Level, the long-haul low-cost airline of the IAG group based in Barcelona, has intensified in recent months its focus on Latin America with the launch of a new route to Lima and the increase of frequencies to Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. With this, the company seeks to strengthen the role of Barcelona-El Prat as one of the major intercontinental hubs of the group.
This push is part of the long-term growth plan of the airline and responds to the purpose of consolidating itself as a reference operator in long-haul from Barcelona. The expansion of the network aims to meet the growing demand for direct flights between the Catalan capital and America, improve the utilization of the fleet, and reinforce IAG's presence in the most profitable transatlantic corridors.
The new route to Peru began operating on June 3 with three weekly frequencies and an initial offer close to 80,000 seats until March 2027. The good market response has led the company to announce a fourth weekly frequency starting March 15, 2027, which will be maintained until the end of September.
Currently, flights between Barcelona and Lima are operated on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and, starting in March of next year, also on Mondays.
According to Level, the schedules have been configured to facilitate connections with other European and American destinations. The airline considers Lima a "relevant and strategic" destination and maintains that the direct connection will strengthen ties between Spain and Peru, in addition to generating new opportunities for economic and tourist exchange.
The CEO of the airline, Rafael Jiménez, highlighted during the presentation of the route at Fitur that the direct link between Barcelona and Lima represents an opportunity to continue boosting economic and tourist growth, facilitate mobility between both markets, connect communities, and export talent.
MORE CAPACITY TO BUENOS AIRES AND SANTIAGO
The bet on Peru comes after several years of continued growth and progressive increases in capacity in South America. In recent years, the IAG company has focused a good part of its efforts on consolidating its presence in the southern cone.
Buenos Aires has become one of the most in-demand routes for Level. In the winter season 2025-2026, the airline scheduled up to 12 weekly frequencies between Barcelona and the Argentine capital during peak traffic periods, while the connection with Santiago de Chile reached up to five flights a week.
In total, the company offered more than 190,000 seats to South America during that season, 40% more than the previous year. The forecast is that the next winter season will maintain a similar evolution, although definitive data has not yet been made public.
Level has been increasing its capacity as it consolidated its position in Barcelona. In 2025, it put nearly one million seats on the market, 10% more than the previous year, and transported 12% more passengers, according to figures collected by IAG in its annual report.
The group also details that Level maintained a 16% share of the long-haul market in Barcelona in 2025 and achieved a 46% share in South America, where it then operated only Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile.
BARCELONA AS A PLATFORM TO AMERICA
Level's roadmap involves consolidating Barcelona as a connection platform between Europe and America, relying on both local market demand and connecting traffic from other European cities.
In the case of Lima, the airline has adjusted schedules specifically to favor this flow of connections. The route allows passengers from different points in Europe to use Barcelona as a gateway to Peru and, at the same time, facilitates access for Peruvian travelers to Level's European network.
The incorporation of Lima also reinforces Barcelona's positioning in Latin America in a context of expanding intercontinental connectivity at the airport.
Barcelona airport has scheduled about 44.5 million seats for the summer of 2026, 5.7% more than a year earlier, with Lima among the new intercontinental destinations added to its network.
IAG's commitment to Barcelona also extends to the cargo business. The group's cargo division inaugurated a new Barcelona-Lima connection in June with three weekly frequencies, aimed, among other traffics, at the transport of perishable products, pharmaceuticals, and high-value goods.
A COMPANY IN FULL TRANSFORMATION
The arrival of new airplanes has allowed Level to gradually increase its offer and strengthen its long-haul network from Barcelona. The seventh aircraft was incorporated at the end of 2024 and was initially allocated to expand capacity to the United States, in a context of strong growth in demand for intercontinental flights.
The airline plans to continue expanding its fleet. At the end of 2025, its CEO, Rafael Jiménez, announced the intention to add an eighth aircraft to bolster its expansion strategy in America.
This fleet expansion is key to sustaining the increase in frequencies, consolidating existing routes, and opening new opportunities in markets with higher demand.
At the end of 2025, Jiménez ruled out that the company was considering entering Asia and emphasized that there is still room to continue growing in America. The priority is to consolidate its transatlantic network and reinforce Barcelona as the main base for long-haul operations.
THE UNITED STATES MAINTAINS ITS WEIGHT
Although Latin America has gained relevance in recent months, the United States remains a pillar of Level's long-haul strategy, with a network that adapts to fleet availability and the operational needs of the company.
The airline maintains its presence in New York and Miami, while the routes to Boston and Los Angeles have a more limited presence in the 2026 schedule. This reorganization of capacity coincides with the strengthening of the offer to South America.
During the winter season 2025-2026, Level managed to increase its seat offer to the United States by 58% compared to the previous winter. New York reached up to seven weekly flights in the months of highest demand, Boston reached five, and Miami maintained between three and four frequencies per week.
LIMA, NEXT STEP IN THE LATIN AMERICAN STRATEGY
The opening of the route to Lima represents another advance in Level's strategy to consolidate its own network in Latin America. The airline has gone from operating two destinations in the region, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile, to adding a third point and subsequently announcing an increase in frequencies for the new Peruvian connection.
For IAG, this operation also reinforces Barcelona's role as a strategic airport for long-haul. The group considers Latin America one of its key intercontinental markets and in 2025 increased its capacity to the region by 3.3%.
With the incorporation of Lima and the increase in frequencies planned for 2027, Level moves in that direction and consolidates a strategy in which Latin America is shaping up as one of the main engines of growth for the airline from Barcelona.