This is a warning for other travellers who are considering the SFO-BCN flight operated by FlyLevel/Iberia. I believe there is an internal error that the company has overlooked and could cause some serious problems for other travellers from SFO, because of the time difference between California and Central Europe, as their customer service is only operative limited hours Central European Time (CET). Our flight was at 17:00 Pacific Standard Time, and check-in was 4 hours earlier at 13:00 (PST). There was NO way to contact customer service in Spain, because their offices were already closed. Let me try to explain what happened to my family on August 5, 2021. Days before our flight, I was checking online twice daily to see if there were any changes to the flight due to the current pandemic situation, to check in online, and also to fill out the Health Form for re-entry into Spain. Up to the night before our flight, FlyLevel recognised my reservation as being confirmed. Nonetheless, it gave me a message saying that I could not check in online: "Your ticket was not automatically issued by your booking agent. Please check in at the airport to obtain your boarding pass." This is where the problem began: When I got to the FlyLevel check-in counter at SFO, they told me that the booking number was NOT enough for them to access our reservation, that they could only issue boarding passes with TICKETING numbers. The problem got worse: Both the agent and her manager assured me they could do nothing and I needed to contact the company or agent who "sold" us the ticket (we purchased the tickets online via FlyLevel's website). I tried to contact FlyLevel via phone and online chat, but nobody answered. I realised later that the company's "Contact Us" is only operational until 20:00 CET. At 13:00 in California, it was 22:00 in Europe, so the company's help center was closed, and there was NO ONE answering the phones, no one answering the online chat, absolutely no company representative available. What saved us was not even Iberia in Spain, it was AMEX Platinum (the credit card we used to purchase the tickets) was dedicated and resourceful enough to locate the ticketing number through the first flight we flew from BCN to SFO. Had they not located those ticketing numbers, we would have lost our flight, because by the time the help centre offices opened in Europe the next morning, the flight would have taken off without us. So be forewarned that at SFO, FlyLevel and Iberia have NO employees present who can access reservation information. None of the check-in staff were employed by FlyLevel nor Iberia. They were a contracted "concierge service" (that is what the staff told me) who have NOTHING to do with FlyLevel nor Iberia, whose only function was to check in passengers and baggage. The concierge staff told me that it was not the first time that such a thing had happened to other passengers, and apparently at least one case they were unable to fly. So we were very lucky. This is a serious internal problem that can lead to nightmare situations for some unfortunate passengers. I am writing this review to warn other travellers of what could happen to them. I understand that with the pandemic, companies are under pressure to save money, but their internal error could cause serious problems for travellers who have no access to company help at the time of their flight. The staff and company need the passengers, and the passengers need/want the service, so let's hope that FlyLevel / Iberia can fix the problem and save other passengers from unnecessary anxiety and stress. They should foresee a way to help passengers during check-in for any flight anywhere in the world. Otherwise, they should reschedule flights so that check-in times coincide with their company's online/telefone assistance operating hours.
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