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International Airlines Group (IAG) subsidiary LEVEL will be suspending flights between Barcelona and San Francisco over an engine shortage, according to Spanish media. The carrier is IAG’s long-haul, low-cost subsidiary and uses a fleet of Airbus A330 aircraft transferred from Spanish flag carrier Iberia which is also a member of the group.
Sources cited by La Vanguardia indicate that far from being connected to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the airline’s Airbus A330 fleet is suffering from an engine shortage that has resulted in a lack of capacity for the summer season. Aerospace Global News has contacted the carrier for comment.
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Flights to San Francisco from its Barcelona hub only operate during the peak season. LEVEL will operate them this month at two or three-weekly frequencies, with the final flight on 26 April. The route will then be cut for the remainder of the season, according to information filed to aviation analytics firm Cirium. It had otherwise pencilled in 4x weekly frequencies.
Sources told La Vanguardia that the route suspension “responds to an adjustment with the the objective of guaranteeing a more stable operation,” and highlighted that the industry is currently “marked by engine supply shortages.” Instead, the carrier decided to prioritise its more established routes.
The report also said that the carrier was expecting to receive an eighth aircraft this year, which did not arrive. As a result, it lacks the necessary capacity to operate its flights to San Francisco.
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LEVEL specialises in flights from Barcelona to the Americas. It operates to several destinations in the United States and across South America. This winter, it became a fully-independent airline within the International Airlines Group, escaping from the shadow of Madrid-based Iberia.
It is difficult to identify the reasons behind the San Francisco suspension, though it does suggest that it might perform weaker than some of its other routes.
Looking at data from the US Department of Transportation for last year, average load factors on the San Francisco sector were quite high, reaching 89%. At 91%, only New York-JFK performed better on this metric. This says very little about the economic performance of the routes though.
Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, LEVEL’s growth has been quite rapid. It currently counts a fleet of seven Airbus A330 aircraft and has been using them to grow its network and frequencies. In 2024, its year-on-year growth was at 25% and in 2025 this stood at 11%. In 2026, though, as the eighth aircraft has not arrived, its growth in terms of flights stands at 2% compared to last year.
Photo: Markus Mainka / stock.adobe.com
It did introduce a new route though. In December, it emerged that the carrier would be adding flights to Lima, Perú three-times per week. This was Barcelona’s largest unserved destination in South America. Flights begin in June 2026.
Its most served destination is Buenos Aires, with year-round daily flights. This winter it also added an additional two weekly frequencies.
Featured image: Santi Rodríguez / stock.adobe.com
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