After a long break not publishing flight reports, I'm back here in Flight-Report with this short series of two transatlantic flight onboard the European low-cost carrier LEVEL Airlines on a trip which I did take just because I found the prices extremely cheap and award myself an extra vacation.
The second flight of this series would be the westbound flight from Orly to Newark. This time I have used their IFE system and ordered some food items from the BoB menu and I would cover those in this report.
Also, a small reminder that I would continue posting recent trip reports, however, if I have time, I would share my trips from 2019 which I didn't have the time to write the respective flight reports.
LV 8009 Paris-ORY to Newark ( Economy ), Airbus A330-200You are here
Loads for the Flight
Premium: %95-100 Economy: %90-95
ONLINE CHECK-IN
This time I've completed OLCI, on my phone via the web browser.
To pass US Immigration quicker, I had already paid for a seat at the front of the cabin a few days ago the flight. On LEVEL, if you don't pay for seats, they would auto-assign you one.
The seat map for now. 10B is empty for now but it would be occupied during the flight
For ex-ORY flights, you could create a mobile boarding pass
The day of the flight, after having a beer at my hotel, I left the hotel and used the RER Train and OrlyVal to access Orly Airport
OrlyVal operated from 6:00 to 23:35
LEVEL uses Terminal 3. As I mentioned in the previous report as well, Pegasus is the only non-EU carrier operating from Orly 1,2,3. Of course excluding EasyJet Switzerland.
Paris Orly AIRPORT - ORY
FIDS just after I arrived at the airport. There was 1h45min until my flight
Orly 3 is a short walk from Orly 1 where the OrlyVal arrives and departs.
As I had a mobile boarding pass, I skipped stopping by the check-in counters and directly headed toward security. Security at Orly 3 was pretty efficient, 3 lanes were open at that time and there was no wait.
FIDS after clearing security
After security, it is mandatory to pass inside the duty free store.
The Schengen area of Orly 3 has lot's of stores and restaurants. After purchasing some gifts and macarons from Ladurée to friends,
It was time to clear passport control where the wait was less than 3 minutes for non-EU citizens.
The Non-Schengen areas has two cafés and a few stores
GATE AREA & BOARDING
Today's gate would be gate D20, there was enough seating area for all passengers around the gate and a passenger was playing the piano which made me feel relaxed a bit.
A few minutes later, our aircraft was towed to our gate.
F-HLVM would be operating todays flight to Newark Liberty International Airport
And jetbridge connected
After the cabin crew boarded, 40-45 minutes before scheduled departure boarding has started with the respect of group numbers. I have boarded with Group 4.
After a document check by aviation security officers, at the podium my passport details were verified and I was ready to board the aircraft.
I hope to see you soon Paris
However, as the aircraft was not ready yet, there was a huge queue at the jetbridge.
After a 15-20 minute wait at the jetbridge the aircraft was ready for boarding an we were inside the aircraft.
La Compagnie A321 and Transavia 737 visible from the jetbridge
Fuselage shot
LV 8009 Paris Orly AIRPORT TO NEWARK LIBERTY AIRPORT
After being welcomed by the crew, I have headed to my seat 10A.
The legroom was decent for a LCC
Despite LEVEL being a low cost carrier, each seat is equipped by personal entertainment screens.
March content was loaded to the IFE system and newer releases were available
As usual, the seat pocket content. No inflight magazine. For the BoB menu content please refer to the previous report.
As we were fueling during the boarding process, the cabin crew requested everyone to unfasten their seatbelts.
A view from the window
When the fueling was complete, the seat belt sign was turned back on, however, there was a chewing gum sticked to my seatbelt which was not nice.
And 18 minutes later than our scheduled departure time we had started our pushback towards the runway.
An EasyJet A320 at Orly 2
During our pushback, the safety video was played.
An ATR
And we're heading towards the runway
An Alitalia Embraer was in front of us.
After the AZ aircraft took off, it was our turn
And we're in the air
Some photos just after takeoff
The IFE screen menu. Our flight today would be 7h50min.
When the seatbelt signs has turned off, immigration forms were distributed. At most US airports, it's not mandatory to fill the immigration forms any more but at Newark, it's still required to fill one per family.
Also comfort packs, blankets and headphones were available for sale and as my earphones stopped working,
I've purchased one for 5 euros.
Shortly later, I have visited the lavatory, which seemed to be clean but not super clean.
When I returned to my seat, I decided to order some food. For those who don't know, at LEVEL, food ordering takes place on IFE screens and the cabin crew brings it to you. You could either pay by online credit card, a physical credit card or cash in euros.
