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Route guide

London Los Angeles

Heathrow (LHR) — Los Angeles International (LAX)

Westbound 8h shift Best side: right
Distance
8,780 km
Duration
11.5h
Time-zone shift
8h west
Best window side
right

Overview

London Heathrow to LAX — classic westbound transatlantic-meets-Pacific. Daytime departure, late-afternoon arrival, and the westward direction makes it more forgiving than the eastbound return.

Jet lag

8-hour westward delay. The first local evening is the work — stay up until ~10pm local, get outside in the afternoon, anchor a 7am wake the next day. Recovery typically 3-4 days without intervention.

Build a LHR→LAX adaptation schedule

Best window side

Westbound polar routing — the right (north) side gets less direct sun across the long daylit middle and a calmer approach into LAX.

Cabin humidity

787-9 or A350-1000 is meaningfully better than 777 on an 11+ hour cabin block. Norse Atlantic flies 787 only; legacies vary by departure.

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