London (LHR) – San Francisco (SFO)
- Distance
- 8,638 km
- 5,368 mi · 4,664 nm
- Flight time
- 11 h / 10 h 25 min
- Average gate to gate: LHR → SFO / back
- Time difference
- 8 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 1,008 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (597 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 1,040,938
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −0.6%
- Flights / week
- 83
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 80%
- 1,293,140 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 3
- BA, UA, VS
Traffic: U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service), Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources
The way there
- Heading from LHR
- 317°
- Heading from SFO
- 33°
- Halfway point
- 63.27, -73.54
- Great-circle km
- 8,616 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air LHR → SFO
- 10 h 20 min
- In the air SFO → LHR
- 9 h 48 min
- Clocks
- San Francisco is 8 h behind London
The estimate for a route without real times is 11 h; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 103,322 |
| Sep 2025 | 99,552 |
| Oct 2025 | 88,212 |
| Nov 2025 | 67,572 |
| Dec 2025 | 75,301 |
| Jan 2026 | 67,982 |
| Feb 2026 | 55,887 |
| Mar 2026 | 81,977 |
| Apr 2026 | 86,069 |
| May 2026 | 96,397 |
| Jun 2026 | 108,161 |
| Jul 2026 | 110,506 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 430 |
| Sep 2025 | 413 |
| Oct 2025 | 382 |
| Nov 2025 | 294 |
| Dec 2025 | 298 |
| Jan 2026 | 298 |
| Feb 2026 | 270 |
| Mar 2026 | 312 |
| Apr 2026 | 367 |
| May 2026 | 434 |
| Jun 2026 | 412 |
| Jul 2026 | 430 |
Airlines flying LHR–SFO nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| BABritish Airways | 27 | 42% |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 36 | 35% |
| VSVirgin Atlantic Airways | 21 | 23% |
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Airlines with at least one flight a month. U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service). Sources
Aircraft on this route
- B787-900 Dreamliner · 1,422 flights
- Boeing 777-200ER/200LR/233LR · 1,353 flights
- Airbus Industrie A380-800 · 715 flights
- Boeing 777-300/300ER/333ER · 700 flights
- Airbus 350-1000 · 150 flights
Also carried: 27,577 tonnes of freight and 894 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)
Measured by great-circle distance: 8,616 km.
LHR London → SFO San Francisco
UK261£520 for arriving 3 hours or more late (£260 if 3–4 hours).
Covers any airline.
SFO San Francisco → LHR London
UK261£520 for arriving 3 hours or more late (£260 if 3–4 hours).
Covers UK or EU airlines only.
Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.
Every airport pair between London and San Francisco
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All London airports