ended up selling unusable seats. I assume you’ve filed for EU 261 compensation.
You are entitled to 75% of the price of your ticket because your flight was downgraded. https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm
It clearly states on this official European Union website that your downgrade is eligible for the 75% refund, Refunds are based on incident and distance.
Oh, they forgot to tell you that, too. What a surprise.
You can file on your own with Level, which, if like other low-cost airlines has a lack of customer service. Or you can hire a company to file for you but they will take a percentage. I’d research online how successful people have been filing EU 261 with Level and then decide if you’ll go it alone or hire someone. Now you know that justice can be served.
Posted by
West Coast
71 posts
Things happen, there may have been a problem like the part of the oxygen delivery system or some other system that fed the 8 premium economy seats--the mechanics deemed that the problem could not be corrected before departure time. Rather than put passengers in seats that probably didn't meet FAA or other standards, the staff elected to re-assign folks to non premium seats.
The seats were probably not over sold intentionally. Did the lucky part of your marriage see empty seats in the PE areas? If there were indeed empty premium economy seats while the plane was inflight, the staff kept butts out of the not-completely-functional seats. That also means that the staff had no choice than to "downgrade" those PE seat holders. Yes it is inconvenient. The airline could have moved the aircraft to a repair facility to get those 8 seats remedied, but that would mean that no one on that flight would get to their destination close to the scheduled time, also affecting further flights. To minimize passenger impact without affecting safety, the staff had to have 8 passengers go back into the regular economy area.
I think that seat upgrades are an option but not a guarantee and that if there are unforeseen situations like this one has to accept relinquishing the upgrade. At the very least the airline should refund the additional PE fee that was levied during ticket purchase.
Not sure one would be eligible for "overbooking" benefits because the problem was discovered the day of departure and there is no way that the ticketing system would be able to forecast the decreased number of available PE seats.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
2014 posts
@Joe32f,
According to the source you cited, Level has only 7 aircraft in its “fleet.” They fly from Spain to Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires. So, if one plane has malfunctioning seats and needs to be taken out of service for the repair, there is economic pressure to keep them in the air with all those turnaround routes with just 7 planes. With little time to do repairs. I wonder what steps Level takes when there are major problems like the landing gear malfunctioning, or emergency exit doors getting stuck.
No one at Level informed our OP that he is entitled to a 75% Refund according to the EU Regulations cited by Bets. The OP’s experience is an indicator that Level may be looking after its bottom line more than the best interest of its passengers.
Posted by
West Coast
71 posts
@kenko It appears that Level airlines was looking out for the best collective interest of all of the passengers booked on the OPs flight. The best course was to move 8 passengers from the affected section to other seats on the same flight, thus allowing apparently all of the booked passengers to arrive to their destination close to if not at the scheduled arrival time.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out--hopefully the OP can let us know the outcome after contacting Level Airlines' customer service department. It is unclear if the OP has reached out to customer service or had only interacted with the gate and flight staff.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33837 posts
I'm sorry that pdwarren11 hasn't returned to give a bit more detail about a claim or other issues... it looks like the post was cut off before completion - I guess the missing word is "screen"? And there was probably more.
There have been some assumptions made here about what or wasn't offered to them or what they were entitled to. I'd love to hear from the horse's mouth once the anger has passed
but I would have expected that the anger may have passed by now - the flight was in late April, so a full 2 months ago. If a successful claim is going to go in it will have to be soon.
Posted by
1 posts
I can share a similar experience that happened not too long ago. In November 2023 we purchased 3 premium economy seats ($1050 ea.) for our trip from Miami to Barcelona on July 17 2024, and returning from Barcelona to Miami on August 14, 2024. After buying the tickets back in November 2023 through AMEX, we went on to the Iberia site to choose our seats. We paid $52 x3 for each way totaling $296. Then in February 2024 I got an email from Level that our flight has changed and we had no longer our seat assignments. So back on to Iberia's site to select our seats. Paid $52 x3 for our seats on the flight from Miami to Barcelona. OK all set. On the day of the flight, upon checking in, they inform us that half of the premium economy seats are broken and can't be used. However, we were assured that our replacement seats would be the first in the row on entering the plane. "As soon as you get in, your seats are right there." They gave us row 23.
After this experience I called Iberia to ensure this wouldn't happen again. We had to pay for our seat selection on the return flight since the original flight was changed. Another $156. Then 2 days before our return flight on August 14, I get an email that the configuration of the plane has changed and our seats were different. My wife and daughter still had their premium economy seats but I was downgraded to economy. After complaining to AMEX they got Iberia to put me back in premium economy. I still had to go to the Iberia site to choose my seat, and to do so pay $52. OK at least our 10 hour flight will be in premium economy and we can all rest, I thought.
Unfortunately the flight was delayed 3 hours and 45 minutes. When we got to the boarding gate, they tell us that our seats have changed. Me in 23, wife in 40, and daughter in 41. All in different seats and rows. How this happens again one month later I don't know. They still didn't fix the plane? One excuse that gave was that if someone vomits in the seat, it can't be used. We were complaining, but due to the delay all the staff were frazzled and told us to go to the plane and the attendants there will resolve the issue. When arriving to the plane we explained the situation to the attendant and were told to wait at the back of the plane and they would find us 3 seats together. After waiting for the entire plane to board, they concluded that there are no 3 seats together. So we had to negotiate with other passengers to find some seats together. We flew 10 hours and 20 minutes in row 41.
To add to the delay there was a poor woman who was having an anxiety attack so they had to get the national guard to remove her from the plane. Now finally in the air, and starting the service, they make an announcement, "is there a doctor onboard?" Straight out of a movie I tell you. Never again Level airlines.
I have filed complaints on Iberia's website. Both for the seat downgrades, as well as separate complaints for the delayed flight. I also need to get refunded for all the seat selections totaling $660, and not sure how to file that complaint but will probably call AMEX to help me out. I will post any updates.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
FINALLY, A RESOLUTION!
We took the advice of several respondents to my post ... and we filed an EU261 complaint form. It took several exchanges of information and e-mail acknowledgements, but we this week received a $350 compensation payment from Level Airlines. It was paid electronically directly into our bank account which made the transaction fairly simple (but involved a $15US fee from our bank for the wire transfer.) It's taken about 4 months to achieve this resolution, along with multiple e-mails/forms with Level, but we're finally satisfied that we got closure on this matter.
Not sure that we'll fly Level Airlines again, but we did have a mostly positive onboard experience with the flight crew on our trip. Stay tuned.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11879 posts
We had booked two “Premium Economy” (PE) class tickets (an approximate $500 pp upgrade)..........
....received a $350 compensation payment from Level Airlines
So you took a loss of $150 on the seat fee?
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
7993 posts
We had booked two “Premium Economy” (PE) class tickets (an approximate $500 pp upgrade)..........
....received a $350 compensation payment from Level AirlinesSo you took a loss of $150 on the seat fee?
Joe, according to Bets, they are entitled to 75% of the original price using the EU laws. I agree that he should be entitled to an extra amount for the upgrade he lost, but that's a different process.
I had the same issue when I flew back from England earlier this year. Delta cancelled my flight and when I got on another one, I lost the Comfort+ seats that I had paid for. I received around $760 for EU compensation from Delta for the delayed flight, but also was refunded for the Comfort+ seat on the return flight (via a refund to my credit card). So he would have to go through Level Airlines to get that, I believe.