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Route guide

London Los Angeles

Heathrow (LHR) — Los Angeles International (LAX)

Westbound
Distance
8,780 km
Duration
11.5h
TZ shift
8h west
Best 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.

Estimated recovery

Without intervention ~5 days
With timed light + melatonin ~3 days

Estimates only — based on ~1 day per time zone west, compressed roughly 40% with a timed protocol. See how long jet lag actually lasts .

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.

Typical economy row (3-3-3)

Left

Middle

Best · Right

The right window is the calmer pick on this route. For sleep, the window itself matters more than the side — see how to sleep on a long-haul. For the exact rows and seat letters on this aircraft, use the seat picker.

Cabin atmosphere

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.

Expected cabin humidity at cruise

This route's typical aircraft ~15-20%
Indoor air at home ~40-60%

Composite-fuselage aircraft (787, A350) run higher humidity than older aluminum-fuselage types. See what the 787 actually fixes.

What to pack for this route

Read before you fly

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