Level

Level is IAG's long-haul low-cost brand, flying Airbus A330-200s on transatlantic and leisure routes out of Barcelona and Paris. It sells the long haul the way budget carriers sell the short one: a low base fare with meals, bags, seat choice and extras added back on as you need them. The wrinkle that sets it apart from most low-cost long-haul is a real Premium Economy cabin up front, so a traveller can buy a meaningfully better seat for the ocean crossing without paying full-service business money.

The fleet is Airbus A330-200 throughout, a widebody built for exactly the sort of medium-to-long routes Level flies. Cabin fits vary a little across the aircraft, which is why you will see the A330-200 listed alongside denser and roomier siblings; the practical difference for a traveller is the size of the Premium Economy cabin and how much of the aircraft is given over to the main economy section behind it. The airframe itself is the same twin-aisle widebody wherever you fly, with two aisles that keep boarding and service moving on a full flight.

There are two cabins and no business class. Level Premium is a proper Premium Economy product with wider seats, more pitch and a smaller, quieter section near the front, aimed at travellers who want a better night on a red-eye without the business fare. Behind it, economy is a nine-abreast 3-3-3 layout on the A330, kept low-cost with extras charged separately. On a crossing that runs seven or eight hours or more, the gap between a Premium seat and a middle seat back in economy is the difference the fare is really asking you to weigh.

If the fare gap is manageable on an overnight, Level Premium is the seat to hold out for, since the extra width and recline matter most on the long sectors. Back in economy, target an aisle for the freedom to move or a window to lean on, and treat the middle of each set of three as the seat to route around. The rows near the galleys and lavatories catch light and traffic through the night, so a row clear of them makes for a calmer crossing, and the bulkhead rows behind the Premium cabin trade a little under-seat storage for extra space in front.