For me, the "level off" part means you are not climbing/descending at XXXX ft/min, which could affect your speed (a'la AF447's climb at 7000ft/min). Setting pitch at ~2.5 deg and thrust of 85% (or the pitch/thrust setting from the QRH), ensures that you are leveled off, or at least close enough for practical purposes and is more important than what the altimiter says. Even if you have one, you should hold the pitch, power, not the altitude...
Last edited by Stuck_in_an_ATR; 11th Jun 2011 at 10:44.