Main courses available
Sandwiches available, probably they forgot to load sandwiches today
And I placed my order and within 20 minutes my order has came. As I was paying in cash the order total shown at the screen was 0 euros.
My selection today was the Chicken Tikka Masala with M&M's and a bottle of water.
The meal had a decent portion and tasted good.
By the way, on today's flight Wi-Fi was unavailable and not working.
Later on, I started watching the movie Joker and slept for a bit after 30 minutes.
When I woke up, I continued watching the movie and at some point I decided to order something for late dinner as well. I've ordered the combination below. However, shortly a cabin crew came and told that they were out of all sandwiches so instead of a sandwich, I requested a brownie alongside a hot chocolate
Brownie and hot chocolate - The combo costs €5,50
After my movie had finished, we still had 47 minutes until landing.
I spent that time listening to music from my personal device.
Manhattan and the skyscrapers
One World Trade Center
And the Statue of Liberty at the right side of the photo
Manhattan one more time
We're continuing our descend
And we had landed 25-30 minutes before our scheduled arrival time
Port of Newark and IKEA
Hmmm, look who is there?
Some Delta aircraft
A BA 777-200 heading to London Heathrow
And a Virgin Atlantic A330-300
Ethiopian Dreamliner, Eurowings A330 and Swiss A330
And we're going to park at gate 55 at Terminal B Concourse 2
After we had parked, G-ZZZA continued his pushback.
And we had parked at gate 55
When the doors were disarmed, the IFE system was disabled
Look who is here: BA ground staff. A reminder that both BA and LEVEL are sub-companies of IAG.
NEWARK LIBERTY AIRPORT - EWR
The last shot of F-HLVM before heading towards immigration.
As the queues were short I was out of the immigration hall in less than 15 minutes which is quite good for the USA.
Now it's time to leave the airport and head to the AirTrain station
And I took the AirTrain to the Newark Airport Train Station.
I purchased my ticket and I was in the NJ Transit train to New York, two minutes after the AirTrain arrived at the Train station.
And after arriving at New York Penn Station, I had a coffee and waited until my bus to Washington DC departs.
And, the journey has came to an end. Thanks for reading and hope to see you on another report.
See more
Verdict
LEVEL
9.1/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Buy-on-board menu9.0
Paris - ORY
9.1/10
Efficiency8.5
Access9.0
Services9.5
Cleanliness9.5
Newark - EWR
8.2/10
Efficiency9.0
Access8.5
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.5
Conclusion
Overall, the flight was good and I would not hesitate to use LEVEL again if they offer cheaper prices like this occasion; you pay what you get for and their aircraft are brand new with comfortable seats, a wonderful IFE, and a great cabin crew system compared to other LCC's. For this flight everything at Paris Orly was smooth and I really enjoyed flying from Orly 3 compared to both CDG T1 and T2. The only negative part of Orly was the wait at the jetbridge as the aircraft was not ready. Newark was also better than expected with a short immigration wait time despite arriving early and arriving at the same time with multiple international flights, however, purchasing a front-row seat for clearing immigration quicker was definitely worth it.
ORY (+) Easy to access (+) The wide selection of stores and cafés/restaurants (+) Reasonable security and passport control wait times (+) Boarding was made by the respect of groups (-) Boarding started before the aircraft was ready so we waited 20 minutes at the jetbridge LV 8009 (+) Comfortable seat and decent legroom (+) Friendly cabin crew (+) IFE selections (+) BoB selections (-) Wi-Fi was not working EWR (+) Immigration wait time (+) Easy to access
16 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Thanks for this flight report of this gem! In my opinion it is totally fine to spend about 30 Euros on food and drinks on such low cost long haul flights, as they are still cheap against legacy carrier with flight and food prices added up!
In my opinion it is totally fine to spend about 30 Euros on food and drinks on such low cost long haul flights, as they are still cheap against legacy carrier with flight and food prices added up!
- Indeed, I agree with your comment, the cheapest full service carrier was thrice the price of LEVEL for this trip and I didn't pay that amount to get free food and some other perks. Definitely, it's fine to spend about €30 on these kinds of flights.
By the way, I hope LCC's traveling on the EU<-->USA route survive as we would need them in the future for cheaper travel.
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2 Comments
- Indeed, I agree with your comment, the cheapest full service carrier was thrice the price of LEVEL for this trip and I didn't pay that amount to get free food and some other perks. Definitely, it's fine to spend about €30 on these kinds of flights.
By the way, I hope LCC's traveling on the EU<-->USA route survive as we would need them in the future for cheaper travel.
Best,
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